Couples for Christ Solomon Islands

ZE091225

2009-12-25T12:04:00.000-08:00

ZENIT

The World Seen From Rome

Daily dispatch - December 25, 2009

Wishing you merry Christmas with the Pope

ZENIT wants to wish you a merry Christmas this year with the same words that Benedict XVI has used to send his greetings to his friends and collaborators: "Today, Light shines upon us because the Lord has been born for us."

The Holy Father's message is accompanied by a Nativity image from a stain-glassed window in his private chapel.

To receive the card from the Pope, click here: http://www.zenit.org/page-0702?l=english

VATICAN DOSSIER

Pope Expresses Wish for Peace and Joy to All

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 25, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is expressing the wish that this Christmas, all people will find true happiness in the Baby Jesus.

The Pope affirmed this today after imparting the blessing "urbi et orbi" (to the city of Rome and the world).

Speaking in Italian to the faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square, as well as all those listening on radio and television, the Pontiff underlined the "new hope" brought by Christ's birth.

The contemplation of the "poor and lowly cave in Bethlehem," he said, can teach families and communities a "simple, transparent and welcoming way of life, full of gestures of love and forgiveness."

The Pontiff extended Christmas greetings in 65 languages. In English, he said: "May the birth of the Prince of Peace remind the world where its true happiness lies; and may your hearts be filled with hope and joy, for the Savior has been born for us."

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Jesus Is Hope for World in Crisis, Says Pope

Thus, the Church Has No Fear

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 25, 2009 (Zenit.org).- For a world in financial and moral crisis, the Baby Jesus is a light in the darkness, Benedict XVI is affirming.

The Pope stated this today in his traditional Christmas message, which he delivered today at noon from the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica.

"The light of that first Christmas was like a fire kindled in the night," he said. "All about there was darkness, while in the cave there shone the true light."

"God loves to light little lights, so as then to illuminate vast spaces," the Pontiff affirmed.

This is the history of the Church, he said, which began its journey "in the lowly cave of Bethlehem, and down the centuries it has become a people and a source of light for humanity."

"Today too," the Holy Father affirmed, "in those who encounter that Child, God still kindles fires in the night of the world, calling men and women everywhere to acknowledge in Jesus the 'sign' of his saving and liberating presence and to extend the 'us' of those who believe in Christ to the whole of mankind."

"Wherever there is an 'us' that welcomes God's love, there the light of Christ shines forth, even in the most difficult situations," he added.

"The Church does not fear," Benedict XVI said, "for that Child is its strength."

He continued: "But she does not keep him for herself: She offers him to all those who seek him with a sincere heart, to the earth's lowly and afflicted, to the victims of violence, and to all who yearn for peace.

"Today too, on behalf of a human family profoundly affected by a grave financial crisis, yet even more by a moral crisis, and by the painful wounds of wars and conflicts, the Church, in faithful solidarity with mankind, repeats with the shepherds: 'Let us go to Bethlehem,' for there we shall find our hope."

--- --- ---

On ZENIT's Web page:

Full text: http://zenit.org/article-27950?l=english

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WORLD FEATURES

Archbishop Twal: Baby Jesus Offers Cure for Pride

Says Christmas Gives Answer for Economic Crisis

BETHLEHEM, DEC. 25, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem is affirming that God's humility, manifested in the Christ Child, is a cure for humanity's pride.

Archbishop Fouad Twal stated this in his homily during Midnight Mass in Bethlehem Thursday evening.

"The birth of Jesus today requires a radical change in the lives of human beings," he said.

The prelate affirmed that "our hearts often prefer to limit themselves to loving those nearest to us: the love of parents towards their children and coreligionists among themselves."

"This particular love," he said, "is called to grow wider to the very dimensions of the word, because the measure of love should be to love without measure."

The archbishop continued, "Peace and non-violence should replace hatred, war and violence; spirit should prevail over matter; openness to others, hospitality and availability towards them should break down the walls of separation and isolation, to proclaim 'Glory to God in the highest heavens' and achieve 'peace on earth to men of goodwill.'"

Poorest of the poor

"The humility of the Word of God become flesh is for us a constant exhortation and a cure for pride," he stated. "His modest birth is an example for us."

Achbishop Twal stated, "If God became as the poorest of the poor and needy among the needy, can there then be any other way forward in our journey toward eternal happiness, than overcoming our pride and practicing the humility and simplicity" of Christ.

He continued: "The financial problems affecting the world today stem from the fact that the world has forgotten the poor.

"Christmas has always been a cry that has disturbed the conscience of the materialistic world, which rests on its first principles of competitiveness and an unbridled race to enrichment at the expense of the poor."

"When men refuse to share worldly goods in a spirit of solidarity, money becomes an idol; and then they must pay for their separation from God," the prelate pointed out.

He added, "Following the recent downturn in the global economy and the crisis of unemployment, it is time that the world accept the primacy of the values of moderation and sharing."

The archbishop affirmed that "these values alone are able to revive the global economy."

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On ZENIT's Web page:

Full text: http://zenit.org/article-27953?l=english

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INTERVIEW

The Consequences of Bad Ideas (Part 2)

Interview With Father Marcel Guarnizo

By Kirsten Evans

VIENNA, Austria, DEC. 25, 2009 (Zenit.org).- There are good ideas, and there are bad ideas. For the director of an educational foundation that seeks to create a new intellectual culture in post-communist countries, communism was a bad idea.

Father Marcel Guarnizo is founder and chairman of the Vienna-based organization Educational Initiative for Central and Eastern Europe (EICEE), which hosted a conference earlier this month to mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, and to reflect on lessons learned from the rise and fall of communism.

EICEE hosted its conference in Zagreb, Croatia, and featured speakers included Robin Harris, former advisor to Margaret Thatcher, and John O'Sullivan, executive editor of Radio Free Europe in Prague.

The keynote speaker was Noble Peace Prize Laureate Lech Walesa, former leader of the Polish Solidarity Movement and former president of Poland. Walesa's address was titled "1989-2009: Lessons Learned from the Fall of Communism."

ZENIT recently caught up with Father Guarnizo at the foundation's headquarters in the Castle Neuwaldegg in Vienna, to talk about the conference, the role of the Church in the demise of communism in Europe, as well as the biggest challenges facing EICEE in its efforts to rebuild the nations of Central and Eastern Europe, which were shackled under communist regimes only one generation ago.

Part 1 of this interview appeared Thursday.

ZENIT: Did Lech Walesa mention the role of the Catholic Church in the demise of the communist regime of the Soviet Union in Russia and Europe?

Guarnizo: Yes, Walesa absolutely spoke of the role of the Catholic Church in the ruin of the Soviet Union. This is something that was universally recognized by all historians of the time, yet was not mentioned by any of the speakers at the 20th anniversary celebrations in Berlin earlier this year. Walsea insisted that without the Catholic Church it would have been impossible for Solidarity to survive, which of course became one of the central social impetuses that eroded the authority of the communist regime.

Walesa also emphasized his personal faith, and his strong conviction that divine providence played a tremendous role in the fall of communist Europe in the 20th century.

ZENIT: As the founder and chairman of EICEE, what have been the biggest challenges you have run into while pursuing the mission to promote principles of free, just and democratic societies in post-communist Europe?

Guarnizo: I think the biggest challenge was that nobody was really doing this before us. So it was a pioneering effort, and it was unique because we were trying to create the largest network in Central and Eastern Europe that would be concerned with creating intellectual and cultural foundations for the new generation.

The second challenge was that communism had destroyed pretty much everything. It had destroyed the intellectual class, the cultural foundations, the morals, the economics, and the politics of these nations.

Thirdly, it is such a vast territory; so many different languages, so many different cultures. In the beginning we were just trying to figure out how we would create the necessary network to promote this kind of education.

ZENIT: Could you describe some of the landmark events in these first nine years of EICEE's mission?

Guarnizo: Establishing a network which currently has eight offices operating in different countries: Austria, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Croatia, and Washington DC, has been a landmark in itself.

The second landmark would be training and working with leaders in the political, economic, and cultural order. It is not easy to establish a serious intellectual position, making yourself a voice of reason in many of the debates taking place in Central and Eastern Europe. We are grateful we have been able to accomplish this.

We are also grateful to count on the support of so many people who are vital to that part of the world. Former heads of state, like President Vaclav Havel of the Czech Republic, Former Prime Minister Mart Laar who was the first prime minister after the fall of communism in Estonia, and former Slovak Prime Minister Jan Carnogursky, and other political and cultural leaders.

It is wonderful to have so many people behind us in an effort that is so needed, and which answers the call of Benedict XVI to drive these principles back into the cultures of nations.

ZENIT: You mentioned Benedict XVI. What is the relationship between the organization and the Church itself?

Guarnizo: The organization is non-denominational, but it is the role of the Church to be involved in helping to establish and promote principles that can sustain free democracies.

Benedict XVI has pointed out on many occasions that it is the role of the Church to safeguard right reason. This is true not only of religion, but also of all sciences, including the sciences that are fundamental to democracy: namely, economics, politics, and the cultural blocks of democracy.

We desperately need to do this in Central and Eastern Europe because while many of these countries have transitioned toward free societies, the problems and legacy of communism have continued.

If we do not educate the next generations of these nations, they will never understand what exactly made communism so destructive, and what needs to be done to do to secure free, just and democratic societies.

ZENIT: In your experience, what was at the core of the communist doctrine in Central and Eastern Europe that proved to be so destructive in the 20th century?

Guarnizo: There is a great part of the West that believes that the notion of instituting democracy and establishing free societies has only to do with free market economics and perhaps free elections or political freedom.

But the reality is that the problem of communist atheism was actually a philosophical anthropological problem, as Pope John Paul II said. It was an anthropological error -- the materialist vision of man that allowed them to treat man as raw material and therefore socially engineer societies. The economic disaster that followed was simply the consequence of the wrong vision of mankind.

This problem is what leads to totalitarian regimes in other parts of the world. The lack of respect for the dignity of the human person, a lack of understanding of who the human person is, and false understandings as to why he needs political, cultural, and economic freedom.

But this can also happen in a democracy. It is good to remember that Hitler was elected democratically. Hamas was elected democratically in Palestine, as well. As Benedict XVI has many times said, even a democracy without values can easily slide into tyranny. Democracy without philosophically sound principles runs the risk of becoming dangerous and enslaving.

Our foundation is absolutely convinced that ideas have consequences. Bad ideas in the 20th century killed more people than in the first 1,900 years of Christianity, and we had more Christian martyrs in the 20th century than all other centuries combined. This is because bad ideas have consequences, just like good ones do.

I have argued for many years that the goal of bringing down the Wall was not simply the goal of bringing down the Soviet Union, but to actually convert hearts and minds to a new society, a free society, and a just society.

After attaining freedom at such a cost, we have a moral duty to do something to help new generations maintain and prosper in their freedom.

We are fighting to create a new intellectual generation who understand this, so that when they act, they act in accordance with right reason and sound principles.

But for us, one generation after the fall of the Berlin Wall, this is the only way I think we will be able to secure a future for these nations for generations to come.

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On ZENIT's Web page:

Part 1: http://www.zenit.org/article-27944?l=english

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DOCUMENTS

Holy Father's Christmas Message

"God Still Kindles Fires in the Night of the World"

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 25, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is a Vatican translation of Benedict XVI's Christmas message, which he gave today at noon from the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica.

* * *

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Rome and throughout the world,
and all men and women, whom the Lord loves!

"Lux fulgebit hodie super nos,
quia natus est nobis Dominus.

A light will shine on us this day,
the Lord is born for us"

(Roman Missal, Christmas, Entrance Antiphon for the Mass at Dawn)

The liturgy of the Mass at Dawn reminded us that the night is now past, the day has begun; the light radiating from the cave of Bethlehem shines upon us.

The Bible and the Liturgy do not, however, speak to us about a natural light, but a different, special light, which is somehow directed to and focused upon "us", the same "us" for whom the Child of Bethlehem "is born". This "us" is the Church, the great universal family of those who believe in Christ, who have awaited in hope the new birth of the Saviour, and who today celebrate in mystery the perennial significance of this event.

At first, beside the manger in Bethlehem, that "us" was almost imperceptible to human eyes. As the Gospel of Saint Luke recounts, it included, in addition to Mary and Joseph, a few lowly shepherds who came to the cave after hearing the message of the Angels. The light of that first Christmas was like a fire kindled in the night. All about there was darkness, while in the cave there shone the true light "that enlightens every man" (Jn 1:9). And yet all this took place in simplicity and hiddenness, in the way that God works in all of salvation history. God loves to light little lights, so as then to illuminate vast spaces. Truth, and Love, which are its content, are kindled wherever the light is welcomed; they then radiate in concentric circles, as if by contact, in the hearts and minds of all those who, by opening themselves freely to its splendour, themselves become sources of light. Such is the history of the Church: she began her journey in the lowly cave of Bethlehem, and down the centuries she has become a People and a source of light for humanity. Today too, in those who encounter that Child, God still kindles fires in the night of the world, calling men and women everywhere to acknowledge in Jesus the "sign" of his saving and liberating presence and to extend the "us" of those who believe in Christ to the whole of mankind.

Wherever there is an "us" which welcomes God's love, there the light of Christ shines forth, even in the most difficult situations. The Church, like the Virgin Mary, offers the world Jesus, the Son, whom she herself has received as a gift, the One who came to set mankind free from the slavery of sin. Like Mary, the Church does not fear, for that Child is her strength. But she does not keep him for herself: she offers him to all those who seek him with a sincere heart, to the earth's lowly and afflicted, to the victims of violence, and to all who yearn for peace. Today too, on behalf of a human family profoundly affected by a grave financial crisis, yet even more by a moral crisis, and by the painful wounds of wars and conflicts, the Church, in faithful solidarity with mankind, repeats with the shepherds: "Let us go to Bethlehem" (Lk 2:15), for there we shall find our hope.

The "us" of the Church is alive in the place where Jesus was born, in the Holy Land, inviting its people to abandon every logic of violence and vengeance, and to engage with renewed vigour and generosity in the process which leads to peaceful coexistence. The "us" of the Church is present in the other countries of the Middle East. How can we forget the troubled situation in Iraq and the "little flock" of Christians which lives in the region? At times it is subject to violence and injustice, but it remains determined to make its own contribution to the building of a society opposed to the logic of conflict and the rejection of one's neighbour. The "us" of the Church is active in Sri Lanka, in the Korean peninsula and in the Philippines, as well as in the other countries of Asia, as a leaven of reconciliation and peace. On the continent of Africa she does not cease to lift her voice to God, imploring an end to every injustice in the Democratic Republic of Congo; she invites the citizens of Guinea and Niger to respect for the rights of every person and to dialogue; she begs those of Madagascar to overcome their internal divisions and to be mutually accepting; and she reminds all men and women that they are called to hope, despite the tragedies, trials and difficulties which still afflict them. In Europe and North America, the "us" of the Church urges people to leave behind the selfish and technicist mentality, to advance the common good and to show respect for the persons who are most defenceless, starting with the unborn. In Honduras she is assisting in process of rebuilding institutions; throughout Latin America, the "us" of the Church is a source of identity, a fullness of truth and of charity which no ideology can replace, a summons to respect for the inalienable rights of each person and his or her integral development, a proclamation of justice and fraternity, a source of unity.

In fidelity to the mandate of her Founder, the Church shows solidarity with the victims of natural disasters and poverty, even within opulent societies. In the face of the exodus of all those who migrate from their homelands and are driven away by hunger, intolerance or environmental degradation, the Church is a presence calling others to an attitude of acceptance and welcome. In a word, the Church everywhere proclaims the Gospel of Christ, despite persecutions, discriminations, attacks and at times hostile indifference. These, in fact, enable her to share the lot of her Master and Lord.

Dear Brothers and Sisters, how great a gift it is to be part of a communion which is open to everyone! It is the communion of the Most Holy Trinity, from whose heart Emmanuel, Jesus, "God with us", came into the world. Like the shepherds of Bethlehem, let us contemplate, filled with wonder and gratitude, this mystery of love and light! Happy Christmas to all!

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Homily from Midnight Mass in Bethlehem

"Today Once Again Our Lord and Savior Is Born Among Us"

BETHLEHEM, DEC. 25, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is the homily delivered by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Fouad Twal, during Midnight Mass in Bethlehem.

* * *

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

"While they were [in Bethlehem], the time came for her to be delivered. And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger." (Luke 2:6-7)

On behalf of the Child of Bethlehem, born in the shelter of a poor cave, and on behalf of many children, like him, born homeless and in refugee camps, I wish to welcome you with the very words the angels spoke to the shepherds: "I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. And this is the token for you: you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger" (Luke 2: 10 to 12). We hope for this to happen again in the today that belongs to God, starting from this city and this cave and the manger towards which we will, in a moment, carry the divine child in procession!

"Today is born to [us] a Savior" (Lk 2:11); come, let us adore him (Psalm 95:6)"

"Born to us today"... The word "today", that Heaven spoke to Earth two thousand years ago, is our today and it is also today for all men of all times, because "Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever" (Hebrews 13: 8). Time for men is a fleeting moment while for God time is a continuous now, for the Lord is being par excellence; He is the One Who Is (Exodus 3: 14). Christ, the Word of God is "the one who was and is" (Rev. 1:8). And today once again Our Lord and Savior is born among us.

The birth of Jesus today requires a radical change in the lives of human beings: "a great light" has shone upon us, we who are "sitting in darkness and the shadow of death" (Luke 1:79). This is the light of universal love. Our hearts often prefer to limit themselves to loving those nearest to us: the love of parents towards their children and coreligionists among themselves. This particular love is called to grow wider to the very dimensions of the word, because the measure of love should be to love without measure. Peace and non-violence should replace hatred, war and violence; spirit should prevail over matter; openness to others, hospitality and availability towards them should break down the walls of separation and isolation, to proclaim "Glory to God in the highest heavens" and achieve "peace on earth to men of goodwill" (Luke 2:14).

"And the Word became flesh" (John 1: 14). This is the greatest event in human history: the word of God became man in "the fullness of time" (Gal 4:4). God took on a human face. He became man, to raise men and women to Himself! This mystery of incarnation, which is beyond our understanding, is the heart of our Christian faith. It is part of the divine plan for salvation and redemption of mankind. Amazed by this mystery, the apostles and the disciples proclaimed it forcefully with their words and the spilling of their blood.

The humility of the Word of God become flesh is for us a constant exhortation and a cure for pride. The eternal Word humbled himself, abandoned his divine prerogatives and grandeur (Philipians 2:6-7) and chose to be born a poor child in a manger. If he had appeared in the glory of his divinity, he would have blinded us, and we would not have considered him one of us, a member of our human family. His modest birth is an example for us. If God became as the poorest of the poor and needy among the needy, can there then be any other way forward in our journey toward eternal happiness, than overcoming our pride and practicing the humility and simplicity encouraged by the example of one who, "though he was rich, yet... became poor, so that by his poverty [we] might become rich" (2 Corinthians 8:9)? He thus founded the principles of sharing and solidarity. The financial problems affecting the world today stem from the fact that the world has forgotten the poor. Christmas has always been a cry that has disturbed the conscience of the materialistic world, which rests on its first principles of competitiveness and an unbridled race to enrichment at the expense of the poor. When men refuse to share worldly goods in a spirit of solidarity, money becomes and idol; and then they must pay for their separation from God. Following the recent downturn in the global economy and the crisis of unemployment, it is time that the world accept the primacy of the values of moderation and sharing. These values alone are able to revive the global economy. Indeed, "what will it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life?" (Matthew 16: 26).

Jesus Christ in his homeland

On behalf of all the faithful of the parishes of Jordan, Palestine, Israel and Cyprus, and on behalf of the faithful of Bethlehem, the fellow citizens of Jesus, I address myself to all believers throughout the world, and I urge them to pray for this Holy Land. It is a land that suffers and that hopes. Its inhabitants are brothers who see each other as enemies. When will we realize that a land deserves the adjective "holy" only when the man who lives there becomes holy? This land will deserve to be called "holy" when she breathes freedom, justice, love, reconciliation, peace and security.

Besides, how can we experience the joy of Christmas, while we continue to see the drama that accompanied the historic Birth of Christ? Christ had no home in Bethlehem and many of our fellow citizens are homeless because of the unrighteousness of men; hundreds of thousands of people have emigrated to seek a better quality of life because of the difficulty of living in this country and the insecurity; others are attempting to leave the land of their forefathers, the land sanctified by the mystery of the Incarnation of God.

How are we to feel the joy and celebration as we commemorate the first anniversary of the war and the tragedy of Gaza? The siege of the city is stifling the freedom of movement and transport is hindered. Many families are separated.

However, nothing keeps us from singing and invoking the Lord: "O that thou wouldst rend the heavens and come down!" (Isaiah 63:19) "Rorate coeli desuper and Nuber pluant justum" ("Shower, O heavens, from above, and let the skies rain down righteousness!" Catholic Advent Liturgy). Lord, you are Emmanuel, "God with us" (Matthew 1:23). We too want to be with you. May you, by the star of your grace, lead towards your "manger" men in conflict and government leaders who have the power to decide and who hold the destiny of mankind in their hands. May they know the whole Christmas message, a message that teaches humility, and at the same time restores to man his dignity as son of God!

On Christmas night, with all men of good will, we pray for peace. We beg for a peace different from what world promises or gives us. The world's peace is based on force and violence. We seek God's peace based on justice and human dignity. Our spirits moved by the evils that exist in the world, the conflicts of interest, the duplicity, the silence of right reason, the arms race and the possession of destructive weapons, we ask the Child of Bethlehem, thinking of all homeless children left to themselves in the alleys of refugee camps, for the sun of justice, love and life to rise over our land and put to flight the specter of death and destruction. (Malachi 3:20) May our children and the children of Gaza experience celebration and the joy of decorating and lighting the Christmas tree, symbol of life and the hope to live.

Oh Child of Bethlehem, we are tired of our situation, tired of waiting and tired of speeches and promises, conferences, deadlines and negotiations!

Oh Child of Bethlehem, give us your patience, your love and your kindness! We ask you that during this new year hands might clasp each other in concord, intentions might be purified, that hearts love one another, divisions disappear, and walls be demolished. And that in their place be built bridges of understanding and reconciliation!

Dear brothers and beloved children,

May the grace and love of God for people of all faiths and nationalities aid us in the pursuit of peace. Let each person in his own domain labor for the coming of the kingdom of God, "the kingdom of love and justice" (Preface to the Feast of Christ the King).

May we see in every man, woman or child, the very face of that son of this land, our fellow citizen who said: "Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called children of God" (Mathew 5:5, 5:7, 5:9).

Merry Christmas!

† Fouad Twal, Patriarch

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Archbishop Nichols' Midnight Mass Homily

"This Child Is Totally Unique and His Coming a Transforming Moment"

LONDON, DEC. 25, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is the homily given by Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster during Midnight Mass in London's Westminster Cathedral.

* * *

'Glory to God on high and peace to all people on earth!'

This is my Christmas greeting to you and to all sharing in the Mass on television.

A Happy Christmas!

Yes, indeed, we are filled at this moment with peace and happiness, enhanced by the beauty of this liturgy and by memories of goodness.

But will it last? Realistically we know that happiness and peace are difficult to sustain beyond such moments as this. More often we feel pressurised, discontented or troubled. Perhaps sustaining happiness in our lives is an art we have lost.

Yet this is our Christmas greeting: that the child born in a stable in Bethlehem is the source of our happiness.

What a paradox!

The wisdom of our world tells us that happiness comes with success or pre-eminence in our chosen field, with wealth whether through enterprise or the Lottery, or with celebrity status, even the fleeting status of TV fame. Happiness, we are told, comes from the way in which we are regarded by society.

Yet, in our hearts, we know this is not so, even while being tempted to follow such siren voices. We know that our happiness lies much closer to home: in our steady relationships of friendship and love: in family and community.

Taking this path leads us to a much firmer grasp of true happiness. Slowly we learn what our priorities must be if our desire for happiness is to be fulfilled. And the crib, the stable of Bethlehem, spells out those lessons with the clarity of a star shining in the cold night air.

Let us look and see.

Here is a truly human family: Mary, Joseph and the child Jesus. Here is a loving, committed couple, sharing side by side both adversity and joy. This is the first source of happiness: faithful, persevering love which bears its fruit through self-sacrifice.

Then there is the child. He is at the heart of this revelation, at the heart of happiness, for in his every word and action he will disclose the truth, not only of God but also of our own humanity. He is the one at the centre of these celebrations, whose birth we celebrate and whose message we again proclaim.

But there is something to be understood about this child which alone unlocks the door to our true happiness. It is this. He is, in his person, both truly God and truly man. This is the key. Without a firm grasp of this truth we will lose this greatest of all gifts, we will misunderstand the real significance of his message.

If Jesus is indeed God yet not fully man, but simply God in disguise, then his message of God's loving forgiveness is charming indeed but still out of our reach. If he is not truly human, it does not find a home in our flesh.

If Jesus is indeed truly one of us, truly man, but not true God, then his message of peace and forgiveness may well be humanly inspiring but it lacks the power to change us. For only God can do that.

Only when we grasp that Jesus is truly God and truly man is the gulf between us and God breeched. Then we are no longer on our own.

This is why the heavens rejoiced and the angels sang at his birth! This child is totally unique and his coming a transforming moment. This is God with us, God in our flesh and his message is both true and full of power. It is for us and it can truly change our lives.

This child Jesus must grow. So, too, must his message, within us and in our world. Each of us is called to grow and mature from an infancy of faith into a mature willingness -- like Mary's -- to be instruments not of our own ambition, but of God's will.

This is our struggle, for while we long for peace, there is still conflict within our hearts and our world. Conflicts fill the news, and cause injury and death, to those in Afghanistan and Iraq who are so much in our prayers at this time. While we long for sincerity, there is deceit and duplicity within us and in our society. While we long for a sense of community, so many youngsters resort to gangs and gang violence to bolster their weakened sense of identity. While we long for reconciliation there is still such bitterness in our blood-stream.

But the gift is there: the gift of Christ's love and forgiveness, to be received on our knees. Then we may grow again.

And in that growth lies our true happiness:
A happiness of sincerely serving others;
A happiness of rejoicing with them in shared effort and joy;
A happiness of knowing and offering forgiveness;
A happiness of lasting love which is not afraid of self-sacrifice.

This is the happiness open for us on this darkest of nights. Let us rejoice in this gift, accepting it afresh with gratitude and so wish each other a very happy Christmas indeed.

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Benedict XVI's Address to University Students

"Helping Others to See the True Face of God Is the First Form of Love"

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 25, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the Dec. 17 address Benedict XVI gave after Vespers in St. Peter's Basilica in a traditional Christmas meeting with university students.

* * *

Your Eminences,
Venerable Brothers in the Episcopate,
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear Brothers and Sisters,

What is this wisdom born in Bethlehem? I would like to ask myself and all of you this question during this traditional pre-Christmas meeting with the University world of Rome. Today, instead of Holy Mass, we are celebrating Vespers, and to mark the felicitous coincidence with the beginning of the Christmas novena we will soon be singing the first of the "Greater Antiphons": "O Wisdom from the mouth of the Most High, you fill the whole world. With strength and gentleness you order all things: come to teach us the way of prudence" (Liturgy of the Hours, Vespers of 17 December).

This wonderful invocation is addressed to "Wisdom", the central figure in the Books of Proverbs, Wisdom and Sirach. These are in fact called the "Sapiential" Books, and in them the Christian tradition discerns a prefiguration of Christ. This invocation becomes truly stimulating and even provocative when we find ourselves before the Nativity scene that is, before the paradox of a Wisdom that "from the mouth of the Most High" comes to lie in swaddling cloths in a manger (cf. Luke 2: 7, 12, 16).

Already we can anticipate the response to that initial question: the One born in Bethlehem is the Wisdom of God. St. Paul, in writing to the Corinthians, uses the phrase: "a hidden wisdom of God" (1 Cor 2: 7): in other words, a divine plan, which has long been kept hidden and that God himself has revealed in the history of salvation. In the fullness of time, this Wisdom took on a human Face, the Face of Jesus, who as recited in the Apostle's Creed "was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary; suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, is seated at the right hand of the God the Father Almighty; from hence he shall come to judge the living and the dead".

The Christian paradox consists precisely in the identification of divine Wisdom, that is the eternal Logos, with the man Jesus of Nazareth and with his story. A solution to this paradox cannot be found if not in the word "Love", which naturally in this case is written with a capital "L", in reference to a Love that infinitely exceeds human and historical dimensions. Therefore, the Wisdom that we invoke this evening is the Son of God, the second Person of the Most Holy Trinity. It is the Word who, as we read in John's prologue, "was in the beginning with God", or rather, "was God": who with the Father and the Holy Spirit created all things and who "became flesh" to reveal the God whom no one can ever see (cf. Jn 1: 2-3, 14, 18).

Dear friends, a Christian professor, or a young Christian student, carries within him a passionate love for this Wisdom! He reads everything in her light; he finds Wisdom's imprints in the elementary particles and in the verses of poets; in juridical codes and in the events of history; in works of art and in mathematic formulas. Without Wisdom not anything was made that was made (cf. Jn 1: 3) and therefore in every created reality one can see Wisdom reflected, clearly visible in different ways and degrees. Everything understood by human intelligence can be grasped because in some sense and to a certain extent it participates in creative Wisdom. Herein lies, in the last analysis, the very potential of study, of research, of scientific dialogue in every field of knowledge.

At this point I cannot omit to reflect on something a bit disquieting but nevertheless useful for us here who belong to the academic world. Let us ask ourselves: who was present on Christmas night at the grotto in Bethlehem? Who welcomed Wisdom when he was born? Who hurried to see him, to recognize him and adore him? They were not doctors of law, scribes or sages. There were Mary and Joseph, and then the shepherds. What does this mean?

Jesus was one day to say: "Yes, Father, for such was your gracious will" (Mt 11: 26); you revealed your mystery to the little ones (cf. Mt 11: 25). But then is there no use in studying? Or is it even harmful counterproductive in understanding the truth?

The two thousand-year-old history of Christianity excludes the latter hypothesis, and suggests to us the correct one: studying entails deepening one's knowledge while maintaining a spirit similar to the "little ones," an ever humble and simple spirit, like that of Mary, the "Seat of Wisdom". How often have we been afraid to draw near to the Grotto in Bethlehem for fear that doing so would be an obstacle to our critical sense and to our "modernity"!

Rather, in that Grotto, each of us can discover the truth about God and about humanity, about ourselves. In that Child, born of the Virgin, the two came together: mankind's longing for eternal life softened the heart of God, who was not ashamed to assume the human condition.

Dear friends, helping others to see the true Face of God is the first form of love, which for you takes on the role of intellectual charity. I was glad to learn that the diocesan university ministry's programme will have "The Eucharist and Intellectual Charity" as its theme this year: a demanding but appropriate choice. Indeed, in every Eucharistic Celebration God enters history in Jesus Christ in his Word and in his Body, giving himself in that love which enables us to serve humanity in its concrete existence.

The project "One culture for the city", then, offers a promising proposal of the Christian presence in the cultural sphere. As I express the hope that your itinerary may be fruitful, I cannot fail to invite all the Athenaeums to be places of formation for authentic workers of intellectual charity. The future of society depends largely on them, above all in drawing up a new humanistic synthesis and of a new vision for the future (cf. Encyclical Caritas in Veritate, n. 21).

I encourage all of the heads of academic institutions to continue to collaborate in the construction of a community in which all young people may develop into mature human beings who hold themselves responsible for the creation of a "civilization of love".
At the conclusion of this Celebration, the Australian university student delegation will consign the Icon of Mary Sedes Sapientiae to the delegation from Africa. Let us entrust to the Most Holy Virgin all university students on the African continent; following the Special Synod for Africa, the cooperative commitment has been developing in these months between the Athenaeums of Rome and those in Africa.

I renew my encouragement of this new prospect of collaboration, and I hope it may lead to the creation and growth of cultural projects capable of promoting a truly integral human development. May this Christmas, dear friends, bring joy and hope to you, your families and to the entire university environment, in Rome and throughout the whole world.

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Message To Readers

Next Service Jan. 1

NEW YORK, DEC. 25, 2009 (Zenit.org).- ZENIT will next publish on Friday, Jan. 1, the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. The service will resume as normal on Tuesday, Jan. 6, the feast of the Epiphany

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ZENIT

The World Seen From Rome

Daily dispatch - December 24, 2009

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VATICAN DOSSIER

Benedict XVI Offers Shepherds as Role Models
Pope Unhurt After Being Knocked Down

INTERVIEW

The Consequences of Bad Ideas (Part 1)

WORDS MADE FLESH

A Star and a Pure Heart

ROME NOTES

Caravaggio's Nativity; Hope for Architecture

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VATICAN DOSSIER

Benedict XVI Offers Shepherds as Role Models

Says They Responded Correctly to the News of Christ's Birth

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 24, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The shepherds of the Gospel, to whom the angel appeared to announce the birth of Christ, responded correctly when they heard the news that God had entered the world, says Benedict XVI.

The Pope reflected on the shepherds tonight in his homily for the Christmas vigil Mass in St. Peter's Basilica, and offered them as role models for how to respond to the news of Christ's birth.

"What Isaiah prophesied as he gazed into the future from afar, consoling Israel amid its trials and its darkness, is now proclaimed to the shepherds as a present reality by the Angel," the Pontiff said.

"The Lord is here," said the Holy Father. "From this moment, God is truly 'God with us.' No longer is he the distant God who can in some way be perceived from afar, in creation and in our own consciousness. He has entered the world. He is close to us."

Benedict XVI said that the news of Christ's birth "cannot leave us indifferent": "If it is true, it changes everything. If it is true, it also affects me."

But not everyone who hears the message, responds correctly, the Pontiff noted.

"The story of the shepherds is included in the Gospel for a reason," he reflected. "They show us the right way to respond to the message that we too have received."

The Pope explained that the "first thing we are told about the shepherds is that they were on the watch -- they could hear the message precisely because they were awake."

"We must be awake," the Holy Father urged, "so that we can hear the message. We must become truly vigilant people."

Dreamers

"The principal difference between someone dreaming and someone awake is that the dreamer is in a world of his own," said Benedict XVI. "His 'self' is locked into this dream world that is his alone and does not connect him with others.

"To wake up means to leave that private world of one's own and to enter the common reality, the truth that alone can unite all people."

The Pontiff attributed the conflict and division in the world to "the fact that we are locked into our own interests and opinions, into our own little private world."

"Selfishness, both individual and collective, makes us prisoners of our interests and our desires that stand against the truth and separate us from one another," he added.

"Awake, the Gospel tells us. Step outside, so as to enter the great communal truth, the communion of the one God," the Pope continued.

Benedict XVI said that to wake up one must "develop a receptivity for God."

"There are people who describe themselves as 'religiously tone deaf,'" he explained. "The gift of a capacity to perceive God seems as if it is withheld from some.

"And indeed -- our way of thinking and acting, the mentality of today's world, the whole range of our experience is inclined to deaden our receptivity for God, to make us 'tone deaf' toward him.

"And yet in every soul, the desire for God, the capacity to encounter him, is present, whether in a hidden way or overtly."

"In order to arrive at this vigilance," the Pope added, "this awakening to what is essential, we should pray for ourselves and for others, for those who appear 'tone deaf' and yet in whom there is a keen desire for God to manifest himself."

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On ZENIT's Web page:

Full text: http://www.zenit.org/article-27943?l=english

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Pope Unhurt After Being Knocked Down

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 24, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is unhurt after he was knocked down tonight as he entered St. Peter's Basilica to celebrate the Christmas vigil Mass, reports a Vatican spokesman.

Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican press office, told reporters that an "apparently unbalanced" woman jumped the barriers and ran toward the Pope and knocked him to the ground as he walked down the main aisle toward the altar.

The woman also collided with Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, 87, who also fell to the ground.

The Holy Father, 82, got back on his feet quickly. When seeing that the Pontiff recovered, the thousands who had gathered in the basilica for Mass cheered.

Cardinal Etchegaray, who is the former president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, was taken to the hospital for a check-up.

The woman was seized by bodyguards and was arrested by the police and taken in for questioning.

The Christmas vigil Mass was celebrated for the first time in recent memory at 10 p.m., instead of at midnight, in an effort to make Christmas "a little less tiring for the Pope."

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INTERVIEW

The Consequences of Bad Ideas (Part 1)

Interview With Father Marcel Guarnizo

By Kirsten Evans

VIENNA, Austria, DEC. 24, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The fall of the Berlin Wall is arguably the most significant event of the 20th century, says the director of an educational foundation that seeks to create a new intellectual culture in post-communist countries.

Father Marcel Guarnizo is founder and chairman of the Vienna-based organization Educational Initiative for Central and Eastern Europe (EICEE), which hosted a conference earlier this month to mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, and to reflect on lessons learned from the rise and fall of communism.

Cities the world over celebrated the Nov. 9 anniversary, including Berlin who marked the event with open air concerts, fireworks, and a chain of enormous dominos toppling along the wall's original path.

EICEE hosted its conference in Zagreb, Croatia, and featured speakers included Robin Harris, former advisor to Margaret Thatcher, and John O'Sullivan, executive editor of Radio Free Europe in Prague.

The keynote speaker was Noble Peace Prize Laureate Lech Walesa, former leader of the Polish Solidarity Movement and former president of Poland. Walesa's address was titled "1989-2009: Lessons Learned from the Fall of Communism."

ZENIT recently caught up with Father Guarnizo at the foundation's headquarters in the Castle Neuwaldegg in Vienna, to talk about the conference, the significance of the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the work of EICEE to rebuild the nations of Central and Eastern Europe, which were shackled under communist regimes only one generation ago.

Part 2 of this interview will appear Friday

ZENIT: Father Guarnizo, you are a native of Columbia, but were raised in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. In 2001, as a young priest, you felt called to found the Educational Initiative for Central and Eastern Europe. Could you explain the mission of the organization, and the experiences that inspired you to found it?

Guarnizo: In 1993, I went to Russia. The Berlin Wall, of course, had fallen four years earlier. The Soviet Union had only been officially dissolved two years earlier, on Dec. 25, 1991. I experienced a strong call to help rebuild the Church in the post-communist world.

I began with another organization, Aid to the Church in Russia, which dedicated itself to rebuilding churches in Russia that had been desecrated during the regime. We were able to rebuild quite a few Catholic churches in Russia. But after about 10 years, I began to realize that rebuilding churches was not going to be enough.

What was needed was a movement to create a new intellectual culture in the post-communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe.

So we expanded our mission beyond Russia to include all of the countries of the former Soviet Union, to begin educating them in principles of what we call "strengthening and promoting free, just, and democratic societies."

For us that means economic freedom, political freedom, and cultural freedom. The inspiration was that if you do not have a sustainable culture that understands the principles of democracy, you would never be able to build a free and just society.

At Educational Initiative for Central and Eastern Europe we do this largely through educational and public policy initiatives, conferences, publications, humanitarian relief, and networking youth, intellectuals, and political leaders throughout the region.

ZENIT: EICEE recently hosted a conference in Zagreb, Croatia, which gained media attention in Europe. Perhaps the most celebrated moment of the conference was Lech Walesa's personal reflections on lessons learned 20 years after the downfall of communism in Central and Eastern Europe. Could you summarize the main ideas that were shared?

Guarnizo: I want to begin by saying that at EICEE we felt it was important to clearly mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, which symbolized the liberation of so many people enslaved by communist regimes in Central and Eastern Europe. It was perhaps the most important historical event of the 20th century.

Yet surprisingly, the anniversary went largely unnoticed in many parts of Central and Eastern Europe, and this is very pre-occupying.

Unfortunately, today many of the young people in these nations remain unaware of what actually happened. Because they are too young to have lived under communism, they do not understand its dimensions. And older generations, with the determination to move on, do not like to talk about it.

We invited people who played a role in the fall of communism to discuss the lessons learned from a historical perspective. We wanted to shed light both on what happened, as well as on lessons that can be learned for the future. We were pleased we got such a strong response and attendance.

I would say that having Lech Walesa there was a great privilege and I am grateful that he accepted our invitation.

He emphasized the role of creative minorities. In other words, what a few determined people can do to create substantial change. In his case, it was the downfall of the Soviet Union. The cumulative efforts of key players in different parts of the world, namely Reagan, Thatcher, Lech Walesa's Solidarity Movement, and a Polish Pope, changed world history. This just goes to show that you never know how great the impact a creative minority can have.

This is a sign of great hope for future generations, reminding them that they have to be involved, that they have to be active. There is a lot of despair today about the political order in Central and Eastern Europe and we are trying to inspire young people to be involved and stay involved.

ZENIT: You mentioned the role of the youth in the future of these nations. Did Lech Walesa articulate any "lessons learned" that would be particularly important for the younger generations of these nations?

Guarnizo: All of the lessons of communism are important for the youth of these nations to take to heart. But if one thing were to come to mind, he spoke of the incredible courage needed for a few people to stand up for what they know to be true and right, even if it means going against adversity and deeply entrenched systems and cultures. This is kind of moral courage is not easy to come by.

And it is something needed not only in central and eastern Europe, but also in the west -- the moral courage to lead and to defend the culture of the west. I think the West is committing intellectual and cultural suicide at present. We are terribly afraid of recognizing the importance of preserving our own Western civilization, of acknowledging our Christian roots, which is a undeniable fact of history. Walesa emphasized the importance of moral courage in order to defend culture.

He also emphasized the importance of ideas, such as the idea that man was created free and it is impossible to enslave man forever.

There has been a great rewriting of history as to why the Berlin Wall fell and why communism was overcome in Europe, reducing the course of events to merely the failure of an economic system. It is important to realize that communism was not overthrown simply because of a need for economic reform.

For instance, people standing in front of tanks in Tiananmen Square do not do so because of a simple desire for economic reforms. These are men and women who believe in justice and in their own right to freedom and the rights of their children, and they are willing to pay a very high price in pursuit of these rights.

The religious, political, and cultural freedom that the youth of these countries enjoy today was won by the generations that went before them, and at a very high price. This is a very important lesson to never lose sight of.

[Part 2 of this interview will appear Friday]

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WORDS MADE FLESH

A Star and a Pure Heart

Biblical Reflection for Solemnity of the Epiphany Year C

By Father Thomas Rosica, CSB

TORONTO, DEC. 24, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The term epiphany means "to show," "to make known" or "to reveal."

The solemnity of the Epiphany had its origin in the Eastern Church. In Jerusalem, close to Bethlehem, the feast had a special reference to the Nativity.

Today in Eastern Orthodox churches, the emphasis for this feast is on the shining forth and revelation of Jesus Christ as the Messiah and second person of the Holy Trinity at the time of his baptism.

Usually called the feast of the Theophany, it is one of the great feasts of the liturgical year. "Theophany" comes from the Greek for "God shining forth."

The West

The West took up the Oriental January feast, retaining all its chief characteristics, though attaching overwhelming importance, as time went on, to the visit of the Magi who bring gifts to visit the Christ child, and thus "reveal" Jesus to the world as Lord and King.

The feast is observed as a time of focusing on the mission of the Church in reaching others by "showing" Jesus as the Savior of all people. The future rejection of Jesus by Israel and his acceptance by the Gentiles are retrojected into this scene of the Matthew's narrative.

Details

King Herod reigned from 37 to 4 B.C. The "magi" were a designation of the Persian priestly caste and the word became used of those who were regarded as having more than human knowledge. Matthew's Magi are astrologers. As for the star in Matthew's story, it was a common ancient belief that a new star appeared at the time of a ruler's birth.

Matthew also draws upon the Old Testament story of Balaam, who had prophesied that "a star shall advance from Jacob" (Numbers 24:17), though there the star means not an astral phenomenon but the king himself.

The act of worship by the Magi, which corresponded to Simeon's blessing that the child Jesus would be "a light for revelation to the Gentiles" (Luke 2:32), was one of the first indications that Jesus came for all people, of all nations, of all races, and that the work of God in the world would not be limited to only a few.

At home in their distant, foreign lands, the Magi had all the comfort of princely living, but something was missing -- they were restless and unsatisfied. They were willing to risk everything to find the reality their vision promised.

Unlike the poor shepherds, the Magi had to travel a long road; they had to face adversity to reach their goal. The shepherds also knew adversity, and it had prepared them to accept the angels' message.

But once they overcame their fright, they simply "crossed over to Bethlehem" to meet the Christ child. It was anything but a romantic, sentimental pilgrimage that we often see in our manger scenes!

The Magi from the East, foreigners in every sense of the word, were guided not only by their own wisdom and knowledge of the stars, but were aided by the Hebrew Scriptures that now form the Old Testament.

The meaning of this is important -- Christ calls all peoples of all nations, Gentiles as well as Jews, to follow him. We could say that Jerusalem and the Old Testament serve as a new starting point for these Gentile pilgrims on their road to faith in Jesus.

The people of the big city, indeed even Herod himself, were instrumental in leading the magi back to Christ!

A tragic adult story

Matthew's Gospel shows us that right at the beginning of the story of Jesus, the one who is to rule Israel is greeted with the cheers of some and the fearful fury of others. Matthew introduced "all the chief priests and scribes of the people" as advisers of the sinister Herod.

It might appear that they do no more than answer a theological question. Matthew certainly implies something else. In the first place, they, too, had been troubled by the Magis' word of birth of the Messiah. Knowing that he was paranoid on the subject of any threat to his throne, the Magi should have realized that he would not look kindly upon an infant "king of the Jews."

By disclosing to Herod the birthplace of the Messiah, the Magi became, effectively, collaborators in his evil intent. In fact, it is they, not Herod, who will bring about the death of the "king of the Jews." It is the "chief priests and elders of the people" who will plot to arrest and kill Jesus (Matthew 26:3-5, 47; 27:1-2, 12, 20); "the scribes” are mentioned in 26:57 and 27:41. He was a threat to Herod and to them: to the throne of one, to the religious empire of the others.

The negative reaction of Herod and his advisers, the chief priests and scribes, turns the infancy narrative into a veritable gospel. If we read the story carefully, we realize that far from being a children's tale, it is a tragic adult story.

Already at Christmas, we see a hint of the inevitable sacrificial death of this "newborn king" -- the schism between a worldly ideology and a godly one. The battle lines are drawn and the forces are being marshaled.

Matthew's Gospel shows us that right at the beginning of the story of Jesus, the one who is to rule Israel is greeted with the cheers of some and the fearful fury of others. To those who are alert to the signs of the times and the places, the coming of Jesus is an invitation to risk and to embark on a journey of faith and a journey of life.

Finding Christ today

A child is born at the same time as a death-dealing power rules. King Herod tries to co-opt the wise men to betray their journey, to end their commitment to future possibility and new life. At the centre of the whole story of striking contrasts lies a baby who is joy. Herod is afraid of this "great joy for all the people."

Our societies and cultures are becoming increasingly afraid of human life -- the greatest joy for all peoples! We must recommit ourselves to life -- preserving it, upholding it, blessing it and giving thanks to God for this greatest of gifts.

Some of us are destined to find the Christ child only after a long, tedious journey like that of the Magi. Our worldly wisdom and worldly ways, our ecclesiastical façades need to disappear; we must make sacrifices to find our deepest meaning and peace that is Christ. Most wise people need to make quite a trek if they are to find any lasting meaning.

Simple folk can usually find the Lord by crossing a field like shepherds; they bring their poverty, humility and simple openness. But knowledge, wisdom, power, prestige, and the lack of humility often lead to despair. People who believe they have the immediate, final truth and clarity about anything often are led into bleak, dead-end streets or they remain lost in the desert of solitude, self-sufficiency, selfishness and despair.

In the end, the magi went their own way, and because they refused to be seduced by cynicism, because they allowed themselves to be surprised by this great joy, the star to which they had committed themselves appeared again. This is not only the description of the times into which Jesus was born, but also our times. When we have found our lasting joy in the midst of the encircling gloom, cynicism, despair, indifference and meaninglessness, the only thing to do is to kneel and adore.

If we are truly wise, let us do what the wise astrologers did. When we hear the voice of the old king of death and fear and cynicism, let us have the courage to go our own way -- rejoicing. The star and the journey will send us onwards, by newer paths, to come into the presence of the Child of Light and the Prince of Peace, who is the fulfillment of humanity's deepest hopes and desires for light, justice, love and peace.

The journey continues

The words of the great French Catholic writer Georges Bernanos (1888-1948) speak beautifully of the meaning of this great feast in our day: "From the beginning, My Church has been what it is today, and will be until the end of time, a scandal to the strong, a disappointment to the weak, the ordeal and the consolation of those interior souls who seek in it nothing but myself.

"Yes [...] whoever looks for Me there will find Me there; but he will have to look, and I am better hidden than people think, or than certain of My priests would have you believe. I am still more difficult to discover than I was in the little stable at Bethlehem for those who will not approach Me humbly, in the footsteps of the shepherds and the Magi.

"It is true that palaces have been built in My honor, with galleries and peristyles without number, magnificently illuminated day and night, populated with guards and sentries. But if you want to find Me there, the clever thing is to do as they did on the old road in Judea, buried under the snow, and ask for the only thing you need– a star and a pure heart."

[The readings for the feast of the Epiphany are Is 60:1-6; Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6; and Matthew 2:1-12]

* * *

Basilian Father Thomas Rosica, chief executive officer of the Salt and Light Catholic Media Foundation and Television Network in Canada, is a consultor to the Pontifical Council for Social Communications. He can be reached at: rosica@saltandlighttv.org.

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On the Net:

Salt and Light: www.saltandlighttv.org

Salt and Light's Advent and Christmas Reflections: http://saltandlighttv.org/advent.html

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ROME NOTES

Caravaggio's Nativity; Hope for Architecture

King's Singers Give Best Christmas Present Ever

By Elizabeth Lev

ROME, DEC. 24, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The often forgotten penitential nature of Advent seems to have returned this December in spades. In the United States the pro-abortion, anti-conscience-protection health care bill will be moved forward on Christmas Eve while the hopeful images of the Nativity are contested, outlawed and ridiculed in the public square.

In Italy, where we are still reeling from European Union ruling banning crucifixes in classrooms, another piece of devastating news struck last week; Caravaggio's massive and magnificent painting of the Nativity, stolen from Palermo in 1969, appears to have been destroyed by the mafia.

The Nativity with Sts. Francis and Lawrence, painted in 1609 for the Oratory of San Lorenzo in Palermo, is counted among Caravaggio's last works. The Milanese artist on the run after murdering a man in Rome had taken refuge in Sicily while awaiting a papal pardon. Caravaggio would receive his pardon, but die on the way to Rome the following year.

The immense oil-on-canvas, (about 8 by 6 feet) was stolen on the night of Oct. 16, 1969, from the Oratory, and despite the exhaustive work of police investigators and pleas from the art world, the painting never resurfaced. It remains on the FBI's list of top 10 art crimes.

This past Dec. 9, Gaspare Spatuzzo, a former mafia hitman turned "pentito" (the Italian term for an informer), revealed that the painting, damaged during the theft, had been burned in the 1980s.

Spatuzzo, who has been in prison since 1997, acted as a paid assassin for Filippo and Giuseppe Graviano, leaders of a powerful clan in the Sicilian "Cosa Nostra." Filippo Graviano, according to the informer, told him in 1999 that the Nativity had been hidden in barn and "eaten by pigs and rats, and so it was burnt."

The hitman's revelations also included extensive accusations that Italy's prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, had links to the same Mafia clans. Almost overshadowed by the art and politics was Spatuzzo's admission that he had personally played a part in the horrific murder of an 11-year-old boy, son of a Mafia informer.

This is not the first time Caravaggio's Nativity, worth an estimated $32,000,000, has been discussed among pentiti. In 1996, Francesco Marino Mannoia, heroin dealer turned state's witness, disclosed that he had been one of the thieves on that stormy night back in 1969, and that the work had been damaged as it was cut from its frame with a razor blade and rolled up. Mannoia claimed that it had been stolen on commission for a private buyer who had cried upon seeing the damage and refused the work.

Another informant tried in 1996 to negotiate the return of the painting for a lighter sentence while another still claimed that the work was propped up as a backdrop during high-level Mafia meetings.

All this adds up to a great deal of hearsay from a group of people who have poor track record in veracity. Gaspare Spatuzzo is testifying at present in connection with the 1996 Mafia bombing of the Uffizi gallery in Florence that killed six people, and will be asked to give further testimony on the Caravaggio question at a later date.

The confusing and contradictory testimony regarding Caravaggio's lost painting leaves room for hope, a timid flicker of optimism in a gloomy and sordid tale, much like the art of the great master himself.

* * *

Church of the Angels

This year I spent a week of Advent in the Holy Land preparing for Christmas. After visiting many of the Holy Places I finally came to the most important site for these last few days before the Nativity of Christ, Bethlehem. Despite checkpoints, walls and a certain ramshackle air, this was an inspiring visit.

While the Church of the Nativity, an ancient sixth-century structure built above the grotto where Christ was born, deservingly receives the lion's share of the attention, I must admit I was captivated by another site, the Church of the Angels.

This church, purportedly built where the angels announced Jesus' birth to the shepherds in their fields, doesn't boast the venerable age of the rocks and trees of the Holy Land which stood as silent witnesses to Christ's life and works. It is a modern structure designed by Antonio Barluzzi in 1955. Yet it serves as an ideal bridge for those of the present age to contemplate the distant events of the past.

The exotically-shaped building, polygonal with five straight and five projecting sides with a high dome thrown over the top, recalls a tent of the Beduoin desert people. One can imagine the shepherds in their makeshift shelters sleeping on a hillside that chilly night of December.

Barluzzi studded the dome with scores of circular windows so that light pours in to the interior. The dramatic use of light adds a supernatural aspect to the solid walls much like in Caravaggio's paintings.

Barluzzi was an Italian architect who built eight churches in the Holy Land from 1914 to 1955, when he returned to Rome. A deeply devout man, the architect was very close to the Franciscan order and for a while thought seriously about becoming a priest. Collaborators noted that he meditated for hours on the holy stories before he even began his designs.

This extraordinary man united the sacredness and historicity of each site with an architectural language that underscores the meaning the Biblical event that took place there. Most of these churches contain ancient rocks where Christ prayed or preached or suffered, but Barluzzi takes the silent stones and gives them voices to testify.

Because of the architect's clarity of vision, the decorators were able to flank Barluzzi perfectly. In the Church of the Angels, stucco angels float between the dome and the drum, inviting every visitor to burst into songs of Christmas joy. Vivid frescos melt away the stone walls and allow us to glimpse the starry night when the first men encountered God in the flesh.

For this art historian, the Church of the Angels was more than an Advent meditation; it was a glimmer of hope for modern architecture. These churches, an inventive blend of past and present, tell a 2,000-year-old story with a freshness that captures the world-weary eye of contemporary viewers. Barluzzi shows us that devotion and art can still mix fruitfully and beautifully.

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A Joyous Concert

This year, a friend of mine gave me the best Christmas gift since my parents bought me "Bullfinch's Mythology" illustrated with art from the Met (I think this is what turned me into an art historian). Together with a two other Duquesne professors, our program director brought me to a Christmas concert by the King's Singers.

This remarkable British a cappella group was founded at King's College in Cambridge, England, in 1968. Over the past four decades they have changed their six members very rarely so that including the present formation the grand total of singers past and present is only 20.

Their style is charming and eclectic; they sing everything from Renaissance madrigals to modern pop songs, but what rendered this concert so special was their full-blown homage to Christmas, Christ and his mother Mary.

In the Renzo Piano's chic music auditorium, before a glittering crowd of Roman sophisticates, the Kings Singers explained (in perfect if highly accented Italian) that they were singing sons of praise in glory to the "Christ Child, Savior of the World."

The first half of the program was dedicated to Our Lady. A series of songs stretched from age-old hymns such as "Regina Coeli" to Renaissance-era pieces such as "There is No Rose of Such Virtue," to still others written just a few years ago, such as "Rosa" by Ivan Moody. These pieces seemed to offer a musical rosary to the Blessed Virgin that spanned not only across time but also across nations.

The King's Singers chose German, French, English, Latin, Spanish works and included a wonderful "Ave Maria" in Estonian. What better way to celebrate Europe's common heritage in Mary and Church?

The exuberance and freshness of the performance recalled the young student choirs singing charming love songs as they courted girls at a nearby school, except the King's Singers are supremely talented and dedicated musicians using their gifts to proclaim the beauty and virtue of Mary.

The second half offered a dreamy French winter love song, before erupting into a medley of beloved Christmas carols. First they sang and clapped and stomped proclaiming Christ's birth, then they evoked the haunting stillness of Silent Night. The elated Romans were lifted from their pre-Christmas shopping worries and left the auditorium humming and singing songs of praise.

As I walked among them I thought that while one may debate crucifixes and Nativity scenes, there is nothing to stop us from singing and smiling to proclaim the joyous news that Christ is Born!

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Elizabeth Lev teaches Christian art and architecture at Duquesne University's Italian campus and University of St. Thomas' Catholic studies program. She can be reached at lizlev@zenit.org

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DOCUMENTS

Benedict XVI's Christmas Vigil Homily

"God Is Important, by Far the Most Important Thing in Our Lives"

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 24, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is a Vatican translation of the homily Benedict XVI gave tonight at the Christmas Vigil Mass in the Vatican.

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Dear Brothers and Sisters!

"A child is born for us, a son is given to us" (Is 9:5). What Isaiah prophesied as he gazed into the future from afar, consoling Israel amid its trials and its darkness, is now proclaimed to the shepherds as a present reality by the Angel, from whom a cloud of light streams forth: "To you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord" (Lk 2:11). The Lord is here. From this moment, God is truly "God with us". No longer is he the distant God who can in some way be perceived from afar, in creation and in our own consciousness. He has entered the world. He is close to us. The words of the risen Christ to his followers are addressed also to us: "Lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age" (Mt 28:20). For you the Saviour is born: through the Gospel and those who proclaim it, God now reminds us of the message that the Angel announced to the shepherds. It is a message that cannot leave us indifferent. If it is true, it changes everything. If it is true, it also affects me. Like the shepherds, then, I too must say: Come on, I want to go to Bethlehem to see the Word that has occurred there. The story of the shepherds is included in the Gospel for a reason. They show us the right way to respond to the message that we too have received. What is it that these first witnesses of God’s incarnation have to tell us?

The first thing we are told about the shepherds is that they were on the watch -- they could hear the message precisely because they were awake. We must be awake, so that we can hear the message. We must become truly vigilant people. What does this mean? The principal difference between someone dreaming and someone awake is that the dreamer is in a world of his own. His "self" is locked into this dreamworld that is his alone and does not connect him with others. To wake up means to leave that private world of one's own and to enter the common reality, the truth that alone can unite all people. Conflict and lack of reconciliation in the world stem from the fact that we are locked into our own interests and opinions, into our own little private world. Selfishness, both individual and collective, makes us prisoners of our interests and our desires that stand against the truth and separate us from one another.

Awake, the Gospel tells us. Step outside, so as to enter the great communal truth, the communion of the one God. To awake, then, means to develop a receptivity for God: for the silent promptings with which he chooses to guide us; for the many indications of his presence. There are people who describe themselves as "religiously tone deaf". The gift of a capacity to perceive God seems as if it is withheld from some. And indeed -- our way of thinking and acting, the mentality of today's world, the whole range of our experience is inclined to deaden our receptivity for God, to make us "tone deaf" towards him. And yet in every soul, the desire for God, the capacity to encounter him, is present, whether in a hidden way or overtly. In order to arrive at this vigilance, this awakening to what is essential, we should pray for ourselves and for others, for those who appear "tone deaf" and yet in whom there is a keen desire for God to manifest himself. The great theologian Origen said this: if I had the grace to see as Paul saw, I could even now (during the Liturgy) contemplate a great host of angels (cf. in Lk 23:9). And indeed, in the sacred liturgy, we are surrounded by the angels of God and the saints. The Lord himself is present in our midst. Lord, open the eyes of our hearts, so that we may become vigilant and clear-sighted, in this way bringing you close to others as well!

Let us return to the Christmas Gospel. It tells us that after listening to the Angel's message, the shepherds said one to another: "‘Let us go over to Bethlehem’ … they went at once" (Lk 2:15f.). "They made haste" is literally what the Greek text says. What had been announced to them was so important that they had to go immediately. In fact, what had been said to them was utterly out of the ordinary. It changed the world. The Saviour is born. The long-awaited Son of David has come into the world in his own city. What could be more important? No doubt they were partly driven by curiosity, but first and foremost it was their excitement at the wonderful news that had been conveyed to them, of all people, to the little ones, to the seemingly unimportant. They made haste -- they went at once. In our daily life, it is not like that.

For most people, the things of God are not given priority, they do not impose themselves on us directly, and so the great majority of us tend to postpone them. First we do what seems urgent here and now. In the list of priorities God is often more or less at the end. We can always deal with that later, we tend to think. The Gospel tells us: God is the highest priority. If anything in our life deserves haste without delay, then, it is God's work alone. The Rule of Saint Benedict contains this teaching: "Place nothing at all before the work of God (i.e. the divine office)". For monks, the Liturgy is the first priority. Everything else comes later. In its essence, though, this saying applies to everyone. God is important, by far the most important thing in our lives. The shepherds teach us this priority. From them we should learn not to be crushed by all the pressing matters in our daily lives. From them we should learn the inner freedom to put other tasks in second place -- however important they may be -- so as to make our way towards God, to allow him into our lives and into our time. Time given to God and, in his name, to our neighbour is never time lost. It is the time when we are most truly alive, when we live our humanity to the full.

Some commentators point out that the shepherds, the simple souls, were the first to come to Jesus in the manger and to encounter the Redeemer of the world. The wise men from the East, representing those with social standing and fame, arrived much later. The commentators go on to say: this is quite natural. The shepherds lived nearby. They only needed to "come over" (cf. Lk 2:15), as we do when we go to visit our neighbours. The wise men, however, lived far away. They had to undertake a long and arduous journey in order to arrive in Bethlehem. And they needed guidance and direction. Today too there are simple and lowly souls who live very close to the Lord. They are, so to speak, his neighbours and they can easily go to see him. But most of us in the world today live far from Jesus Christ, the incarnate God who came to dwell amongst us.

We live our lives by philosophies, amid worldly affairs and occupations that totally absorb us and are a great distance from the manger. In all kinds of ways, God has to prod us and reach out to us again and again, so that we can manage to escape from the muddle of our thoughts and activities and discover the way that leads to him. But a path exists for all of us. The Lord provides everyone with tailor-made signals. He calls each one of us, so that we too can say: "Come on, ‘let us go over’ to Bethlehem -- to the God who has come to meet us. Yes indeed, God has set out towards us. Left to ourselves we could not reach him. The path is too much for our strength. But God has come down. He comes towards us. He has travelled the longer part of the journey. Now he invites us: come and see how much I love you. Come and see that I am here. Transeamus usque Bethlehem, the Latin Bible says. Let us go there! Let us surpass ourselves! Let us journey towards God in all sorts of ways: along our interior path towards him, but also along very concrete paths – the Liturgy of the Church, the service of our neighbour, in whom Christ awaits us.

Let us once again listen directly to the Gospel. The shepherds tell one another the reason why they are setting off: "Let us see this thing that has happened." Literally the Greek text says: "Let us see this Word that has occurred there." Yes indeed, such is the radical newness of this night: the Word can be seen. For it has become flesh. The God of whom no image may be made -- because any image would only diminish, or rather distort him -- this God has himself become visible in the One who is his true image, as Saint Paul puts it (cf. 2 Cor 4:4; Col 1:15). In the figure of Jesus Christ, in the whole of his life and ministry, in his dying and rising, we can see the Word of God and hence the mystery of the living God himself. This is what God is like.

The Angel had said to the shepherds: "This will be a sign for you: you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger" (Lk 2:12; cf. 2:16). God’s sign, the sign given to the shepherds and to us, is not an astonishing miracle. God’s sign is his humility. God’s sign is that he makes himself small; he becomes a child; he lets us touch him and he asks for our love. How we would prefer a different sign, an imposing, irresistible sign of God’s power and greatness! But his sign summons us to faith and love, and thus it gives us hope: this is what God is like. He has power, he is Goodness itself. He invites us to become like him. Yes indeed, we become like God if we allow ourselves to be shaped by this sign; if we ourselves learn humility and hence true greatness; if we renounce violence and use only the weapons of truth and love.

Origen, taking up one of John the Baptist’s sayings, saw the essence of paganism expressed in the symbol of stones: paganism is a lack of feeling, it means a heart of stone that is incapable of loving and perceiving God’s love. Origen says of the pagans: "Lacking feeling and reason, they are transformed into stones and wood" (in Lk 22:9). Christ, though, wishes to give us a heart of flesh. When we see him, the God who became a child, our hearts are opened. In the Liturgy of the holy night, God comes to us as man, so that we might become truly human. Let us listen once again to Origen: "Indeed, what use would it be to you that Christ once came in the flesh if he did not enter your soul? Let us pray that he may come to us each day, that we may be able to say: I live, yet it is no longer I that live, but Christ lives in me (Gal 2:20)" (in Lk 22:3).
Yes indeed, that is what we should pray for on this Holy Night. Lord Jesus Christ, born in Bethlehem, come to us! Enter within me, within my soul. Transform me. Renew me. Change me, change us all from stone and wood into living people, in whom your love is made present and the world is transformed. Amen.

© Copyright 2009 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana

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Pope's Christmas Greeting to Curia

"The Year Now Ending Was to a Great Extent Marked by Africa"

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 24, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is a Vatican translation of the address Benedict XVI gave Monday in a traditional meeting with the Roman Curia and other officials for the exchange of Christmas greetings.

In his address, the Holy Father recalled some of the major events of 2009, including his visit to Jordan and the Holy Land.

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Your Eminences,
Dear Brother Bishops and Priests,
Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The Solemnity of Christmas, as the Cardinal Dean Angelo Sodano has just emphasized, is a very special occasion of encounter and communion. The Child whom we adore in Bethlehem invites us to feel the immense love of God, that God who came down from heaven and drew close to each one of us, to make us his children, a part of his own family.

This traditional Christmas meeting of the Successor of Peter with his closest collaborators is likewise a family meeting, one which strengthens our bonds of affection and communion so that we may be, increasingly, that "enduring Upper Room", dedicated to spreading the Kingdom of God, as has just been recalled.

I thank the Cardinal Dean for his cordial words expressing the good wishes of the College of Cardinals, the Members of the Roman Curia and the Governorate, as well as of all the Papal Representatives who are deeply united with us in bringing to the men and women of our time the light born in the manger of Bethlehem.

As I receive you with great joy, I also wish to express to each of you my gratitude for your generous and capable service to the Vicar of Christ and to the Church.

Another year full of important events for the Church and for the world is drawing to a close. As I look back upon this year with great gratitude, I would like at this moment to mention just a few key points for the life of the Church.

From the Pauline Year we have moved on to the Year for Priests. From the impressive figure of the Apostle to the Gentiles who, struck by the light of the Risen Christ and by his call, took the Gospel to the peoples of the world, we have passed to the humble Curé of Ars, who spent his whole life in the little village that had been entrusted to him and yet, precisely in the humility of his service, made God's reconciling goodness visible throughout the world.

Starting with these two figures we can see the great breadth of the priestly ministry, the grandeur of small things, and how, through the seemingly insignificant service of one individual, God can achieve great things, purifying and renewing the world from within.

For the Church, and for me personally, the year now ending was to a great extent marked by Africa. First of all, there was my Journey to Cameroon and Angola. It was moving for me to experience the great cordiality with which the Successor of Peter, the Vicarius Christi, was welcomed.

The festive joy and warm affection I met with along all the roads was not directed to a mere chance guest. In the encounter with the Pope the universal Church could be experienced, the community that embraces the world and is brought together by God through Christ the community that is not founded on human interests but rather is offered to us by God's loving concern for us.

All together we form the family of God, brothers and sisters by virtue of our one Father: this was our lived experience. And we were able to feel that God's loving concern for us in Christ is neither something of the past nor the fruit of learned theories, but rather but a completely concrete reality, here and now.

God himself is in our midst: we perceived this through the ministry of the Successor of Peter. Thus we were raised above our simple everyday routine. Heaven opened up, and this is what makes a day become a holiday. And it is at the same time something that is enduring. It continues to be true, even in daily life, that heaven is no longer closed; that God is near; that in Christ we all belong to one another.

The memory of the liturgical celebrations made a particularly deep impression on me. The celebrations of the Holy Eucharist were truly feasts of faith. I would like to mention two elements that strike me as particularly important. First of all there was a great shared joy which was also expressed bodily, but in a disciplined manner, directed to the presence of the living God.

With this, the second element already became apparent: the sense of sacredness, of the mystery of the living God's presence, fashioned, as it were, each individual action. The Lord is present the Creator, the One to whom all things belong, from whom we come and towards whom we make our pilgrim way.

I spontaneously thought of Saint Cyprian's words; in his commentary on the "Our Father" he wrote: "Let us remember we are in God's sight. We must be pleasing in God's eyes, both in the attitude of our bodies and in the use of our voices" (De Dom. Or., 4 : CSEL iii, 1, p. 269).

Yes, we had this awareness that we were standing before God. The result was neither fear nor inhibition, nor external obedience to rubrics nor much less the need of some to show off to others or to shout out in an undisciplined manner. Rather, there was what the Fathers called "sobria ebrietas": a sense of joyfulness that in any case remains sober and orderly, uniting people from within, leading them to a communal praise of God, a praise which at the same time inspires love of neighbour and mutual responsibility.

Naturally, an important part of my Journey in Africa was the meeting with my Brother Bishops and the inauguration of the Synod for Africa, with the presentation of the Instrumentum Laboris. That meeting took place in the context of an evening conversation on the feast of Saint Joseph, a conversation in which the representatives of the individual episcopates touchingly expressed their hopes and concerns.

I think that Saint Joseph, the good master of his house, who personally knows what it means to consider, attentively and hopefully, the future paths of the family, lovingly heard us and ushered us into the Synod itself.
Let us cast just a brief glance at the Synod. What became clear above all during my visit to Africa was the theological and pastoral import of the papal primacy as a point of convergence for the unity of God's Family.
There, in the Synod, we saw emerge even more clearly the importance of collegiality of the unity of the Bishops who receive their ministry precisely because they enter into the community of the successors of the Apostles: each one is a Bishop, a successor of the Apostles, only to the extent that he participates in the community of those in whom the Collegium Apostolorum perseveres in unity with Peter and with his Successor.

Just as in the liturgies in Africa, and then again in Saint Peter's in Rome, the liturgical renewal of the Second Vatican Council took shape in an exemplary way, so in the communion of the Synod the conciliar ecclesiology was lived out in a very practical way. We were also able to hear very moving accounts by members of the faithful from Africa accounts of concrete suffering and reconciliation in the tragedies of the Continent's recent history.

The Synod had as its theme: The Church in Africa in Service to Reconciliation, Justice and Peace. This is a theological and, especially, a pastoral theme of great timeliness, but it could have been misunderstood as being a political theme. The task of the Bishops was to transform theology into pastoral care, namely into a very concrete pastoral ministry in which the great perspectives found in sacred Scripture and Tradition find application in the activity of Bishops and priests in specific times and places. Here, however, it was necessary not to succumb to the temptation to enter personally into politics and, from being Pastors, to become political leaders.

In fact, the very practical question that Pastors constantly have to face is precisely this: how can we be realistic and practical without claiming a political competence that does not belong to us? We might also say: it was the problem of a positive "laicity", practised and interpreted correctly. This is also a fundamental theme of the Encyclical Caritas in Veritate, published on the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, which thus took up and further developed the question of the theological and practical role of the Church's social doctrine.

Did the Synod Fathers succeed in finding the rather narrow path between mere theological theory and immediate political action, the path of the "shepherd"?

In my brief address at the end of the Synod I answered this question in the affirmative, in a conscious and explicit way. Of course, in drafting the Post-Synodal Document we will need to pay attention to maintaining this balance and thereby make that contribution to the Church and society in Africa which has been entrusted to the Church by virtue of her mission.
I would like to try to explain this briefly with regard to a single point. As has been said, the theme of the Synod designated three great words which are basic to theological and social responsibility: reconciliation justice peace.

One might say that reconciliation and justice are the two essential premises of peace and that, therefore, to a certain extent, they also define its nature. Let us limit ourselves to the word "reconciliation". A mere glance at the sufferings and sorrows of recent history in Africa, but also in many other parts of the world, shows that unresolved and deeply rooted disputes can in some situations cause outbreaks of violence in which every trace of humanity seems to disappear. Peace can only be achieved as the result of inner reconciliation. We may consider the history of Europe following the Second World War as a positive example of a process of reconciliation that is succeeding.

The fact that since 1945 there have been no more wars in Western and Central Europe has without a doubt been due primarily to wise and ethically oriented political and economic structures, but these were only able to develop because of the prior existence of inner processes of reconciliation which made possible a new coexistence.

Every society needs acts of reconciliation in order to enjoy peace. These acts are a prerequisite of a good political order, but they cannot be achieved by politics alone. They are pre-political processes and they must spring from other sources.

The Synod sought to examine in depth the concept of reconciliation as a task for the Church in our day, and called attention to its various dimensions. Today Saint Paul's appeal to the Corinthians has again proved most timely. "We are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We beseech you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God" (2 Cor 5: 20).

If man is not reconciled with God, he is also in conflict with creation. He is not reconciled with himself, he would like to be something other than what he is and consequently he is not reconciled with his neighbour either. Part of reconciliation is also the ability to acknowledge guilt and to ask forgiveness from God and from others.

Lastly, part of the process of reconciliation is also the readiness to do penance, the willingness to suffer deeply for one's sin and to allow oneself to be transformed.

Part of this is the gratuitousness of which the Encyclical Caritas in Veritate speaks repeatedly: the readiness to do more than what is necessary, not to tally costs, but to go beyond merely legal requirements. Part of this is the generosity which God himself has shown us. We think of Jesus' words: "If you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift" (Mt 5: 23ff.).

God, knowing that we were unreconciled and seeing that we have something against him, rose up and came to meet us, even though he alone was in the right. He came to meet us even to the Cross, in order to reconcile us. This is what it means to give freely: a willingness to take the first step; to be the first to reach out to the other, to offer reconciliation, to accept the suffering entailed in giving up being in the right.

To persevere in the desire for reconciliation: God gave us an example, and this is the way for us to become like him; it is an attitude constantly needed in our world.

Today we must learn once more how to acknowledge guilt, we must shake off the illusion of being innocent. We must learn how to do penance, to let ourselves be transformed; to reach out to the other and to let God give us the courage and strength for this renewal.

Today, in this world of ours, we need to rediscover the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation. The fact that it has largely disappeared from the daily life and habits of Christians is a symptom of a loss of truthfulness with regard both to ourselves and to God; a loss that endangers our humanity and diminishes our capacity for peace.

Saint Bonaventure was of the opinion that the Sacrament of Penance was a sacrament of humanity as such, a sacrament that God had instituted in its essence immediately after original sin through the penance he imposed on Adam, even though it could only take on its full shape in Christ, who is the reconciling power of God in person and who took our penance upon himself. In fact, the unity of sin, repentance and forgiveness is one of the fundamental conditions for being truly human: these conditions find complete expression in the sacrament, yet in their deepest roots they are part of the experience of being human persons as such.

Thus the Synod of Bishops for Africa was right to reflect also on the rites of reconciliation found in the African tradition, as places of learning and preparation for the great reconciliation which God gives in the Sacrament of Penance. This reconciliation, however, demands the broad "forecourt" of the acknowledgement of sin and humble repentance. Reconciliation is a pre-political concept and a pre-political reality, and for this very reason it is of the greatest importance for the task of politics itself.

Unless the power of reconciliation is created in people's hearts, political commitment to peace lacks its inner premise.

At the Synod, the Pastors of the Church strove for that inner purification of man which is the essential prior condition for building justice and peace. But this purification and inner development towards true humanity cannot exist without God.

Reconciliation this key word brings to mind the second important journey of the year: my pilgrimage to Jordan and the Holy Land.

In this regard I would like first of all to thank warmly the King of Jordan for the great hospitality with which he welcomed me and accompanied me throughout my pilgrimage. My gratitude more especially concerns the exemplary way in which he has worked for peaceful coexistence between Christians and Muslims, respect for the religion of others, and for cooperation in our common responsibility before God.

I also heartily thank the Government of Israel for all it did to enable my visit to take place peacefully and safely. I am particularly grateful for the possibility granted me to celebrate two great public liturgies in Jerusalem and Nazareth in which Christians were able to appear publicly as communities of faith in the Holy Land.

Lastly, my thanks go also to the Palestinian Authority which likewise welcomed me with great cordiality; it too gave me the possibility of presiding at a public liturgical celebration in Bethlehem and of coming to know the sufferings as well as the hopes of the Territory. Everything that can be seen in those countries cries out for reconciliation, justice and peace.

My visit to Yad Vashem represented an overwhelming encounter with the cruelty of human sin, with the hatred of a blind ideology which, with no justification, consigned millions of human beings to death and thereby, in the end, even wished to eliminate God from the world, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and the God of Jesus Christ.

Thus, Yad Vashem is, in the first place, a memorial against hatred, a heartfelt appeal for purification and forgiveness, for love. This very monument to human sin made all the more important my visit to the places commemorating the faith, and allowed us to perceive their continuing relevance.

In Jordan we saw the lowest point of the land along the River Jordan. How could one not be reminded of the words of the Letter to the Ephesians, which tell us that Christ "descended into the lower parts of the earth" (Eph 4: 9).

In Christ God descended to the lowest depths of the human being, even into the night of hatred and blindness, the darkness of man's distance from God, in order to kindle there the flame of his love. He is present in even the darkest night: "if I go down to the nether world, behond, you are there": this phrase of Psalm 139[138]: 8 became a reality in Jesus' descent. Thus the encounter with the places of salvation in the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth, in the Grotto of the Nativity in Bethlehem, at the site of the Crucifixion on Calvary, and before the empty tomb, witness to the Resurrection, was in some sense to touch the history of God with us.

Faith is not a myth. It is real history whose traces are tangible for us. This realism of faith does us good, especially amid the turmoil of the present time. God truly revealed himself. In Jesus Christ he truly became flesh. As the Risen One, Jesus remains true man, he ceaselessly opens our humanity to God and always proves that God is a God who is near. Yes, God is alive and relates to us. In all his grandeur he is still the God who is near, "God-with-us", who continually calls out to us: let yourselves be reconciled, with me and with one another! He always sets before our personal and community life the task of reconciliation.

Finally, I would like once again to express my joy and gratitude for my Visit to the Czech Republic. Prior to this Journey I had always been told that it was a country with a majority of agnostics and atheists, in which Christians are now only a minority. All the more joyful was my surprise at seeing myself surrounded everywhere by great cordiality and friendliness, that the important liturgies were celebrated in a joyful atmosphere of faith; that in the setting of the University and the world of culture my words were attentively listened to; and that the state authorities treated me with great courtesy and did their utmost to contribute to the success of the visit.

I could now be tempted to say something about the beauty of the country and the magnificent testimonies of Christian culture which only make this beauty perfect. But I consider most important the fact that we, as believers, must have at heart even those people who consider themselves agnostics or atheists.

When we speak of a new evangelization these people are perhaps taken aback. They do not want to see themselves as an object of mission or to give up their freedom of thought and will. Yet the question of God remains present even for them, even if they cannot believe in the concrete nature of his concern for us.

In Paris, I spoke of the quest for God as the fundamental reason why Western monasticism, and with it, Western culture, came into being.
As the first step of evangelization we must seek to keep this quest alive; we must be concerned that human beings do not set aside the question of God, but rather see it as an essential question for their lives. We must make sure that they are open to this question and to the yearning concealed within it.

Here I think naturally of the words which Jesus quoted from the Prophet Isaiah, namely that the Temple must be a house of prayer for all the nations (cf. Is 56: 7; Mk 11: 17). Jesus was thinking of the so-called "Court of the Gentiles" which he cleared of extraneous affairs so that it could be a free space for the Gentiles who wished to pray there to the one God, even if they could not take part in the mystery for whose service the inner part of the Temple was reserved.

A place of prayer for all the peoples by this he was thinking of people who know God, so to speak, only from afar; who are dissatisfied with their own gods, rites and myths; who desire the Pure and the Great, even if God remains for them the "unknown God" (cf. Acts 17: 23).

They had to pray to the unknown God, yet in this way they were somehow in touch with the true God, albeit amid all kinds of obscurity. I think that today too the Church should open a sort of "Court of the Gentiles" in which people might in some way latch on to God, without knowing him and before gaining access to his mystery, at whose service the inner life of the Church stands.

Today, in addition to interreligious dialogue, there should be a dialogue with those to whom religion is something foreign, to whom God is unknown and who nevertheless do not want to be left merely Godless, but rather to draw near to him, albeit as the Unknown.

Finally, once again, a word about the Year for Priests. As priests we are available to all: to those who know God at first hand and to those for whom he is the Unknown. We all need to become acquainted with him ever anew, and we need to seek him constantly in order to become true friends of God.

How, in the end, can we get to know God other than through those people who are friends of God? The inmost core of our priestly ministry consists of our being Christ's friends (cf. Jn 15: 15), friends of God through whom others may also discover God's closeness.

And so, together with my profound gratitude for all the assistance which you have given to me throughout the past year, these are my good wishes for Christmas: may we become ever closer friends of Christ and thus friends of God, and so become the salt of the earth and the light of the world. I wish all of you a Holy Christmas and a Happy New Year!

© Copyright 2009 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana

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Papal Address to Saints Congregation

"Holiness Means Constantly Striving for a High Standard of Christian Living"

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 24, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is a Vatican translation of the address Benedict XVI gave Saturday upon receiving in audience members of the Congregation for Saints' Causes on the occasion of its 40th anniversary.

* * *

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I would like to express to you all my joy at meeting you! I greet with deep cordiality the Cardinals, Archbishops and Bishops present. I address a special thought to the Prefect of the Dicastery, Archbishop Angelo Amato, and thank him for his kind and affectionate words on behalf of all. Together with him I greet the Secretary of the Congregation, the Undersecretary, the Priests, the Religious, the Historical and Theological Consultors, the Postulators, the Lay Officials and the Medical Experts with their families and all the collaborators.

The special circumstance that sees you gathered round the Successor of Peter is the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the institution of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, which has given a more organic and modern form to the action of discernment which the Church, from her origins, has exercised in order to recognize the holiness of so many of her children.

The interventions of my Predecessors, especially Sixtus v, Urban viii and Benedict xiv prepared for the creation of your Dicastery which was set up in 1969 by the Servant of God Paul vi, thanks to whom a collection of experiences, scientific contributions and procedural norms were worked out in an intelligent and balanced synthesis, which resulted in the erection of a new Dicastery.

I am well aware of the activity that this Congregation has developed with competence over the past 40 years at the service of the edification of the People of God, making a significant contribution to the work of evangelization.

Indeed, when the Church venerates a Saint, she proclaims the efficacy of the Gospel and discovers joyfully that Christ's presence in the world, believed in and adored with faith, is capable of transforming the life of human beings and producing fruits of salvation for all humanity.

In addition, every beatification and canonization is for Christians a strong encouragement to live the sequela of Christ with intensity and enthusiasm, walking towards the fullness of Christian existence and the perfection of charity (cf. Lumen Gentium, n. 40).

In the light of these fruits it is possible to understand the importance of the role carried out by the Dicastery in accompanying the individual stages of an event of such rare depth and beauty and faithfully documenting the manifestation of that sensus fidelium which is an important factor in the recognition of holiness.

The Saints are a sign of that radical newness which the Son of God with his Incarnation, death and Resurrection grafted on to human nature. As outstanding witnesses of faith, they are not representatives of the past but rather constitute the present and future of the Church and of society. They have fully realized that caritas in veritate which is the supreme value of Christian life; they are like the facets of a prism which, in various nuances, reflect the one light who is Christ.

The life of these extraordinary figures of believers who belong to all the regions of the earth have two significant constants that I would like to underline.

First of all, their relationship with the Lord, even when it takes traditional paths, is never weary and repetitive but is always expressed in authentic, lively and original ways and flows from an intense and involving dialogue with the Lord, which also enhances and enriches the exterior forms.

In addition, the continuous search for evangelical perfection, the rejection of mediocrity and the aspiration to belong totally to Christ stands out in the lives of these brothers and sisters. "You shall be holy; for I the Lord your God am holy" (Lev 19: 2) is the exhortation quoted in the Book of Leviticus which God addresses to Moses. It makes us realize that holiness means constantly striving for a high standard of Christian living, a demanding achievement, a ceaseless quest for communion with God which makes the committed believer, with the greatest possible generosity, "correspond" to the plan of love that the Father has for him or her and for the whole of humanity.

The main stages in the recognition of holiness by the Church, that is, beatification and canonization, are linked to each other by a bond of great coherence. To them should be added, as an indispensable preparatory phase, the declaration of a Servant of God's heroic virtues or martyrdom, and the ascertainment of some extraordinary gift, the miracle, which the Lord grants through the intercession of his faithful Servant.

What great pedagogical wisdom is manifest in this itinerary!

At first, the People of God are invited to look to those brethren who, after a careful preliminary discernment, are held up as models of Christian life; the faithful are then urged to address to them a cult of veneration and invocation restricted to within the context of local Churches or religious orders; finally, they are called to rejoice with the entire community of believers in the certainty that thanks to the solemn Pontifical proclamation, one of its sons or daughters has attained God's glory, in which he or she shares in Christ's perennial intercessions for the brothers and sisters (cf. Heb 7: 25).

In this journey the Church welcomes with joy and wonder the miracles that God in his infinite kindness freely bestows upon her in order to strengthen the preaching of the Gospel (cf. Mk 16: 20). He likewise welcomes the testimony of martyrs as the clearest and most intense form of configuration to Christ.

This progressive manifestation of the holiness of believers corresponds with the style God has chosen in revealing himself to men and women, and, at the same time, it is part of the process with which the People of God grows in faith and in the knowledge of the Truth.

The gradual approach to the "fullness of light" emerges uniquely in the passage from beatification to canonization. In this process, in fact, events of great religious and cultural vitality take place. Liturgical invocation, popular devotion, the imitation of virtues, historical and theological study and attention to the "signs from on high" are all interwoven and enrich one another.

On this occasion, Jesus' promise to his disciples of all times is fulfilled: "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth" (cf. Jn 16: 13). Indeed, the witness of Saints sheds light on ever new aspects of the Gospel and makes them known.

As has been clearly emphasized by the words of the Most Excellent Prefect, a spiritual and pastoral richness becomes visible in the process of the recognition of holiness which involves the whole Christian community. Holiness, namely the transfiguration of people and human realities into an image of the Risen Christ, represents the ultimate goal of the plan of divine salvation, as the Apostle Paul recalls: "For this is the will of God, your sanctification" (1 Thes 4: 3).

Dear Brothers and Sisters, the Solemnity of Christmas, for which we are preparing, causes to shine out in its full light the dignity of each human being, called to become a son or daughter of God. In the experience of the Saints, this dignity is manifested in the concreteness of historical circumstances, in personal temperaments, in free and responsible choices and in supernatural charisms.

Comforted by such a large number of witnesses, let us too, therefore, hasten our steps toward the Lord who comes, raising the splendid invocation with which the hymn of the Te Deum ends: Aeterna fac sum sanctis tuis in gloria numerari"; Let them [Thy servants] be numbered with Thy Saints in everlasting glory.

With these wishes I gladly express to each one my fervent good wishes for the approaching Christmas celebrations and impart my Apostolic Blessing to you all with affection.

© Copyright 2009 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana

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Both the four Easter gospels, and the two Nativity gospels, appear to be mutually completely complying, in detail, when some biasing presuppositions are set aside and replaced by some simple ideas, corroborated by many arguments. No contra-arguments exist. The author's Catholic bishop considered the articles to be scientific and therefore felt no need to grant or deny an Imprimatur.

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New Book from Ipf Publications Says Priesthood is Critical for the Success of the Human Race; Bishop David Ricken Offers Meditations to Priests

Bishop David Ricken leads priests on a contemplative journey to the core of priesthood. Be Thou My Vision: Meditations on the Priesthood will deepen and renew a priest's love of his own vocation.

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ZE091223

2009-12-23T18:57:00.000-08:00

ZENIT

The World Seen From Rome

Daily dispatch - December 23, 2009

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VATICAN DOSSIER

Pope Considers St. Francis' Role in Christmas
Pontiff Urges Respect for Spiritual Needs
Vatican Defends Naming Pius XII Venerable

WORLD FEATURES

Bishop Sees Shining Stars in Hong Kong
Coadjutor Named for Shrewsbury Diocese
Cardinal Lauds Papal Peace Day Message

NEWS BRIEFS

United Methodists, Catholics Discuss Climate
Cardinal Laments Same-Sex "Marriage" Law

WORDS MADE FLESH

Mary: Model and Paradigm of Belief for Christians

DOCUMENTS

On the Feast of Christ's Birth
Benedict XVI's Address to Latvian Envoy
Papal Address to Bangladeshi Ambassador
Pope's Address to Envoy from Kazakhstan
Vatican Statement on Venerable Pius XII

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VATICAN DOSSIER

Pope Considers St. Francis' Role in Christmas

Notes How Feast Developed in Middle Ages

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 23, 2009 (Zenit.org).- While the celebration of Easter focuses on God's power, the Christmas feast shows a God who comes without weapons or strength in the hopes that man will receive him, Benedict XVI says.

And this image of God made a Child is particularly visible in the Nativity scene, a tradition that has marked the Christian celebration of Christmas and which can be traced to St. Francis of Assisi. In Greccio, Italy, he made the first Nativity scene in 1223.

The Holy Father reflected on St. Francis' role in the development of the Christmas celebration during the general audience today in Paul VI Hall.

"With St. Francis and his nativity, the defenseless love of God was shown, his humility and goodness, which in the incarnation of the Word is manifested to man so as to teach a new way to live and to love," he said.

The Pontiff explained how a biographer of the saint recounts a vision Francis was given at the famous Christmas celebration in Greccio: "He saw a little child lying still in a manger; the child woke up because Francis approached. And [the biographer] adds: 'This vision was not different than real life, since through the work of his grace acting by way of his holy servant Francis, the Child Jesus was resurrected in the hearts of many.'"

So near

Benedict XVI affirmed: "Thanks to St. Francis, the Christian people have been able to perceive that at Christmas, God truly has become Emmanuel, God-with-us, from whom no barrier or distance can separate us. In this Child, God has come so near to each one of us, so close, that we can address him with confidence and maintain with him a trusting relationship of deep affection, as we do with a newborn.

"In this Child, in fact, God-Love is manifested: God comes without weapons, without strength, because he does not aim to conquer, we could say, from without, but rather wants to be welcomed by man in liberty. God becomes a defenseless Child to conquer man's pride, violence and desire to possess. In Jesus, God took up this poor and defenseless condition to conquer with love and lead us to our true identity."

The Pope invited the faithful to pray to the Father, "so that he concedes to our hearts this simplicity that recognizes the Lord in this Child, precisely as Francis did in Greccio."

"Then," he said, "we too can experience what [...] happened to those present [...] 'Each one returned to his house filled with an ineffable joy.'"

--- --- ---

On ZENIT's Web page:

Full text: http://www.zenit.org/article-27930?l=english

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Pontiff Urges Respect for Spiritual Needs

Focuses on Education as Key to Development

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 23, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is encouraging the new ambassador from Kazakhstan to support human rights, especially freedom of religion, thereby respecting spiritual needs and not just material ones.

The Pope stated this in a Dec. 17 statement for Mukhtar Tileuberdi, in which he affirmed, "The Holy See encourages nations to respect the human person in his or her totality, acknowledging the spiritual as well as the material needs of all."

"Although the Christians of Kazakhstan are a small percentage of the total population," he acknowledged, "they can trace their roots there back through the centuries."

"They therefore represent an important part of the rich diversity of religions and traditions of which your nation is comprised," the Holy Father added.

He noted that the country has "various groups living side by side," and is located geographically "between countries with large Christian and Muslim populations respectively."

This, Benedict XVI said, "provides a precious opportunity to promote exchange and fraternity."

"Cooperation for development also offers a wonderful opportunity for a meeting between cultures and peoples," he affirmed.

The Pope continued: "For this encounter genuinely to occur, there needs to be a continuing commitment on the part of states to respect basic human rights, not the least of which is freedom of religion.

"Religions have much to offer to development, especially when God's place is recognized in the public realm, specifically with regard to its cultural, social, economic, and particularly its political dimensions."

The Pontiff acknowledged Kazakhstan's forthcoming chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which will begin Jan. 1, 2010.

He affirmed that the Holy See "is committed to consolidating the political freedoms won 20 years ago in Europe, whose external expression can only flourish when the divine gift of inner freedom is respected and fostered."

Bangladesh

That same day, the Holy Father met with representatives from seven other nations, and addressed each in a separate written statement.

In his message to the new ambassador from Bangladesh to the Holy See, Abdul Hannan, he acknowledged the country's efforts to reduce poverty.

"One cannot but note the successes of your country's initiatives in micro-credit and micro-finance which are gradually bringing a new level of prosperity to your people," Benedict XVI.

He added that "improving standards of living also depends heavily on the commitment to the education of the young, both boys and girls."

"In the era of globalization," the Pope affirmed, "it is increasingly clear that greater access to education is essential for development at every level."

"Above all," he said, "it is essential for teachers to understand the nature of the human person and to cherish each and every student as a unique and precious individual, providing nourishment for the soul as well as the mind."

The Pontiff stated that "showing a preferential love for the poor and the ailing, embracing the weak as precious in the sight of God: these are the ways by which society is infused with the breath of divine goodness that sustains the life of every creature."

Latvia

In the statement for Einars Semanis, the new ambassador from Latvia to the Holy See, the Holy Father expressed a prayer that the country will "remain faithful to the principles and values that the first Christian witnesses brought."

Latvia, he said, can "surely become a model of development that protects the dignity of the human person while being sensitive to the requirements of a sustainable economy."

This can be done through "extolling human dignity and respecting human life, and by promoting man's vocation to build up a humanism open to spiritual and transcendent values," Benedict XVI said.

These times of economic recession "demand courage and resolve," he affirmed.

The Pope added that "some radical measures may be necessary to uphold the common good even at the cost of restrictions, renunciation and sacrifice."

This can only succeed, he added, "when it is completed in a spirit of genuine justice and equity and with special attention to those who are most vulnerable."

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On ZENIT's Web page:

Papal address to Kazakh ambassador: http://www.zenit.org/article-27927?l=english

Papal address to Bangladeshi ambassador: http://www.zenit.org/article-27928?l=english

Papal address to Latvian ambassador: http://www.zenit.org/article-27929?l=english

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Vatican Defends Naming Pius XII Venerable

Says Sanctity Is About Virtue, Not Historical Impact

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 23, 2009 (Zenit.org).- A Vatican spokesman today said that Pope Pius XII has been declared "venerable" because he is a model for Christian life, not because of the historical decisions he made.

Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican press office, offered a statement to Vatican Radio today in response to Benedict XVI's declaration Saturday recognizing the heroic virtue of Pius XII.

The decree brings the World War II Pontiff one step closer to canonization and gives him the title "venerable."

Father Lombardi acknowledged that the declaration "has elicited a certain number of reactions in the Jewish world" and offered a clarification of what the decree means.

Though many historians (including Jewish scholars) recognize Pius XII's endeavors that resulted in saving thousands of Jews from the Nazi death camps, there are still those who contend that he did too little.

Father Lombardi explained that the recognition of heroic virtue "takes account of the circumstances in which the person lived, and hence it is necessary to examine the question from a historical standpoint, but the evaluation essentially concerns the witness of Christian life that the person showed -- his intense relationship with God and continuous search for evangelical perfection [...] -- and not the historical impact of all his operative decisions."

Further historical study of Pius XII's defense of the Jews is therefore still open, the spokesman affirmed. And in this regard, he repeated that documents regarding the 1939-1958 pontificate will be made available to scholars once they've been organized and classified, a project that, because of the "enormous mass" of documentation, "still requires a number of years' work."

No twin canonizations

Father Lombardi also responded to certain rumors that the simultaneous declaration of both Pius XII and Pope John Paul II as venerable could mean that any future canonization of the two Pontiffs would also coincide.

The spokesman affirmed that the two causes have not been "paired."

"They are completely independent of one another and each will follow its own course," he said. "There is, then, no reason to imagine that any future beatification will take place simultaneously."

Friend of the Jews

Finally, Father Lombardi reiterated Benedict XVI's great respect for the Jewish people.

"It is, then, clear that the recent signing of the decree [regarding Pius XII] is in no way to be read as a hostile act toward the Jewish people, and it is to be hoped that it will not be considered as an obstacle on the path of dialogue between Judaism and the Catholic Church," he said. "Rather we trust that the Pope's forthcoming visit to the Synagogue of Rome will be an opportunity for the cordial reiteration and reinforcement of ties of friendship and respect."

--- --- ---

On ZENIT's Web page:

Full text: www.zenit.org/article-27926?l=english

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WORLD FEATURES

Bishop Sees Shining Stars in Hong Kong

Says Catholic Education Helps Combat Drug Addiction

HONG KONG, DEC. 23, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The bishop of Hong Kong is observing the "stars" that light up his diocesan ministry, including a public debate that resulted in proposals for keeping kids drug-free.

Bishop John Tong affirmed this in a pastoral letter he wrote for Christmas to his Church "family."

"In the eight months that I have been the bishop of Hong Kong," he said, "many shining stars have appeared in my pastoral ministry," like the one that guided the Magi to the Baby Jesus.

The prelate expressed gratitude for those around him, Catholics, priests and coworkers who have been "shining stars" helping him in his ministry as head of the diocese.

He underlined the gift of the community of Holy Spirit Seminary, where he has lived for the past 40 years, and has continued to reside since becoming bishop.

The "orderly daily schedule enables me to share the devout, lively spirit of the seminarians and the seminary staff, and helps me to avoid giving in to the temptation of activism," the bishop said.

"The community has therefore become a shining star for my priestly life," he said.

Bishop Tong described an incident in which he saw other "stars." In recent months, he said, the Hong Kong government authorities, "out of solicitude for our young people, wished to hastily implement a plan for drug-testing in schools."

Public debate

In responding to this plan, he reported that he had an opportunity for a media interview, in which he "made clear the perennial goals of Catholic education: to encourage young people to love and care for one another, and to inculcate them with a correct outlook on life."

"Indeed, only by pursuing these goals can we radically resolve the problems of drug addiction among students," the prelate affirmed.

He continued: "What I said promptly sparked a public debate on the issue of drug addiction among students.

"Of those voicing their opinions, many are people of insight who have come forth with valuable suggestions.

"Their views are worth considering for shaping the young people of the future generations who, hopefully, will become more healthy, more mature and better disposed for a higher calling."

The bishop explained that this helped him to see as "shining stars" the "people of insight from the Church or from society, who accompany us on our way to the full realization of the kingdom of God."

He expressed gratitude to those who "share my daily life or my various responsibilities, and to all my benefactors who care and pray for me."

"I will ask the Lord to reward them a hundredfold," Bishop Tong affirmed, "when I celebrate the Eucharist on Christmas Eve, in communion with our Holy Father and the bishops and priests around the world."

He concluded his message with a prayer to God that "the citizens of Hong Kong not succumb to excessive desires for material well-being, but rather look to you, the true light, and find in you their new hope."

--- --- ---

On the Net:

Full text: http://www.catholic.org.hk/v2/en/message_bishop/y2009_xmas.html

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Coadjutor Named for Shrewsbury Diocese

Vacancy Filled in Jashpur, India

SHREWSBURY, England, DEC. 23, 2009 (Zenit.org).- On Tuesday, Benedict XVI appointed Monsignor Mark Davies from the Diocese of Salford, England, as coadjutor of the Shrewsbury Diocese.

Bishop-elect Davies, 50, will be ordained on Feb. 22, and will be in place to succeed the current head of the diocese, Bishop Brian Noble, 59, upon his retirement.

The bishop-elect stated, "I look forward to getting to know the clergy, religious and people of the diocese, and am most grateful to the Holy Father for his confidence in appointing me to this service."

Born in Manchester, England, Mark Davies was ordained a priest in 1984.

The Diocese of Shrewsbury has some 222,000 Catholics served by 152 priests, 45 permanent deacons and 189 religious.

India

Also on Tuesday, the Pope named Monsignor Emmanuel Kerketta, 57, the diocesan administrator of the Diocese of Jashpur, India, as bishop of that same city.

The diocese has been without a leader since Bishop Victor Kindo died at the age of 61 in June 2008.

The Jashpur Diocese has some 188,820 Catholics, with 170 priests and 343 religious.

Other appointments

A Vatican communiqué announced Tuesday that the Holy Father named two members to the Congregation for Saints' Causes: Archbishop Edmond Farhat, 75, retired apostolic nuncio to Austria, and Bishop Raffaello Martinelli, 61, bishop of Frascati, Italy.

Benedict XVI also named several consultors to the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops.

These include Monsignor Ermenegildo Manicardi, rector of Rome's Almo Collegio Capranica, Salesian Father Markus Graulich of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signature, Father Godfrey Igwebuike Onah, vice rector of Rome's Pontifical Urban University, and Jesuit Father Paul Bere, professor at the Institut de Theologie de la Compagnie de Jesus and the Universite Catholique de l'Afrique de l'Ouest in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, and at the Hekima College Jesuit School of Theology in Nairobi, Kenya.

Other newly appointed consultors are: Benedictine Father Juan Javier Flores Arcas, rector of Rome's St. Anselm Pontifical Athenaeum, Capuchin Father Paolo Martinelli, president of the Franciscan Institute of Spirituality at the Antonianum Pontifical Athenaeum in Rome and professor at Rome's Pontifical Gregorian University, and Jesuit Father Samir Khalil Samir, professor at St. Joseph University in Beirut, Lebanon.

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Cardinal Lauds Papal Peace Day Message

Underlines Relation of Humanity With the Environment

WASHINGTON, D.C., DEC. 23, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The president of the U.S. bishops' conference is lauding Benedict XVI's message for the 43rd World Day of Peace, to be celebrated on New Year's Day.

Cardinal Francis George, archbishop of Chicago, welcomed the Pope's message, and urged U.S. Catholics to work and pray for peace, a press release from the conference reported Tuesday.

The worldwide Church will celebrate the peace day on Jan. 1, focusing on the theme, "If You Want to Cultivate Peace, Protect Creation."

The cardinal acknowledged that the Pontiff's message "seamlessly weaves together concerns for peace, poverty and care for creation."

The Holy Father "calls on us to act to protect both human and environmental ecology for the two are inseparably linked," the prelate affirmed.

Cardinal George expressed the union of the bishops with Benedict XVI in the effort "to address the moral and human dimension of the closely connected issues of poverty, peace, environmental protection and climate change."

"We are working to protect God's creation and human life and dignity, to link human ecology and natural ecology because they are inseparable," he said.

Human development

The cardinal highlighted the Pope's message about the link between integral human development and man's relationship with the natural environment.

The Pontiff wrote, "The environment must be seen as God's gift to all people, and the use we make of it entails a shared responsibility for all humanity, especially the poor and future generations."

The prelate also highlighted some "poignant questions" raised by the Holy Father: "Can we remain indifferent before the problems associated with such realities as climate change, desertification, the deterioration and loss of productivity in vast agricultural areas, the pollution of rivers and aquifers, the loss of biodiversity, the increase of natural catastrophes and the deforestation of equatorial and tropical regions?

"Can we disregard the growing phenomenon of 'environmental refugees,' people who are forced by the degradation of their natural habitat to forsake it -- and often their possessions as well -- in order to face the dangers and uncertainties of forced displacement?

"Can we remain impassive in the face of actual and potential conflicts involving access to natural resources?"

In response to the Pope's call, the bishops' conference is offering resources for parishes, schools and ministries, to help Catholics reflect and act on the message for this peace day.

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On the Net:

Bishops' conference resources: http://www.usccb.org/sdwp/international/worlddayofpeacewebsite.shtml

On ZENIT's Web page:

Benedict XVI's 2010 World Day of Peace message: http://zenit.org/article-27852?l=english

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NEWS BRIEFS

United Methodists, Catholics Discuss Climate

Mirror Copenhagen Summit With Christian Perspective

WASHINGTON, D.C., DEC. 23, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Representatives from the U.S. bishops' conference and the United Methodist Church gathered last week to discuss issues related to the environment.

A bishops' conference press release reported today that this meeting took place at the same time as the U.N. summit on climate change in Copenhagen, Denmark.

The meeting between the church representatives was the third of its kind, focused on the Christian responsibility of caring for God's creation from a Eucharistic perspective.

In the communiqué, Bishop William Skylstad of Spokane, Washington, co-chair of the dialogue, affirmed that this topic is an opportunity for Catholics, Protestants and Orthodox Christians to "witness together in solidarity and common responsibility."

Another co-chair, United Methodist Bishop Timothy Whitaker, affirmed that the "beautiful natural world is a loving gift from God." He affirmed that the call to discipleship with Jesus involves "social holiness."

"Through social holiness, we make ourselves channels of God's blessing to the world -- a blessing that extends to the renewal of all creation," the Methodist leader said.

Participants in the dialogue plan to write a final statement regarding the "covenantal relationship that exists between Christian worshipers and the natural environment."

The meeting was held Dec. 15-17 at St. Paul's College in Washington D.C. The next session is planned for the same location next June.

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Cardinal Laments Same-Sex "Marriage" Law

MEXICO CITY, DEC. 23, 2009 (Zenit.org).- After a law allowing same-sex "marriages" was passed by Mexico City's assembly, the archbishop of that region said that no matter the legislation, these unions will always be immoral.

Cardinal Norberto Rivera, archbishop of Mexico City, stated this after the city's legislative assembly voted Monday to legalize these unions, and to allow adoption by same-sex couples. The mayor, Marcelo Ebrard, is expected to give the final approval of the measure.

It will never be a marriage, the prelate stated, but only a formal union between two persons of the same sex, and from the perspective of Christian values "it will always be immoral."

He stated that the opposition to homosexual "marriage" is not discrimination, but rather "recognizing and defending marriage as an essentially heterosexual institution."

"Our children and youth run the grave risk of seeing these types of unions as normal," the cardinal said, "and they can falsely understand that sexual differences are simply a personality type."

In this way, he said, they will fail to appreciate the duality of human sexuality, "which is a condition for procreation, and thus, for the conservation and development of humanity."

Cardinal Rivera continued: "Homosexual acts, in effect, close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not come from a true affective and sexual complementarity."

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WORDS MADE FLESH

Mary: Model and Paradigm of Belief for Christians

Reflection for Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God Year C

By Father Thomas Rosica, CSB

TORONTO, DEC. 23, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The Christian New Year is celebrated on Jan. 1, one week after the celebration of the birth of Jesus. Jan. 1 has been given several different names that reveal something of the nature of the feast.

First of all, the Christian New Year is within the Octave of Christmas (i.e., eight days after the birth of Jesus.) Before the liturgical renewal of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) the Feast of the Circumcision of Jesus or the Naming of Jesus (Holy Name of Jesus) was celebrated on this date to commemorate the Gospel account of Jesus’ circumcision according to the ritual prescriptions of the Mosaic law, thus becoming officially a member of the people of the covenant: "At the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus" (Luke 2:21-24).

Following the liturgical renewal of the Second Vatican Council, Jan. 1 has now been known as the Solemnity of Mary the Mother of the Lord, and it has also been designated as the World Day of Prayer for Peace.

We may wonder if New Year's Day has accumulated so many different meanings that people no longer pay attention to the feast. Is it also not true that the atmosphere of revelry attached to New Year's Eve hardly leaves anyone with the energy, desire or willingness to consider New Year's Day as a religious feast? Let us consider some of the biblical foundations for the various meanings attached to the Christian New Year.

Feast of the Circumcision and Naming of Jesus

In antiquity and in the Scriptures, it is a common belief that the name given to a person is not just a label but part of the personality of the one who bears it. The name carries will and power. The name conjures up the person; there is a desire to know the name and even a reluctance to give it in the Scriptures.

Jesus of Nazareth was born in Bethlehem to Jewish parents (Matthew 1-2; Luke 1-2). At his conception, it was announced by an angel that his name would be "Jesus." The Hebrew and Aramaic name "Yeshua" (Jesus) is a late form of the Hebrew "Yehoshua" or Joshua. It was a very common name in New Testament times. The meaning of the name is "The Lord is salvation" and it is alluded to in Matthew 1:21 and Luke 2:21.

"Yeshua" refers to the Savior and was one of the Christian ways of naming and identifying Jesus. The Greek christos translates the Hebrew mashiah, "anointed one"; by this name Christians confessed their belief that Jesus was the Messiah. In the New Testament, the name, person and work of God are inseparably linked to those of Jesus Christ. True disciples of Jesus are to pray in his name (John 14:13-14). In John 2:23 believing in the name of Jesus is believing in him as the Christ, the Son of God (3:18). The name of Jesus has power only where there is faith and obedience (Mark 9:38-39). Believing in the holy name of Jesus leads to confession of the name (Hebrews 13:15). Calling on this name is salvation.

Solemnity of Mary, Mother of the Lord

The second person who is celebrated and honored on the Christian New Year is the mother of Jesus. This young woman of Jewish descent took upon herself the full responsibility of the word "yes" to a mysterious visitor at the Annunciation. By her response, she broke out of the cultural and religious boundaries of her time, manifesting great courage and faith. She literally brought heaven down to earth. Mary of Nazareth lived the memory of events and their meaning -- always showing the ability to interpret the whole thread of her life through repeatedly calling to mind words and events.

"Mary" comes from the Hebrew "Miriam" whose etymology is probably from the Egyptian word meaning "beloved." She is the disciple par excellence who introduces us to the goodness and humanity of God. Her womanhood is not in itself a sign of salvation but it is significant for the manner and way in which salvation happens. There is salvation in no other name but that of the man Jesus; but through this woman, Mary, we have humanity's assent to salvation. Only in this way can we speak of a feminine realization of God's salvation.

Today we celebrate the Mary, Mother of God, who is a model for every believer. I cannot help but recall the powerful words of Anglican Bishop N. T. Wright of Durham, England, during the 2008 synod on the Word of God in the life and mission of the Church. Bishop Wright, one of the papally-appointed fraternal delegates to the synod, spoke of the four great moments of Mary’s life with four words: Fiat, Magnificat, Conservabat and Stabat. Through her “fiat,” Mary gave assent to God’s Word with her mind. Through her “magnificat,” the Virgin Daughter of Nazareth reveals her strength and courage. In her heart, Mary meditated on and kept God’s Word: “conservabat.” Her fidelity to the end is described by the word “stabat” as she stood at the foot of the cross and waited patiently in her soul for the fulfillment of Simeon’s prophecy and experienced the new, unexpected and perhaps unwelcome, but yet saving revelation.

God calls each one of us through Scripture in complete love and grace, and the response of the obedient mind is “fiat”: Let it be to me according to your word. We, too, celebrate, with our strength, the relevance of the word to new personal and especially political situations: “magnificat.” Then we ponder in the heart what we have seen and heard: “conservabat.” But Scripture tells us that Mary, too, had to learn hard things: She wanted to control her son, but could not. Her soul is pierced with the sword, as she stands “stabat” at the foot of the cross. We too must wait patiently, letting the written Word tell us things that may be unexpected or even unwelcome, but which are yet salvific. We read humbly, trusting God and waiting to see his purpose unfold. Mary is truly a model and paradigm of belief for Christians.

World Day of Prayer for Peace

The most recent "theme" attached to the Christian New Year has been the "World Day of Prayer for Peace." The World Day of Peace is an observance launched by the Church under Pope Paul VI in 1967. Christians are invited to begin a New Year praying for peace. The message of Pope Benedict XVI for the celebration of the 43rd World Day of Peace was made public several weeks ago and has as its theme: "If You Want To Cultivate Peace, Protect Creation," a deliberate play on Paul VI’s famous words, “If you want peace, work for justice.”

In his message this year Pope Benedict presents "a cosmic vision of peace" a peace which "comes about in a state of harmony between God, humankind and the creation. In this perspective, environmental degradation is an expression not only of a break in the harmony between humankind and the creation, but of a profound deterioration in the unity between humankind and God.”

Benedict XVI has already earned a reputation as the “green Pope” because of his repeated calls for stronger environmental protection. The Pope’s language in this year’s message is quite forceful. “How can one remain indifferent in the face of problems such as climate change, desertification, the degradation and loss of productivity in vast agricultural areas, the pollution of rivers and aquifers, the loss of biodiversity, the increase in extreme weather, and the deforestation of equatorial and tropical areas?

“How can one overlook the growing phenomenon of so-called ‘environmental refugees,’ meaning persons who, because of environmental degradation, have to leave -- often together with their belongings -- in a kind of forced movement, in order to escape the risks and the unknown? How can we not react to the conflicts already underway, as well as potential new ones, linked to access to natural resources? [...]

"These are all questions that have a profound impact on the exercise of human rights, such as the rights to life, to food, to health and to development.”

Benedict accented a vision of the cosmos as a gift of God, which human beings have an obligation to “care for and cultivate.” The Pope called for “a profound and farsighted revision of the model of development,” based not only on the needs of today’s “living beings, human and non-human,” but those of generations to come.

At the same time, Benedict XVI insisted that protecting the environment is “the duty of every person,” one which demands changes in personal habits and attitudes. Benedict called for “new styles of life,” based not solely upon the logic of consumption but also “sobriety and solidarity,” as well as “prudence.”

For this reason, it is imperative that mankind renew and strengthen "that covenant between human beings and the environment, which should mirror the creative love of God, from whom we come and towards whom we are journeying."

"Our present crises ... are ultimately also moral crises, and all of them are interrelated. They require us to rethink the path which we are traveling together."

Today, as we celebrate the Mother of the Lord who truly reconciled the many meanings given to today’s feast in her very life and witness, let us echo the words of St. Basil the Great whose feast immediately follows today’s celebration (Jan. 2):

“Let us give glory to God with the shepherds,
Let us dance in choir with the Angels,
for "this day a Savior has been born to us, the Messiah and Lord,"

He is the Lord who has appeared to us,
not in divine form, in order to terrify us in our weakness,
but in the form of a Servant, that He might set free
what had been reduced to servitude ...”

* * *

Basilian Father Thomas Rosica, chief executive officer of the Salt and Light Catholic Media Foundation and Television Network in Canada, is a consultor to the Pontifical Council for Social Communications. He can be reached at: rosica@saltandlighttv.org.

--- --- ---

On the Net:

Salt and Light Catholic Television Network Web site: http://www.saltandlighttv.org

To view all video versions of Salt and Light Advent and Christmas Reflections, click here: saltandlighttv.org/advent.html

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DOCUMENTS

On the Feast of Christ's Birth

"God Has Come So Near to Each One of Us"

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 23, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave today during the general audience in Paul VI Hall.

* * *

Dear brothers and sisters,

With the Christmas novena that we are celebrating in these days, the Church invites us to live intensely and profoundly the preparation for the birth of the Savior, which is nearly upon us.

The desire that all of us have in our hearts is that, in the midst of the frenetic activity of our days, the coming feast of Christmas gives us serene and profound joy to enable us to touch the goodness of our God with our hands and to fill us with new energy.

To better understand the meaning of the birth of the Lord, I would like to briefly refer to the historical origin of this solemnity. In fact, the liturgical year of the Church did not initially develop beginning with the birth of Christ, but rather from faith in the Resurrection. Because of this the most ancient feast of Christianity is not Christmas, but Easter: The resurrection of Christ is at the base of Christian faith; it is at the base of the proclamation of the Gospel and gives birth to the Church. Therefore to be Christians means to live in the mode of Easter, connecting ourselves to the dynamic that comes from baptism, which brings death to sin to live with God (cf. Romans 6:4).

The first one to clearly affirm that Jesus was born on Dec. 25 was Hippolytus of Rome in his commentary on the Book of the prophet Daniel, written around 204. One exegete observes, moreover, that on this day was celebrated the Dedication of the Temple of Jerusalem, instituted by Judas Maccabeus in 164 B.C.. The concurrence of dates would come to mean that with Jesus, appearing as light of God in the night, advent of God to this earth, the consecration of the temple is truly fulfilled.

Within Christianity, the feast of Christmas took on a definite form in the fourth century, when it took the place of the Roman feast of "sol invictus," the invincible sun. Thus was shown that the birth of Christ is the victory of true light over the darkness of evil and sin. Yet, the unique and intense spiritual atmosphere that surrounds Christmas developed in the Middle Ages, thanks to St. Francis of Assisi, who was profoundly in love with Jesus as man, with God-with-us.

His first biographer, Thomas of Celano, in the "Vita Seconda," narrates that St. Francis, "above the other solemnities, celebrated with ineffable attention the birth of Baby Jesus, and he called the feast of feasts the day on which God, become a small child, nursed at a human breast" (Fonti Francescane, No. 199, p. 492).

From this particular devotion to the mystery of the Incarnation came the famous celebration of Christmas in Greccio. Most probably, St. Francis was inspired to have this celebration by his pilgrimage to the Holy Land and by the manger of St. Mary Major in Rome. What moved the Poor Man of Assisi was the desire to experience in an actual, concrete and living way the humble greatness of the event of Baby Jesus' birth, and to communicate his joy to everyone.

In the first biography, Thomas of Celano speaks of the night of Bethlehem in Greccio in a lively and moving manner, offering a decisive contribution to the spreading of this most beautiful Christmas tradition, the Nativity scene. The night of Greccio, in fact, has given back to Christianity the intensity and the beauty of the feast of Christmas, and has educated the people of God to learn its most authentic message, its particular warmth, and to love and adore the humanity of Christ.

This particular approach to Christmas has brought a new dimension to Christian faith. Easter had focused attention on the power of God who overcomes death, inaugurates new life and teaches us to hope in the world to come. With St. Francis and his nativity, the defenseless love of God was shown, his humility and goodness, which in the incarnation of the Word is manifested to man so as to teach a new way to live and to love.

Celano narrates that, on that Christmas night, Francis was given a marvelous vision. He saw a little child lying still in a manger; the child woke up because Francis approached. And he adds: "This vision was not different than real life, since through the work of his grace acting by way of his holy servant Francis, the Child Jesus was resurrected in the hearts of many, people who had forgotten him, and this was deeply impressed on his loving memory" (Vita prima, op. cit., n. 86, p. 307).

These lines describe very well how Francis' living faith in and love for the humanity of Christ have been transmitted to the Christian feast of Christmas: the discovery that God reveals himself in the tiny fingers of the Child Jesus. Thanks to St. Francis, the Christian people have been able to perceive that at Christmas, God truly has become Emmanuel, God-with-us, from whom no barrier or distance can separate us. In this Child, God has come so near to each one of us, so close, that we can address him with confidence and maintain with him a trusting relationship of deep affection, as we do with a newborn.

In this Child, in fact, God-Love is manifested: God comes without weapons, without strength, because he does not aim to conquer, we could say, from without, but rather wants to be welcomed by man in liberty. God becomes a defenseless Child to conquer man's pride, violence and desire to possess. In Jesus, God took up this poor and defenseless condition to conquer with love and lead us to our true identity. We should not forget that the greatest title of Jesus Christ is precisely that of "Son," Son of God. Divine dignity is indicated with a term that makes reference to the humble condition of the manger in Bethlehem, though corresponding uniquely to his divinity, which is the divinity of the "Son."

His condition as a Child also shows us how we can find God and enjoy his presence. It is in the light of Christmas that we can understand the words of Jesus: "Unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 18:3).

He who has not understood the mystery of Christmas has not understood the decisive element of Christian existence. He who does not welcome Jesus with the heart of a child cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. This is what Francis wanted to remind Christianity of his age and of every age, until today.

Let us pray to the Father so that he concedes to our hearts this simplicity that recognizes the Lord in this Child, precisely as Francis did in Greccio. Then, we too can experience what Thomas of Celano said happened to those present in the event in Greccio -- referring to the experience of the shepherds on the holy night (cf. Luke 2:20) -- "Each one returned to his house filled with an ineffable joy" (Vita prima, op. cit., n. 86, p. 479).

This is the wish that I affectionately express to all of you, to your families and loved ones. Merry Christmas to everyone!

[Translation by ZENIT]

[The Holy Father then addressed the people in several languages. In English, he said:]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

In these last days before Christmas, the Church invites us to contemplate the mystery of Christ’s Birth and to experience the joy and hope which the newborn Saviour brings into our world. Gazing on the Christ Child lying in the manger, we contemplate the love of a God who humbly asks us to welcome him into our hearts and into our world. By coming among us as a helpless Child, God conquers our hearts not by force, but by love, and thus teaches us the way to authentic freedom, peace and fulfilment. This Christmas, may the Lord grant us simplicity of heart, so that we may recognize his presence and love in the lowly Babe of Bethlehem, and, like the shepherds, return to our homes filled with ineffable joy and gladness.

I offer a warm welcome to the English-speaking visitors present at today’s Audience, especially the groups from the Philippines and the United States. In these holy days, may you and your families draw ever closer to the Lord and experience his heavenly gifts of love, joy and peace. Merry Christmas!

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Benedict XVI's Address to Latvian Envoy

"Radical Measures May Be Necessary to Uphold the Common Good"

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 23, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is the address Benedict XVI delivered in writing upon receiving in audience Einars Semanis, the new ambassador from Latvia to the Holy See.

The Pope received the envoy Dec. 17, together with representatives from seven other nations, and addressed all eight with a separate discourse delivered in French.

* * *

Mr. Ambassador,

In welcoming you to the Vatican and accepting the Letters of Credence by which you are appointed Ambassador of the Republic of Latvia to the Holy See, I am pleased to express my satisfaction at the cordial relations which we continue to enjoy. I am grateful to Your Excellency for transmitting the courteous greeting of your President, Mr Valdis Zatlers, and I would ask you kindly to reciprocate and to convey my own good wishes to him and to all the people of the Republic.

From its unique position on the Baltic shores, Latvia has played an important role in the commercial and cultural evolution of Europe. This influence has not waned even when its people were deprived, for long and difficult periods, of their status as a sovereign nation. Now that its national identity is no longer under question, and its people again enjoy their freedom, Latvia can offer much to the international community. You mentioned, Mr Ambassador, the twentieth anniversary of the emergence of the "Baltic Way" according to which Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia expressed the wish to return fully to Europe. This historic gesture was an act of trust in the essential values of freedom, truth, justice and solidarity which, based on a Christian tradition and outlook, built up European culture and shaped its most important institutions. Having become a member of the European Union in 2004, Latvia too is now called to share in the continent's task of finding the means towards greater international collaboration to consolidate the freedom, peace and prosperity of its peoples.

Mr Ambassador, you also highlighted the important moments and the fruits of the Christian history of your country, which was named Terra Mariana by Pope Innocent III in the year 1205. I pray that Latvia, inspired by such an affectionate and powerful appellation, may remain faithful to the principles and values that the first Christian witnesses brought to your country, including Saint Meinhard and the other wise and zealous pastors who evangelized your nation. Christians of all the Churches and Ecclesial Communities in Latvia are called to contribute to the political and cultural life of the nation as well as to work for the visible unity of Christ's Mystical Body. My predecessor, the late Pope John Paul II, on his historic visit to your land in 1993, supported the quest for greater Christian unity as a buttress to national unity and as a priority for renewal (cf. Address at Marian Shrine of Aglona, 9 September 1993). It is greatly to be hoped that such a renewal take place soon for the good of the nation as a whole.

The Latvian people, who are known to cherish their land, and are careful to protect it from environmental degradation, also draw inspiration from their own folklore and culture as a solid basis for their concern for the land in all its aspects. By employing their ingenuity and by cultivating the resources God has given them, by extolling human dignity and respecting human life, and by promoting man's vocation to build up a humanism open to spiritual and transcendent values (cf. Caritas in Veritate, 18), Latvia will surely become a model of development that protects the dignity of the human person while being sensitive to the requirements of a sustainable economy.

The recent global economic downturn has had serious effects on the nation's economy, generating poverty and unemployment in some areas and leaving no little uncertainty about the future. It is my sincere hope that the Latvian people may take heart as they and their leaders seek effective ways to weather this crisis and to rebuild Latvia's economic strength. Such times demand courage and resolve. Your compatriots, Mr Ambassador, are aware that some radical measures may be necessary to uphold the common good even at the cost of restrictions, renunciation and sacrifice. On the other hand, such an exercise can only succeed -- and be socially acceptable -- when it is completed in a spirit of genuine justice and equity and with special attention to those who are most vulnerable. I pray that the resilient spirit of the Latvian people may continue to sustain them.

Finally, Your Excellency, I am confident that the cordial relations between the Holy See and Latvia, re-established sixteen years ago after a long breach desired by neither party, will help to promote fraternity, respect and dialogue. In offering my good wishes at the beginning of your mission as Ambassador to the Holy See, I assure you of the readiness of the Roman Curia to assist you in your important task. May Almighty God bestow his abundant blessings upon you and upon all the people of Latvia.

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Papal Address to Bangladeshi Ambassador

"Intimidation and Violence Erode the Very Basis of Social Harmony"

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 23, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is the address Benedict XVI delivered in writing upon receiving in audience Abdul Hannan, the new ambassador from Bangladesh to the Holy See.

The Pope received the envoy Dec. 17, together with representatives from seven other nations, and addressed all eight with a separate discourse delivered in French.

* * *

Mr. Ambassador,

It is my pleasure to welcome you today as you present the Letters of Credence by which you are appointed Ambassador of the People's Republic of Bangladesh to the Holy See. I am grateful for the greetings which you have brought to me from His Excellency President Zillur Rahman, and I would ask you to convey to him in turn my own prayerful good wishes for his continued well-being and that of the Bangladeshi people. The recent visit to the Vatican of the Prime Minister, Her Excellency Sheikh Hasina Wajed, provided a welcome opportunity to renew our common commitment to enhancing the spirit of cooperation which has characterized the cordial relations between the Holy See and Bangladesh for over thirty years.

Your Excellency, while your country still faces many economic, social and environmental challenges, the significant strides in development made in recent times have raised the hopes of its citizens and attracted the attention of the entire global community. Although few in number, Bangladesh's Catholics too share the expectation that the collaborative efforts which have made these gains possible will continue to animate the nation as its citizens set new goals for the future and devise fresh ways of achieving them.

One such goal has been the reduction of poverty. Its alleviation is inextricably tied to the extension of gainful employment. Work gives expression to human dignity, allowing men and women to realize their talents, develop their skills, and strengthen the bonds of solidarity with one another. This solidarity, in turn, also has a spiritual dimension, for by sharing the fruits of their labour with one another -- and most especially with those in need -- people everywhere bear witness to the goodness of the Almighty and his concern for the poorest and the weakest.

In this context, one cannot but note the successes of your country's initiatives in micro-credit and micro-finance which are gradually bringing a new level of prosperity to your people. Moreover, these practices show signs of protecting the more vulnerable sectors of society from the risks and abuses of usury (cf. Caritas in Veritate, 65). May a fair and prudent application of innovative lending strategies support rural infrastructures, stimulate markets, and advance the development and dissemination of agricultural technology that will make the best use of the valuable human, natural and socio-economic resources of your land.

Improving standards of living also depends heavily on the commitment to the education of the young, both boys and girls. This has rightly been a priority for Bangladesh in recent decades, and achievements in this area give hope for the future. In the era of globalization, it is increasingly clear that greater access to education is essential for development at every level. Above all, it is essential for teachers to understand the nature of the human person and to cherish each and every student as a unique and precious individual, providing nourishment for the soul as well as the mind. The local Catholic Church is playing its part in this area through its widespread network of schools and other educational institutions. In this regard, the newly established Teachers' Training College is intended to provide suitably qualified teachers so as to ensure that standards will further improve and that the commitment to education will continue on a sound footing into the future. The recent positive meetings with the Ministry of Education and the establishment of a formal liaison between the Ministry and the Bishops to discuss matters of common interest should lead to enhanced cooperation in the field of education and make possible the speedy and amicable resolution of whatever issues may arise from time to time.

Your Excellency, I pray that Muslims, Hindus, Christians and all people of goodwill in your country will bear untiring witness to the peaceful coexistence that remains the vocation of the entire human race. To this end, all citizens -- and particularly leaders -- share in the responsibility of upholding the principles that underpin a just democratic system of governance. Intimidation and violence erode the very basis of social harmony and must be decried as offensive to human life and freedom. Showing a preferential love for the poor and the ailing, embracing the weak as precious in the sight of God: these are the ways by which society is infused with the breath of divine goodness that sustains the life of every creature.

Mr Ambassador, at the outset of your mission, I cordially extend to you my good wishes for its success, and I assure you of my prayers and the support of the various offices of the Holy See which stand ready to assist you. Upon you, the members of your family and all the citizens of Bangladesh I willingly invoke abundant divine blessings.

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Pope's Address to Envoy from Kazakhstan

"Religions Have Much to Offer to Development"

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 23, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is the address Benedict XVI delivered in writing upon receiving in audience Mukhtar Tileuberdi, the new ambassador from Kazakhstan to the Holy See.

The Pope received the envoy Dec. 17, together with representatives from seven other nations, and addressed all eight with a separate discourse delivered in French.

* * *

Your Excellency,

I am pleased to welcome you to the Vatican and to accept the Letters accrediting you as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the Holy See. On this occasion I would ask you to convey my greetings to His Excellency President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who recently visited me here in the Vatican, and my good wishes to all the people of the Republic. Kindly assure the President of my prayers for his well-being and that of all the nation's citizens, and convey to him my gratitude for the good wishes which you have just expressed on his behalf.

As you will recall, my venerable predecessor, the late Pope John Paul II, visited Kazakhstan in September 2001. He gave witness, amid worldwide uncertainty and sadness at the time, that the Church, in fidelity to Christ's teachings, supports peace and understanding among peoples and strives to promote authentic human progress.

The Holy See encourages nations to respect the human person in his or her totality, acknowledging the spiritual as well as the material needs of all. Man is the source, the focus and the aim of all economic and social life (cf. Caritas in Veritate, 25). Thus, the Church works as leaven within every society to highlight the dignity of man, to give him the strength necessary to generate a clearer vision of himself and to muster new energy in the service of authentic human development.

Mr. Ambassador, although the Christians of Kazakhstan are a small percentage of the total population, they can trace their roots there back through the centuries. They therefore represent an important part of the rich diversity of religions and traditions of which your nation is comprised. The circumstance of these various groups living side by side in your country, together with your being a geographical link between Europe and Asia and between countries with large Christian and Muslim populations respectively, provides a precious opportunity to promote exchange and fraternity. Cooperation for development also offers a wonderful opportunity for a meeting between cultures and peoples (cf. Caritas in Veritate, 59). For this encounter genuinely to occur, there needs to be a continuing commitment on the part of States to respect basic human rights, not the least of which is freedom of religion. Religions have much to offer to development, especially when God's place is recognized in the public realm, specifically with regard to its cultural, social, economic, and particularly its political dimensions (cf. ibid., 56).

For its part, the Holy See, along with the Catholic community in Kazakhstan, supports those initiatives which foster peace and authentic friendship between peoples, founded on a mutual recognition of legitimate differences but above all on a commitment to the common good. The Agreement signed between the Holy See and Kazakhstan in 1998, the first of its kind in your region, is an accord based on mutual trust and respect. The juridical guarantee of rights and responsibilities in the Agreement provides a means for increased cooperation and goodwill. I can assure you that the Catholic community in your country wishes to contribute to the strengthening of good relations and mutual understanding between the Christian and Islamic worlds, to the benefit of all. May this cooperation and goodwill be abundantly blessed day by day!

Your Excellency, as Kazakhstan assumes the chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe on 1 January 2010, I am pleased to offer you my good wishes for your country's period in office. The international community recently recalled the twentieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. In this light, your nation's chairmanship of the OSCE represents an eloquent testimony of how far the world has developed and matured. The celebration of this anniversary also provides impetus for the strengthening of those democratic gains with a view to the stable future of the region and indeed the whole world. The Holy See is committed to consolidating the political freedoms won twenty years ago in Europe, whose external expression can only flourish when the divine gift of inner freedom is respected and fostered.

Mr Ambassador, in offering you my best wishes for the success of your mission, I assure you that the various departments of the Roman Curia are ready to provide help and support in the fulfilment of your duties. It is the Church's desire to develop and deepen the harmonious relations that exist between the Holy See and the Republic of Kazakhstan. Upon Your Excellency, your family and all the people of the Republic, I cordially invoke abundant divine blessings.

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Vatican Statement on Venerable Pius XII

"A Model of Christian Life for the People of God"

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 23, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of a statement from Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi regarding Saturday's recognition of the heroic virtue of Pope Pius XII.

The statement from the director of the Vatican press office was issued to Vatican Radio.

* * *

The Pope's signing of the decree "on the heroic virtues" of Pius XII has elicited a certain number of reactions in the Jewish world -- perhaps because the meaning of such a signature is clear in the area of the Catholic Church and of specialists in the field, but may merit certain explanation for the larger public, in particular the Jewish public who are understandably very sensitive to all things concerning the historical period of World War II and the Holocaust.

When the Pope signs a decree "on the heroic virtues" of a Servant of God -- i.e., of a person for whom a cause for beatification has been introduced -- he confirms the positive evaluation already voted upon by the Congregation for Saints' Causes (after an attentive review of writings and testimonies) regarding the fact that the candidate has eminently lived Christian virtue and manifested his faith, hope and charity to a degree higher that than which is normally expected of the faithful. Because of this, he can be proposed as a model of Christian life for the people of God.

Naturally, such evaluation takes account of the circumstances in which the person lived, and hence it is necessary to examine the question from a historical standpoint, but the evaluation essentially concerns the witness of Christian life that the person showed (his intense relationship with God and continuous search for evangelical perfection -- as the Pope said last Saturday in his address to the Congregation for Saints' Causes) and not the historical impact of all his operative decisions.

As well, a successive future beatification would be in the same line of proposing to the people of God -- with the prior consolation of a sign of extraordinary graces given by God through the intercession of the Servant of God -- a model of eminent Christian life.

At the beatification of Pope John XXIII and of Pope Pius IX, John Paul II said: "Holiness lives in history and no saint has escaped the limits and conditioning which are part of our human nature. In beatifying one of her sons, the Church does not celebrate the specific historical decisions he may have made, but rather points to him as someone to be imitated and venerated because of his virtues, in praise of the divine grace which shines resplendently in them."

There is, then, no intention in any way to limit discussion concerning the concrete choices made by Pius XII in the situation in which he lived. For her part, the Church affirms that these choices were made with the pure intention of carrying out the Pontiff's service of exalted and dramatic responsibility to the best of his abilities. In any case, Pius XII's attention to and concern for the fate of the Jews -- something which is certainly relevant in the evaluation of his virtues -- are widely testified and recognized, also by many Jews.

The field for research and evaluation by historians, working in their specific area, thus remains open, also for the future. In this specific case it is comprehensible that there should be a request to have open access to all possibilities of research on the documents. Already Paul VI wanted to quickly favor this investigation with the publication of the volumes of Minutes and Documents. Yet for the complete opening of the archives -- as has been said on a number of occasions in the past -- it is necessary to organize and catalogue an enormous mass of documentation, something which still requires a number of years' work.

As for the fact that the decrees on the heroic virtues of Pope John Paul II and Pope Pius XII were promulgated on the same day, this does not mean that from now on the two causes will be "paired." They are completely independent of one another and each will follow its own course. There is, then, no reason to imagine that any future beatification will take place simultaneously.

Finally, Benedict XVI's attitude of great friendship and respect for the Jewish people has been confirmed very many times and finds in his theological work an indisputable confirmation.

It is, then, clear that the recent signing of the decree is in no way to be read as a hostile act toward the Jewish people, and it is to be hoped that it will not be considered as an obstacle on the path of dialogue between Judaism and the Catholic Church. Rather we trust that the Pope's forthcoming visit to the Synagogue of Rome will be an opportunity for the cordial reiteration and reinforcement of ties of friendship and respect.

[Translation by ZENIT and the Vatican Information Service]

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How about the Gift of Yourself?

2009-12-23T10:05:00.000-08:00

Dear Catholic.net Friend in Christ,

What do you suppose could be the best present to give our Lord on his birthday? Let me ask you in another way: What gift do you think our Lord wants the most from you on his birthday?

I think our Lady answers this question best. Not with words, but -- in a very Marian way -- in loving silence allowing the works of charity to speak out loud: She gave God the gift of herself.

Church tradition teaches us that our Lady was consecrated to the service of the temple as a little girl. As an unwedded teenager, she accepted God’s request to bear his only Son (Luke 1). As a mother she was humbled in every way (Luke 2). Yet she persevered. And in the worse of her trials – through God’s strength -- she was able to stand up by the foot of the Cross and hold witness to God her Savior. (John 19:25). Can we emulate our Lady’s self-giving?

Would we be willing to give ourselves entirely to Jesus on his birthday? He wants our whole person: The good and the bad, the joys and the disappointments, the suffering and the happiness, the virtues and the imperfections. (Romans 5:8; Matthew 9:10-17; Mark 2:15-22; Luke 5:29-39). He wants it all. We have One Holy God who longs for sinners. Not for their sins. But, as a loving Father, he yearns to relieve us from our burdens. (Psalm 55:23-24; Matthew 11:29-3).

“Now is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6:2). God lives in an eternal present and he does not want to wait for a more convenient time on our schedule. (Matthew 25:1-13, Matthew 6:25-34; Hebrews 13:8). Neither does God want to be put off until a better version of us comes around for this or that reason. (Luke 15:7; Luke 15:10). What holds us back? This Christmas, are we willing to let it all go, and choose to trust God’s providence instead? (Psalm 62; 1 Peter 5:7). Holiness is one “yes” away.

So, this Christmas, like our Lady, how about if we give Jesus the present of ourselves? Let’s not be worried about anything. (Psalm 56; Matthew 10:31; Luke 12:7; Luke 12:32). God loves us exactly how we are (Matthew 9:36; Matthew 10:6). Although, he will always change us to be more alike himself, if we let him. He wills our sanctification. (1 Thessalonians 4:3).

Let us pray for the grace to give ourselves without reservations to God this Christmas. Then, when we have given it all to Jesus, and are finally empty, Jesus can live in us. (Galatians 2:20; 1 John 4:9).

Merry Christmas,

Rosalia Tenorio
Catholic.net
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ZE091222

2009-12-22T15:38:00.000-08:00

ZENIT

The World Seen From Rome

Daily dispatch - December 22, 2009

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VATICAN DOSSIER

Pope: Society Must See "Power of Faith"
Pontiff Calls Movements Gifts to the Church
Benedict XVI Warns Against Secularization
Aide: When Will Christians Unite?

WORLD FEATURES

Latin Patriarch: Still No Peace on Earth
Mary Ward Advances Toward Sainthood
Press Union Urges Media to Serve Humanity

WORDS MADE FLESH

"The Future of Humanity Passes Through the Family"

LITURGY

Adapting the Mysteries of the Rosary

DOCUMENTS

Jerusalem Patriarch's Christmas Message
Benedict XVI's Letter to Cardinal Cordes
Pope's Address to Finnish Ambassador
Papal Message to Envoy From Denmark

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VATICAN DOSSIER

Pope: Society Must See "Power of Faith"

Bishops of Belarus Conclude Visit to Rome

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 22, 2009 (Zenit.org).- In ministering to a society that is falling away from God, it is imperative for bishops to be witnesses to the "power of faith," says Benedict XVI.

The Pope said this last week upon receiving in audience the bishops of Belarus, in Rome for their five-yearly "ad limina" visit. This was the third such visit made by the prelates since national independence in 1991, the first under Benedict XVI.

"During my meetings with you I appreciated the pastoral zeal with which you carry out your ministry," the Pope said, before encouraging the bishops to continue facing the challenges of being pastors in a secular society.

"It is particularly important to proclaim with a new and incisive enthusiasm the perennial Gospel message in a society that is not immune to the temptations of secularization, hedonism and relativism," the Pontiff affirmed.

He noted that the signs of the effects of secularism include a "falling birth rate, the fragility of the family and the illusion of gaining riches beyond the borders of one's homeland."

"The urgent mission of pastors before such challenges is to show the power of faith," the Holy Father said, "a faith rooted in solid tradition, which will contribute to the perseveration of the profound Christian identity of the nation, within the context of respectful dialogue with other cultures and religions."

The Pope also spoke of the importance of education and catechesis, especially of the youth: "As I noted many times before, today we are living a type of 'emergency' in this delicate and essential area, and it is necessary to multiply our efforts so as to offer a solid formation, first and foremost to the new generation."

Catechesis

Benedict XVI noted the importance of catechesis that fits the needs of people in all stages of their lives, and mentioned with particular attention the need to care for vocations.

"I urge you to pay particular attention to profound spiritual and theological formation of candidates to priesthood," he said.

"Always stay close to your priests, especially to those who are about to start their pastoral work," the Pope continued. "An attentive and sincere paternal care of a bishop is the basis for successful priestly service."

"Make use of every good occasion to proclaim and spread the Kingdom of God," Benedict XVI continued, "being witnesses to it with concrete deeds of brotherhood that engender peace."

The Pope urged the bishops to work with the Belarusian Orthodox Church, "whose pastors share with you the commitment to seek the good of believers."

He noted that both the Orthodox and Catholic Churches are both facing the challenge of finding an adequate response to modernity, and how to "correctly transmit the Good News of Christ."

"Let us accept the invitation aimed at increasing efforts in the joint progress toward this objective, which was revealed during the recent Catholic-Orthodox session in Cyprus," the Pope said.

Since the country gained independence in 1991, the Church there has grown to include an archdiocese, three dioceses and some 450 parishes.

Before the end of the Cold War, it had no hierarchy: Priests manned a few Catholic churches, but without a diocese to congregate them or bishops to guide them.

Today, some 14% of the 10 million inhabitants of this former Soviet nation are Catholics. There are 440 priests, 270 of whom are native Belarusians.

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Pontiff Calls Movements Gifts to the Church

Lauds Cardinal Cordes for Helping Them Grow

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 22, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is praising a cardinal who welcomed the inspiration of new movements in the Church, and is highlighting the positive contribution they have made.

The Pope affirmed this in a letter he sent last week for the 75th birthday of Cardinal Josef Cordes, president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum.

"I no longer remember when we first met," the Pontiff said, as he recalled a long history of friendship with the cardinal, including a shared membership in the German bishops' conference before both were called to serve in the Roman Curia.

"With courage and creativity at the beginning of your work in Rome you opened up new roads to lead young people to Christ," the Holy Father affirmed. "You also made a contribution to the genesis and the growth of the World Youth Days."

He underlined the prelate's "pastoral involvement" and "commitment to the movements" in his role in the Pontifical Council for the Laity.

"The charismatic movement, Communion and Liberation and the Neocatechumenal Way have many reasons to be grateful to you," the Pope said.

"While at the beginning the organizers and planners in the Church had many reservations in regard to the movements," Benedict XVI stated, "you immediately sensed the life that burst forth from them -- the power of the Holy Spirit that gives new paths and in unpredictable ways keeps the Church young."

Integration

He continued: "You recognized the pentecostal character of these movements and you worked passionately so that they would be welcomed by the Church's pastors.

"Certainly, with respect to organization and planning, there were often good reasons to be scandalized as they brought new and unforeseen elements that could not always be integrated easily into the existing organizational structures."

The Pontiff acknowledged the cardinal's ability to see that what is "organic is more important than what is organized."

He affirmed the prelate's vision that "here were men who were deeply touched by the spirit of God and that in such a way there grew new forms of authentic Christian life and authentic ways of being Church."

The Holy Father continued: "Of course, these movements needed to be ordered to and brought within the totality; they needed to learn to recognize their limits and to become part of the communitarian reality of the Church in her proper constitution together with the Pope and the bishops.

"Thus they need a guide and purification to be able to reach the form of their true maturity."

"They, nevertheless, are gifts to be grateful for," Benedict XVI said. "It is no longer possible to think of the life of the Church of our time without including these gifts of God within it."

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On ZENIT's Web page:

Full text: www.zenit.org/article-27922?l=english

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Benedict XVI Warns Against Secularization

Says Environmental Work Should Include Value for Persons

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 22, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is urging Finland, and all of Europe, to cling to values promoted by religious groups lest they disappear through secularization.

The Pope stated this Thursday when he met with the new ambassador from Finland to the Holy See, Alpo Rusi.

"A vital contribution that all religious groups can offer in your country, as elsewhere in Europe, is to draw attention to certain values that are in danger of being eroded through the process of secularization," the Pontiff affirmed.

He acknowledged the "pressures that governments face when presented with insistent demands from some quarters, in the name of tolerance, for acceptance of an ever wider range of viewpoints and lifestyles."

However, the Holy Father stated that "the virtue of tolerance is not served by the sacrifice of truth, particularly the truth concerning the dignity of the human person."

He urged the Finnish authorities to "continue to take note of the ethical perspectives based upon the natural law indelibly inscribed in our common humanity."

In this way, Benedict XVI said, "Finland's long-standing esteem for the family and respect for life may shape its response to delicate social issues with long-term implications for the health of any human society."

Better world

That same day, the Pope met with the envoys of seven other nations, including Hans Klingenberg, the new ambassador from Denmark to the Holy See.

In his address to the Danish representative, the Pontiff acknowledged the two-week U.N. summit on climate change that took place this month in Denmark.

"Courage and sacrifice, fruits of an ethical awakening, enable us to envisage a better world and embolden us to pursue with hope all that is necessary to ensure that future generations are bequeathed the whole of creation in such a condition that they too can call it home," he said.

Recalling a recent address he gave to the Food and Agriculture Organization, the Holy Father stated that "development plans, investments and legislation are not enough;" rather, "individuals and communities must change their behavior."

He continued, "For states themselves this includes a redefining of the concepts and principles that have hitherto governed international relations to include the principle of altruism and the resolve to seek out new parameters -- ethical as well as juridical and economic -- capable of building relationships of greater fairness and balance between developing and developed countries."

Benedict XVI highlighted a "holistic understanding of the health of society" in which "our duties toward the environment are never detached from our duties toward the human person."

In this model, he added, "a moral critique of the cultural norms shaping human coexistence, with particular concern for the young, is considered central to the well-being of society."

The Pope observed that "often efforts to promote an integral understanding of the environment have had to sit alongside a reductionist understanding of the person."

This understanding of the person, he said, typically "is lacking in respect for the spiritual dimension of individuals."

As well, the Pontiff said, it is sometimes "hostile toward the family, pitting spouses against each other through a distorted portrayal of the complementarity of men and women, and pitting mother and unborn child against each other through a misconstrued portrayal of 'reproductive health.'"

He affirmed that "responsibility in relationships, including the responsibility of careful parenting, can never be truly nurtured without profound respect for the unity of family life according to the loving design of our Creator."

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On ZENIT's Web page:

Benedict XVI's address to Finnish ambassador: http://zenit.org/article-27919?l=english

Benedict XVI's address to Danish ambassador: http://zenit.org/article-27918?l=english

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Aide: When Will Christians Unite?

Recalls Pope's Visit to Jesus' Birthplace

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 22, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The Vatican spokesman is expressing the hope that this Christmas will bring a new gift to Bethlehem: freedom from the divisions among Christians.

Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican press office, stated this in his latest edition of "Octava Dies," in which he reflected on Benedict XVI's May 13 visit to the city of Christ's birth.

The priest also noted that on Monday, in an address to the Roman Curia, the Pope spoke about how his visit enabled him to see the "suffering and the hopes present" in the Holy Land.

"Everything that one can see in those countries calls for reconciliation, justice and peace," the Pontiff told the curia.

Father Lombardi recalled the "festive celebration of the Mass," celebrated by the Holy Father in Manger Square, which was "overflowing."

Even though it took place in a very different context from the Bethlehem of 2,000 years ago, he said, "the Eucharist continues being the moment in which the mystery of the real presence of Jesus with us is relived."

However, the spokesman added, it is hard to ignore the presence of the walls around the city. Thus, he said, it is with good reason that Benedict XVI, upon leaving, stated: "We all know that the walls do not last forever. They can be taken down.

"First, though, it is necessary to remove the walls that we build around our hearts, the barriers that we set up against our neighbors."

Fragility and strength

The Pope prayed in the grotto of Bethlehem, but as Father Lombardi noted, "also there -- as in other holy places -- he experienced the fact that Christians are not united: They have to share places and temples to avoid litigation!"

"When will we be able to overcome our divisions?" the spokesman asked.

The Jesuit then noted his "fondest memory," which is when he saw the "sick children at Caritas Baby Hospital in the hands of the Pope."

"Infinite fragility of humanity! Mysterious and invincible force of love," the aide exclaimed. "How fragile was Jesus born in Bethlehem, but how strong is his message of love!"

He noted that this love is offered to us, but that it also demands of us this fragility. "What human intelligence could have imagined this incredible message?" he said.

Father Lombardi concluded: "Let us come and see the Child: God is still with us."

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WORLD FEATURES

Latin Patriarch: Still No Peace on Earth

Reports Signs of Hope, Record Number of Pilgrims

JERUSALEM, DEC. 22, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The Latin patriarch of Jerusalem is observing that although peace has not yet come to the Holy Land, there are many signs of hope for the people there.

Archbishop Fouad Twal affirmed this in a Christmas message that was published today, in which he wished peace to "all the inhabitants of this Holy Land: Palestinians and Israelis, Christians, Muslims, Jews and Druses."

"Our dreams for a reconciled Holy Land seem to be utopia," he said.

The prelate explained: "Despite the praiseworthy efforts of politicians and men of good will to find a solution to the ongoing conflict, all of us, Palestinians and Israelis, have all failed in achieving peace. The reality contradicts our dreams."

"Our hope is still alive," he said. "In the Holy Land, everything is not desperate."

Among the signs of hope, the archbishop mentioned a greater "freedom of movement for Palestinians" due to the removal of over 50 checkpoints by the Israeli military, and an improved economic situation.

As well, he said, "Palestinians are more and more expressing resistance in a nonviolent fashion."

International support

Archbishop Twal underlined the hope brought by the "generosity of the international community."

He also reported that Benedict XVI's May visit to the region uplifted the people, and they "continue to gather fruit from his visit."

The prelate stated that the "massive arrival of pilgrims" has been a positive sign for the Holy Land, and that "2009 will be equal to the year 2000, which was a record in the history of pilgrimages, with 2,700,000 pilgrims."

He acknowledged the hope brought by the construction of a new pediatric hospital in Bethlehem, Madaba University in Jordan, and a housing project in Jerusalem.

"The best gift we seek, above money and wealth, is peace," the archbishop affirmed. "It is the wish of all the inhabitants of this land: Israelis and Palestinians alike."

He concluded: "Peace is a gift of God for men of good will. We have to deserve it."

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On ZENIT's Web page:

Full text: http://zenit.org/article-27914?l=english

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Mary Ward Advances Toward Sainthood

British Founder Was Once Called a Heretic

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 22, 2009 (<A href="http://www.zenit.org">Zenit.org</A>).- Mary Ward, British founder of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, has been recognized as venerable by Benedict XVI.

On Saturday, the Pope approved a decree acknowledging the heroic virtue of the Englishwoman, advancing her cause for canonization.

Ward was born in 1585 in Ripon, England, at a time when Catholics were persecuted in that country. In 1589, her family's home was burned down, and she was often separated from her parents for her safety.

She felt called to the religious life at age 15, and in 1606 she left England to enter a Poor Clare monastery. Later realizing that she was not called to the contemplative life, Ward left the cloister and returned to England where she worked in disguise to preserve the Catholic Church.

In 1609, she founded a community of active religious sisters in Saint-Omer, France. The women worked to educate youth, help persecuted and imprisoned Catholics, and "spread the Word of God in places priests could not go," the institute's Web site stated. Ward founded schools in the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Austria, present-day Czech Republic and Slovakia.

The new style of religious community established by Ward, with an active ministry outside of cloistered life and without a formal habit, was met with opposition.

Ward was accused of heresy, and the congregation was disbanded in 1630. It was revived later and its rule was approved by Pope Clement XI in 1703. In 1877 the congregation was recognized as an institute by Pope Pius IX, but Ward was not formally named as the founder until 1909.

The Englishwoman died in Heworth, near York, England, in 1645. Her cause for canonization was started in 1929.

Her institute, also known as the Congregation of Jesus or the Loreto Sisters, has some 3,000 members working in 44 countries worldwide.

To qualify for beatification, a decree attesting to a miracle attributed to Mary Ward's intercession will have to be approved by the Church.

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Press Union Urges Media to Serve Humanity

Stresses Journalist's Role in Just Economy

GENEVA, Switzerland, DEC. 22, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The International Catholic Union of the Press is underlining the media's role in building economic justice, and is calling on journalists to serve humanity and creation, rather than individual agendas.

The union affirmed this in a document titled "Media for Social and Economic Justice," published this week in order to "emphasize the importance and role of journalism in finding lasting solutions to problems we all face worldwide."

"Social and economic justice forms the foundation for a peaceful and prosperous world," the document stated.

It underlined the "special responsibility" of journalists and media experts "to ensure that social and economic justice worldwide prevail with the purpose of eliminating conflicts, wars and other disasters."

It this light, the press union affirmed that the document they published, which they adopted at their Oct. 31 general assembly, aims at "inspiring journalists and media experts, so that they can work towards establishing exemplary levels of justice and peace worldwide by bringing up this issue at world forums and at decision- and policy-making levels."

The document was prepared by writers, journalists, professors and specialists from Europe, Asia, North America, Africa, the Middle East, the Caribbean and Oceania.

It emphasized the "noble history of journalism," noting that "when crises occurred in the past journalists were able to speak out and show the way to people as well as their leaders."

Now, it stated, the world is dealing with several issues such as "consumerism, standardization, destruction of the environment, globalization, widespread underpaying of workers, and permanent dependence of the poor on the rich."

The press union expressed the hope that this document will aid journalists and media experts in the "noble act" of exploring these issues and making them a priority on the world agenda.

Global welfare

It explained: "Media experts and journalists have probably the most important role to play with regard to social and economic issues. Journalism is the profession where critical thinking and in-depth analysis in favor of global welfare must precede any word or action."

"In this sense," the document affirmed, "no one can be a journalist if he or she discriminates or devalues the other in the name of national, ethnical or religious pride."

It added, "A journalist is at the service of humanity and nature and not at the service of the vested interests of a few."

The union stated that "the media have to rise above differences -- which at the same time need to be distinguished and appreciated in order to serve the greater aims and welfare of all."

Thus, it continued, "the media can bring to light constantly, every day and every minute, the policies and actions that go against the common good and welfare together with their devastating consequences."

"If the media are not able to do this, there is no one else to expose these injustices," the union asserted.

The document underlined the need "to create supra-national, supra-interest and supra-cultural media that can really serve humanity at large and taking into consideration diverse viewpoints and life experiences."

It affirmed: "All journalists, editors and experts, irrespective of their working conditions and salary scales must consider their supreme call to serve humanity at large.

"Probably this is the only way to progress and gradually establish social and economic justice."

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On the Net:

Full text: http://www.ucip.ch/do/mje.htm

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WORDS MADE FLESH

"The Future of Humanity Passes Through the Family"

Reflection for Feast of Holy Family Year C

By Father Thomas Rosica, CSB

TORONTO, DEC. 22, 2009 (Zenit.org).- In the afterglow of Christmas, the Church celebrates the feast of the Holy Family, inviting the faithful to reflect on the gift and mystery of life, and in particular the blessing of family.

Today's Gospel story (Luke 2:41-52) relates an incident from Jesus' youth that is unique in the New Testament. Luke's infancy Gospel, however scarce in details concerning the first part of Jesus' life, mentions that "his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover" (2:41), an indication of their piety, their fidelity to the law and to the tradition of Israel.

"When [Jesus] was 12 years old, they went up according to custom" (2:42). "When they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, without his parents knowing it" (2:43). After searching for three days "they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions" (2:46).

Jesus' mysterious words to his parents seem to subdue their joy at finding him: "How is it that you sought me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" (2:49). This phrase can also be translated, "I must be immersed in my Father's work." In either translation, Jesus refers to God as his Father. His divine sonship, and his obedience to his heavenly Father's will, take precedence over his ties to his family.

Apart from this event, the whole period of the infancy and youth of Jesus is passed over in silence in the Gospel. It is the period of his "hidden life," summarized by Luke in two simple statements: Jesus "went down with [Mary and Joseph] and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them" (Luke 2:51); and "He progressed steadily in wisdom and age and grace before God and men" (Luke 2:52). With this episode, the infancy narrative ends just as it began, in the setting of the Jerusalem temple.

We learn from the Gospels that Jesus lived in his own family, in the house of Joseph, who took the place of a father in regard to Mary's son by assisting and protecting him, and gradually training him in his own trade of carpenter. The people of the town of Nazareth regarded him as "the carpenter's son" [Matthew 13:55].

When he began to teach, his fellow citizens asked with surprise: "Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary?" (Mark 6:3). Besides his mother, they mentioned also his "brothers" and his "sisters," who lived at Nazareth. It was they who, as the evangelist Mark mentions, sought to dissuade Jesus from his activity of teaching (Mark 3:21). Evidently, they did not find in him anything to justify the beginning of a new activity. They thought that Jesus was just like any other Israelite, and should remain such.

School of Nazareth

The words of Pope Paul VI spoken in Nazareth on Jan. 5, 1964, are a beautiful reflection on the mystery of Nazareth and of the Holy Family. His words inspire all of us to imitate God's family in their beautiful values of silence, family life and work.

He said: "Nazareth is a kind of school where we may begin to discover what Christ's life was like and even to understand his Gospel. Here we can observe and ponder the simple appeal of the way God's Son came to be known, profound yet full of hidden meaning.

"And gradually we may even learn to imitate him. Here we can learn to realize who Christ really is. And here we can sense and take account of the conditions and circumstances that surrounded and affected his life on earth: the places, the tenor of the times, the culture, the language, religious customs, in brief everything which Jesus used to make himself known to the world. [...]

"First we learn from its silence. If only we could once again appreciate its great value. We need this wonderful state of mind, beset, as we are, by the cacophony of strident protests and conflicting claims so characteristic of these turbulent times. The silence of Nazareth should teach us how to meditate in peace and quiet, to reflect on the deeply spiritual, and to be open to the voice of God's inner wisdom and the counsel of his true teachers. Nazareth can teach us the value of study and preparation, of meditation, of a well-ordered personal spiritual life, and of silent prayer that is known only to God.

"Second, we learn about family life. May Nazareth serve as a model of what the family should be. May it show us the family's holy and enduring character and exemplifying its basic function in society: a community of love and sharing, beautiful for the problems it poses and the rewards it brings -- in sum, the perfect setting for rearing children -- and for this there is no substitute.

"Finally, in Nazareth, the home of a craftsman's son, we learn about work and the discipline it entails. I would especially like to recognize its value -- demanding yet redeeming -- and to give it proper respect. I would remind everyone that work has its own dignity. On the other hand, it is not an end in itself. Its value and free character, however, derive not only from its place in the economic system, as they say, but rather from the purpose it serves."

Challenges for today

Today we are witnesses to a worrisome lack of educational environments not only outside the Church, but even within the Church. The Christian family is no longer capable on its own of passing on the faith to the next generation, and neither is the parish, even though it continues to be the indispensable structure for the Church's pastoral mission in any given place.

As a Christian community and as a society in general, we must do more to encourage the committed relationship of man and woman that remains so basic to all civilizations, and has proven to be the best support for the rights and needs of children. We must reflect carefully on the social consequences involved in the redefinition of marriage, examining all that is entailed if society no longer gives a privileged place and fundamental value to the lifelong union of a man and a woman in marriage.

As the keystone of society, the family is the most favorable environment in which to welcome children. At the same time, freedom of conscience and religion needs to be ensured, while also respecting the dignity of all persons, whatever their sexual orientation.

Two distinct challenges emerge from this great debates of our times surrounding marriage and family life. Today's feast of the Holy Family issues an urgent invitation, especially to lay people, to uphold the dignity of the important institution and sacrament of Marriage. Support the Marriage Preparation Programs in your parish communities. Insist that in your parishes and dioceses, there are solid vocational programs for young adults and young people. Parishes, dioceses and lay movements that do not have creative pastoral strategies and vocational programs about marriage for young people leave the door open to tremendous moral confusion and misunderstanding, misinformation, emptiness.

At the same time, we cannot forget that other bonds of love and interdependency, of commitment and mutual responsibility exist in society. They may be good; they may even be recognized in law. They are not the same as marriage; they are something else. No extension of terminology for legal purposes will change the observable reality that only the committed union of a man and a woman carries, not only the bond of interdependency between the two adults, but the inherent capacity to bring forth children.

On this feast of the Holy Family, let us recommit ourselves to building up the human family, to strengthening and enshrining marriage, to blessing and nurturing children, and to making our homes, families and parish communities holy, welcoming places for women and men of every race, language, orientation and way of life.

Foundation of society

"The future of humanity passes through the family," as the Venerable Pope John Paul II would say so often. Today's readings remind us that the family has a vital impact on society.

The foundation of society is the family. And the foundation of the family is marriage. The vocation to marriage is written in the very nature of man and woman. As the keystone of society, the family is the most favorable environment in which to welcome children.

We need young adults to say their "I do" with joy, conviction, faith and hope. They are our future and our hope. Without married people, we cannot build the future of society and the Church. Without committed, married people, we will not have holy families today.

[The readings for the feast of the Holy Family are Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14 or 1 Samuel 1:20-22, 24-28; Colossians 3:12-21 or 3:12-17 or 1 John 3:1-2, 21-24; and Luke 2:41-52]

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Basilian Father Thomas Rosica, chief executive officer of the Salt and Light Catholic Media Foundation and Television Network in Canada, is a consultor to the Pontifical Council for Social Communications. He can be reached at: rosica@saltandlighttv.org.

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On the Net:

Salt and Light: www.saltandlighttv.org

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LITURGY

Adapting the Mysteries of the Rosary

And More on Vigil Masses and on Readings

ROME, DEC. 22, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Answered by Legionary of Christ Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum university.

Q: What mysteries of the rosary should be said on Sundays of Advent, Christmastime/Epiphany, and Lent? The glorious are scheduled for it, but in the past (before the luminous), we changed the Sunday mysteries to sorrowful in Lent and Advent and joyful in Christmastime. And, of course, when one of the feasts should occur on any day, we changed to that set of mysteries. But now the glorious are said on one day only of the week if Sunday is changed. In the past, it was three days a week and two if Sunday was changed. -- M.C., Cork, Ireland

A: There are two principal official sources regarding this question: the 2001 Directory for Popular Piety issued by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, and John Paul II's beautiful apostolic letter on the rosary published a year later.

The following text from the Directory illustrates the rosary's nature and the faithful's freedom with respect to the distribution of the mysteries:

"197. The Rosary, or Psalter of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is one of the most excellent prayers to the Mother of God. Thus, 'the Roman Pontiffs have repeatedly exhorted the faithful to the frequent recitation of this biblically inspired prayer which is centered on contemplation of the salvific events of Christ's life, and their close association with the his Virgin Mother. The value and efficacy of this prayer have often been attested by saintly Bishops and those advanced in holiness of life.'

"The Rosary is essentially a contemplative prayer, which requires 'tranquility of rhythm or even a mental lingering which encourages the faithful to meditate on the mysteries of the Lord's life.' Its use is expressly recommended in the formation and spiritual life of clerics and religious.

"199. With due regard for the nature of the rosary, some suggestions can now be made which could make it more proficuous.

"On certain occasions, the recitation of the Rosary could be made more solemn in tone 'by introducing those Scriptural passages corresponding with the various mysteries, some parts could be sung, roles could be distributed, and by solemnly opening and closing of prayer.'

"200. Those who recite a third of the Rosary sometimes assign the various mysteries to particular days. [Following John Paul II, these are now: joyful (Monday and Saturday), sorrowful (Tuesday and Friday), glorious (Wednesday and Sunday), luminous (Thursday).]

"Where this system is rigidly adhered to, conflict can arise between the content of the mysteries and that of the Liturgy of the day: the recitation of the sorrowful mysteries on Christmas day, should it fall on a Friday. In cases such as this it can be reckoned that 'the liturgical character of a given day takes precedence over the usual assignment of a mystery of the Rosary to a given day; the Rosary is such that, on particular days, it can appropriately substitute meditation on a mystery so as to harmonize this pious practice with the liturgical season.' Hence, the faithful act correctly when, for example, they contemplate the arrival of the three Kings on the Solemnity of the Epiphany, rather than the finding of Jesus in the Temple. Clearly, such substitutions can only take place after much careful thought, adherence to Sacred Scripture and liturgical propriety.

"201. The custom of making an insertion in the recitation of the Hail Mary, which is an ancient one that has not completely disappeared, has often been recommended by the Pastors of the Church since it encourages meditation and the concurrence of mind and lips.

"Insertions of this nature would appear particularly suitable for the repetitive and meditative character of the Rosary. It takes the form of a relative clause following the name of Jesus and refers to the mystery being contemplated. The meditation of the Rosary can be helped by the choice of a short clause of a Scriptural and Liturgical nature, fixed for every decade.

"'In recommending the value and beauty of the Rosary to the faithful, care should be taken to avoid discrediting other forms of prayer or of overlooking the existence of a diversity of other Marian chaplets which have also been approved by the Church.' It is also important to avoid inculcating a sense of guilt in those who do not habitually recite the Rosary: 'The Rosary is an excellent prayer, in regard to which, however, the faithful should feel free to recite it, in virtue of its inherent beauty.'"

In his apostolic letter John Paul II also acknowledged the faithful's freedom in adapting the mysteries to the seasons. With respect to Directory No. 201 above, he suggested that the insertion to the Hail Mary is best made after the name 'Jesus' (Rosarium Virginis Mariae, No. 33). This brief insertion should be inspired by the mysteries of Christ's life and is especially suitable for community recitation.

Given that the Church gives grants wide leeway to the faithful, our reader has many options if she desires to pray the glorious mysteries twice in one week. A simple solution would be to switch Tuesday and Sunday and pray the sorrowful mysteries on Sunday and the glorious on Tuesday.

I have misgivings, however, regarding the appropriateness of celebrating the sorrowful mysteries on a Sunday. The Lord's Day always celebrates the Resurrection, even during Lent and Advent. I believe that Sunday's essentially paschal character should be reflected through the glorious mysteries albeit allowing for possible exceptions such as Palm Sunday.

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Follow-up: Christmas Vigil Masses; Options on Readings

A deacon from Toledo, Ohio, had a question related to the topic of Christmas readings (see Dec. 8). He asked: "Could you clarify why the lectionary omits the last part of the Archangel Gabriel's greeting to the Virgin Mary ('Blessed are you among women')? The Gospel according to Luke is very clear on the subject; as a matter of fact, both at the Annunciation and at the Visitation to her cousin Elizabeth we see that the archangel's last words and Elizabeth's first words of salutation are the same: 'Blessed are you among women.' I have seen different Bibles in Latin, Spanish, Italian and English, and they are identical. Who authorized a translation for a lectionary to be read at Masses which shortchanges our Blessed Mother's unique attribute?"

The reason why the lectionary omits the angel's greeting of "Blessed are you among women" is that, according to most modern scholars, the angel probably never said it.

Let me explain. St. Luke's original text is no longer available. All we have are copies from later centuries, even though some of these copies or fragments of the text get quite close to the time of the apostles. Many of these handwritten copies have slight variations among them, and scriptural scholars must decide which text is closer to the original.

The angel's greeting of "Blessed art thou among women" is one such text. For example, the Jerusalem Bible, one of the most authoritative Catholic Bibles, omits the clause but mentions in the footnotes that some ancient authorities include it.

How do the exegetes decide? They usually follow a set of practical rules such as the text's presence or absence in the oldest manuscripts, the number of its appearances, and if a plausible explanation for its inclusion can be found.

In the case of this clause, a plausible cause of its inclusion was that very early on, the angel's greeting was united to Elizabeth's as a popular prayer, a kind of proto-Hail Mary. This popular usage likely led some copyists, perhaps unconsciously, to add the text to the angel's greeting while copying new versions of the Gospel; and this amended copy was the base of still later copies.

Such a text was the Greek copy used by St. Jerome when he worked on the Vulgate, on which almost all Catholic Bibles were based until relatively recently. The Protestant King James version also used such a text. Thus we have the Latin for Luke 1:28: "et ingressus angelus ad eam dixit have gratia plena Dominus tecum benedicta tu in mulieribus." And we have the King James text: "And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women."

Modern scholars are now practically agreed on the original Greek text of the New Testament and hence usually omit this part of the angelic greeting. Thus the Catholic New Jerusalem Bible: "He went in and said to her, 'Rejoice, you who enjoy God's favour! The Lord is with you.'" And the Protestant Revised Standard: "And he came to her and said, 'Hail, O favored one, the Lord is with you!'"

The lectionaries, therefore, are not deliberately shortchanging the text but rather are following established scriptural versions.

Even if the angel did not say to Mary that she was blessed among women, the Holy Spirit said so through St. Elizabeth, and that more than justifies our greeting her every day with the same words.

Finally, in my previous column I reaffirmed my conviction that the Christmas Midnight Mass should be celebrated at midnight or as close to this time as possible. Recently it has been announced that the Holy Father has decided to celebrate it this year at 10 p.m.

While I stand by my reasoning insofar as I interpreted the rubrics, it would appear that the Holy Father, as supreme legislator in the Church, has allowed himself some flexibility.

This initiative might be for personal reasons such as his advanced age and has not been accompanied by any formal change in the norms. All the same, it would still appear that he considers a late-hour celebration as sufficient for the Midnight Mass, especially if the Mass ends after midnight as is almost certain in the case of St. Peter's Basilica.

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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

Jerusalem Patriarch's Christmas Message

"Our Dreams for a Reconciled Holy Land Seem to Be Utopia"

JERUSALEM, DEC. 22, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is the text of the Christmas message from Archbishop Fouad Twal, the patriarch of Jerusalem. The text was published today.

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"Christmas approaches. Therefore I wish peace and Grace to all the inhabitants of this Holy Land: Palestinians and Israelis, Christians, Muslims, Jews and Druses. I extend these greetings to our faithful in Jordan and Cyprus who are also part of this diocese. The Birth of Christ offers several values to meditate upon: peace, hope, love, sharing, hospitality, compassion and human dignity."

First of all, I want to welcome you, all the journalists gathered here today, and thank you for the good but difficult work you perform. Through this work you have the opportunity to seek and serve the truth. Many journalists have paid and continue to pay a real cost to their lives due to their dedication to the truth. Information is not neutral. It has a real ethical dimension. Through informing the readers about what happens in the world, you help them to have an objective and ethical evaluation of the events themselves. Thank you and welcome.

Christmas approaches. Therefore I wish peace and Grace to all the inhabitants of this Holy Land: Palestinians and Israelis, Christians, Muslims, Jews and Druses. I extend these greetings to our faithful in Jordan and Cyprus who are also part of this diocese. The Birth of Christ offers several values to meditate upon: peace, hope, love, sharing, hospitality, compassion and human dignity.

1. Our dreams for a reconciled Holy Land seem to be utopia. Despite the praiseworthy efforts of politicians and men of good will to find a solution to the ongoing conflict, all of us, Palestinians and Israelis, have all failed in achieving peace. The reality contradicts our dreams. Here are some examples:

A. Palestinians still do not have their own State where they can live in peace and harmony with their Israeli neighbors; they still suffer from Occupation, difficult economical situation, destruction of houses in East Jerusalem and internal divisions, thousands of persons living in Jerusalem or Gaza or the Palestinian Territories are waiting for family reunion; one year after Gaza war, Gaza still suffers from economical siege, lack of freedom of movement and from the contamination of its sea and water, which endangers the health of 1.500.000 citizens among which 50% are under the age of 14.

B. The final status for Jerusalem is still under discussion. Many changes are taking place in the Holy City which may alter its vocation as a Universal city for three religions and two peoples, making it into an exclusive city. Indeed, Jerusalem is called to be a city of peaceful co-existence between its inhabitants. Unfortunately, the Al Aksa compound recently witnessed confrontations between Fundamentalists Jews who tried to invade Al Haram Al Sharif and the young Palestinians, who wanted to defend their Holy Place. The impact of these regrettable events should not be underestimated.

C. Israelis live under great fear which prohibits them from taking courageous decisions to end the conflict. The Separation Wall is a material manifestation of this fear. On another side, we had strongly hoped that the exchange of prisoners between Israelis and Palestinians would succeed and give hope to the Palestinians and Israelis. We feel frustrated by the delay.

2. Nevertheless, our hope is still alive. Hope is the "capacity to see God in the midst of trouble. It encourages us to change the reality in which we find ourselves. Hope means not giving in to evil, but rather standing up to it” (Kairos Palestine Document, 2009). In the Holy Land, everything is not desperate. There are a few signs of hope which are:

A. The partial freeze on the construction of settlements and the removal of over fifty checkpoints within the West Bank. This decision from the Israeli Military has markedly improved the freedom of movement for Palestinians and the economic situation. It is not enough, but, a step forward. We hope that other steps may soon follow. On the other hand, Palestinians are more and more expressing resistance in a non violent fashion. It is a positive sign pointing in the right direction.

B. The generosity of the international community: the financial support of the international community is a strong sign of hope. After the Gaza war, there came into being a chain of solidarity from governments, churches and individuals. We thank all the donors and promise to pray for them on Christmas.

C. The visit of the Holy Father in May 2009. Pope Benedict was well received in Jordan, Israel and Palestine. A great thanks to the governments of the three countries. He came here as pilgrim of peace and reconciliation. “No more bloodshed! No more fighting! No more terrorism! No more war! Instead let us break the vicious circle of violence.” We can add: “No more anti-Semitism, no more Islamophobia, no more fear and hatred”. With such words, the Holy Father addressed us during His visit. His different speeches, homilies, meetings and gestures aimed at promoting inter-religious and ecumenical dialogue, reconciliation and justice and at encouraging the Christian community to remain in the Holy Land and to take an active role in the life of the Country. We continue to gather fruit from his visit:

a. The massive arrival of pilgrims. Last October, according to the Israeli Ministry of Tourism, 330.000 pilgrims visited the Holy Land. The year 2009 will be equal to the year 2000, which was a record in the history of pilgrimages, with 2,700,000 pilgrims.

b. The construction of a new pediatric Hospital in Bethlehem named after Benedict XVI, mainly financed by the John Paul II Foundation and other church and civil institutions in Italy.

c. Madaba University in Jordan. Pope Benedict XVI blessed the cornerstone during his last visit. Such a project will represent our contribution in offering excellence in education as we try to do in Bethlehem University.

d. Construction of a housing project in Jerusalem for 72 young couples: Eastern Jerusalem suffers from a severe shortage in housing. Permits are given only with difficulty. Construction is expensive. This project should be a pilot for others.

e. The courageous decision of Benedict XVI to summon a Synod for the Middle East to take place in October 2010. This will give us the opportunity to focus again on the big challenges facing the Churches in the Middle East.

f. The beatification of sister Marie Alphonsine, foundress of the Rosary Sisters. This great event means that the faithful, with real pride and joy, find in her a model of heroic virtues and an intercessor. I want to highlight the fact that this sister was born in Jerusalem, some meters away from the Latin Patriarchate. She also served in different parishes of the Holy Land, including Jordan. She is a model to follow. We will celebrate her feast each 19th of November.

Conclusion. The best gift we seek, above money and wealth, is peace. It is the wish of all the inhabitants of this Land: Israelis and Palestinians alike. Peace is a gift of God for men of good will. We have to deserve it. We are sure that there are many men and women of good will among Israelis and Palestinians. We pray that one day, the beautiful vision of Isaiah will become a reality: "In days to come, the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all the nations shall stream to it (…) they shall beat their swords into plough-shares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more" (Is. 2: 2-5).

Happy Christmas and a blessed New Year to all of you.

+ Fouad Twal, Patriarch

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Benedict XVI's Letter to Cardinal Cordes

Praises Cardinal's Work With Youth, Movements, Caritas

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 22, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of a letter that Benedict XVI sent last week to Cardinal Josef Cordes, president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, which was included in a book written in the cardinal's honor.

The book, titled "Gott Is Treu" (God is Faithful), published by Sankt Ulrich Verlag, commemorates the cardinal's 75th birthday, which took place Sept. 5.

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Your Eminence, Cardinal Cordes! Dear Friend!

In the volume of studies in your honor, on the occasion of your 75th birthday, I wanted to be present, at least with a word of thanks and benediction. I no longer remember when we first met. I had some idea of you through your articles in the journal “Communio” in the 1970s, when the review had just been founded.

What you wrote about was always connected with relevant, urgent and concrete issues of the present, but it was always marked by a consideration of the essential in such a way that it led the reader to the right answers, following the intimate logic of the thing itself. For about a year we were both part of the German bishops' conference, then you were called to Rome to be part of the Pontifical Council for the Laity. Shortly afterward, the Holy Father put me at the head of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, and then we both lived in the eternal city for more than a quarter century.

With courage and creativity at the beginning of your work in Rome, you opened up new roads to lead young people to Christ. Behind the houses of the Via della Conciliazione you found the old Church of San Lorenzo "in Piscibus," which then served as the atrium of a school -- an old sacred edifice that you helped to return to its pristine beauty, and which you made a center of meeting of young people with Christ.

You also made a contribution to the genesis and the growth of the World Youth Days. Especially characteristic of your pastoral involvement is and remains your commitment to the "movements": the charismatic movement, Communion and Liberation and the Neocatechumenal Way have many reasons to be grateful to you. While in the beginning the organizers and planners in the Church had many reservations in regard to the movements, you immediately sensed the life that burst forth from them -- the power of the Holy Spirit that gives new paths and in unpredictable ways keeps the Church young.

You recognized the pentecostal character of these movements and you worked passionately so that they would be welcomed by the Church's pastors. Certainly, with respect to organization and planning, there were often good reasons to be scandalized as they brought new and unforeseen elements that could not always be integrated easily into the existing organizational structures.

You saw that what is organic is more important than what is organized; you saw that here were men who were deeply touched by the spirit of God and that in such a way there grew new forms of authentic Christian life and authentic ways of being Church. Of course, these movements needed to be ordered and brought within the totality; they needed to learn to recognize their limits and to become part of the communitarian reality of the Church in her proper constitution together with the Pope and the bishops. Thus they need a guide and purification to be able to reach the form of their true maturity.

They, nevertheless, are gifts to be grateful for. It is no longer possible to think of the life of the Church of our time without including these gifts of God within it.

Finally, you became president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum and you are therefore responsible for the charitable activity of the Church in the world. You welcomed this task with your usual energy and with eyes of faith looked to the essential and gave form to this work. Above all you are concerned that Caritas does not become a charitable organization like all the rest, that it does not become oriented toward the political, but that it always remains an expression of faith, which in its intrinsic dynamism must become love.

Vatican City -- Dec. 12, 2009

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Pope's Address to Finnish Ambassador

"Charity ... Transcends Justice in Human Relations"

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 22, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is the English-language address Benedict XVI delivered in writing upon receiving in audience Alpo Rusi, the new ambassador from Finland to the Holy See.

The Pope received the envoy Thursday, together with representatives from seven other nations, and addressed all eight with a separate discourse delivered in French.

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Mr Ambassador,

I am pleased to welcome you to the Vatican and to accept the Letters accrediting you as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Finland to the Holy See. I thank you for your gracious words and for the greetings that you bring from your President, Her Excellency Ms Tarja Halonen. Please convey to her my own good wishes and assure her of my continuing prayers for the well-being and prosperity of all the citizens of your land.

For over sixty years, as you have observed, the Holy See has enjoyed cordial diplomatic relations with Finland, and indeed there are many common objectives in international affairs on which we can continue to work together. Your nation has shown a commitment to building up harmonious relations within Europe, particularly among the Member States of the European Union. Finland's border with Russia enables it to act as a bridge to that country, and its proximity to the Baltic States means that it is well placed to foster cooperation and mutual exchange between them and the Nordic lands. The Holy See is eager to lend support to initiatives that encourage fraternity between nations while recognizing that, of themselves, the technical aspects of cooperation and stable coexistence are not enough to create lasting friendship between peoples or to overcome every division. It depends, rather, on charity, a divine gift which both presupposes and transcends justice in human relations (cf. Caritas in Veritate, 19, 34). This is where the voice of the Church has an essential contribution to make to international affairs, as nations like your own have recognized, ever since diplomatic relations were established between us during the dark days of the Second World War.

For many years Finland has been at the forefront of international diplomatic activity in defense of peace and human rights. Indeed the very name of your capital, Helsinki, is associated with this worthy goal in the minds of countless people. Your nation has contributed actively to peace-keeping operations and has recently held with distinction the Presidency of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, an agency that owes its origin in 1975 to the Helsinki Final Act, another fruit of your country’s active presence on the international stage. In this connection, the Holy See particularly appreciates the initiatives that your Government has taken recently to strengthen its links with African nations. I spoke last October at the launch of the Second Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops about the great spiritual contribution that the peoples of that continent can make to a world which in so many ways is undergoing a crisis of faith and hope (cf. Homily, 4 October 2009). While on the one hand economic aid and technology transfer should be granted in justice to the African people, they, with their great vitality and love of life, have much to teach the rest of the world. In this context, your country’s commitment to development sets an example of how to "steer the globalization of humanity in relational terms, in terms of communion and the sharing of goods" (Caritas in Veritate, 42).

The Finns have a distinguished track record in humanitarian aid, and their support for peoples less fortunate than themselves is likewise manifested in the welcome extended to immigrants. This is an area where the Church is able to assist, since the harmonious integration of foreigners into their host countries is greatly facilitated if they can find a spiritual home there, and Catholic communities, especially when small in number, are always very conscious of their communion with fellow Catholics throughout the world. The happy occasion last September of the ordination of a native Finn as Catholic Bishop of Helsinki is a sign both of the ancient roots of the Finnish Catholic Church and of its growth in recent years. In this context, I am also pleased to note the increasing cooperation and dialogue between the different Christian communities in Finland. I thank Your Excellency for the greetings that you bring from the Lutheran and Orthodox Archbishops, and I ask you kindly to reciprocate. These signs of growing fraternity among the followers of Christ augur well for the development of mutual understanding and respect between newly arrived immigrants of various religions and their Finnish hosts.

A vital contribution that all religious groups can offer in your country, as elsewhere in Europe, is to draw attention to certain values that are in danger of being eroded through the process of secularization. I understand the pressures that governments face when presented with insistent demands from some quarters, in the name of tolerance, for acceptance of an ever wider range of viewpoints and lifestyles, but, as I have often pointed out, the virtue of tolerance is not served by the sacrifice of truth, particularly the truth concerning the dignity of the human person. I urge your Government to continue to take note of the ethical perspectives based upon the natural law indelibly inscribed in our common humanity -- those authentically human values to which you have just referred -- so that Finland’s long-standing esteem for the family and respect for life may shape its response to delicate social issues with long-term implications for the health of any human society.

In offering my best wishes for the success of your mission, I would like to assure you that the various departments of the Roman Curia are ready to provide help and support in the fulfillment of your duties. Upon Your Excellency and all the people of Finland I cordially invoke God's abundant blessings.

© Copyright 2009 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana

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Papal Message to Envoy From Denmark

"Individuals and Communities Must Change Their Behavior"

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 22, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is the English-language address Benedict XVI delivered in writing upon receiving in audience Hans Klingenberg, the new ambassador from Denmark to the Holy See.

The Pope received the envoy Thursday, together with representatives from seven other nations, and addressed all eight with a separate discourse delivered in French.

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Your Excellency,

It is with pleasure that I welcome you to the Vatican and accept the Letters of Credence by which you are appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Denmark to the Holy See. I thank you for the kind greetings which you bring from Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II, and I would ask you to convey to Her Majesty, to the Government, and to the people of your country my gratitude for their good wishes and the assurance of my prayers for the spiritual well-being of the nation.

The Church’s diplomatic relations form a part of her mission of service to the international community. This engagement with civil society is shaped by her conviction that in an increasingly globalized world, efforts to promote integral human development and a sustainable economic order must consider the fundamental relationship between God, creation and his creatures. Within this perspective, tendencies toward social fragmentation and piecemeal development initiatives can be overcome by the recognition of the unifying moral dimension constitutive of every human being, and the moral consequence pertaining to every economic decision (cf. Caritas in Veritate, 37). Indeed, contemporary skepticism in the face of political rhetoric, and a growing uneasiness with the lack of ethical points of reference governing technological advances and commercial markets all indicate the imperfections and limitations found within both individuals and society and the need for a rediscovery of fundamental values and a profound cultural renewal in harmony with God’s design for the world (cf. ibid., 21).

Your Excellency, the world’s attention is currently drawn towards Denmark as it hosts the United Nations summit on climate change. The political and diplomatic deliberations at play in addressing the demands of such a complex matter test the resolve of stakeholders to forgo nationalistic or short-term alleged advantages in favor of longer-term benefits for the entire international human family. While some consensus can undoubtedly be reached through the elaboration of shared aspirations matched with policies and targets, fundamental change in any form of human behavior -- individual or collective -- requires conversion of heart. Courage and sacrifice, fruits of an ethical awakening, enable us to envisage a better world and embolden us to pursue with hope all that is necessary to ensure that future generations are bequeathed the whole of creation in such a condition that they too can call it home. When the "moral tenor of society" (ibid., 51) declines, however, the challenges facing today’s leaders can only increase.

This urgent need to emphasize the moral duty to distinguish between good and evil in all human action in order to rediscover and nurture the bond of communion that unites the human person and creation was a central theme of my recent address to FAO. On that occasion the international community considered the pressing issue of food security. Again, I stated that, important as they may be, development plans, investments and legislation are not enough. Rather, individuals and communities must change their behavior and their perception of need. For States themselves this includes a redefining of the concepts and principles that have hitherto governed international relations to include the principle of altruism and the resolve to seek out new parameters -- ethical as well as juridical and economic -- capable of building relationships of greater fairness and balance between developing and developed countries (cf. Address to FAO, 16 November 2009).

Within this framework a holistic understanding of the health of society can emerge in which our duties toward the environment are never detached from our duties toward the human person and in which a moral critique of the cultural norms shaping human coexistence, with particular concern for the young, is considered central to the well-being of society. Too often efforts to promote an integral understanding of the environment have had to sit alongside a reductionist understanding of the person.

Typically the latter is lacking in respect for the spiritual dimension of individuals and at times is hostile toward the family, pitting spouses against each other through a distorted portrayal of the complementarity of men and women, and pitting mother and unborn child against each other through a misconstrued portrayal of "reproductive health". Responsibility in relationships, including the responsibility of careful parenting (cf. "Caritas in Veritate," 44; "Familiaris Consortio," 35), can never be truly nurtured without profound respect for the unity of family life according to the loving design of our Creator.

Denmark's assistance to humanitarian causes is widespread and multi-faceted. The Kingdom's commitment to supporting peace-keeping operations and development projects together with its growing commitment to the continent of Africa are readily recognized by the Holy See for their generosity and professionalism. Among the principles we share in regard to development is the conviction that any form of corruption is always an affront to the dignity of the human person and will always be a severe impediment to the just and equitable progress of peoples. Denmark’s domestic record in this regard is commendable and your foreign financial aid policies rightly insist upon accountability and transparency on the part of receiver nations.

Mr Ambassador, the members of the Catholic Church in your country will continue to pray and work for the spiritual, social and cultural development of all the Danish people. In ecumenical fellowship with other Christians they are attentive to the needs of the migrant communities present in your land as well as other groups that are vulnerable in various ways. Additionally the Church’s schools, pupils from which I regularly welcome to my weekly General Audience, serve the nation as they seek to bear witness to the love and truth of Christ.

Your Excellency, during your term as Denmark’s representative to the Holy See the various departments of the Roman Curia will do all they can to assist you in the discharge of your duties. I offer my best wishes for the success of your endeavors to strengthen the cordial relations already existing between us. Upon you, your family and all your fellow citizens I invoke the abundant blessings of Almighty God.

© Copyright 2009 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana

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2009-12-21T15:30:00.000-08:00

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The World Seen From Rome

Daily dispatch - December 21, 2009

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VATICAN DOSSIER

2009 Unfolded With an Africa Theme, Says Pope
Holy Father Recalls Yad Vashem Visit

WORLD FEATURES

Cancer Survivor Grateful to Blessed Mary MacKillop
Hebrew-Speaking Catholics Affirm Pius XII's Virtues
Bishop Olmsted: Church Has Role in the University
Spanish Journalist "Lolo" to Be Beatified
Excavation Uncovers Nazareth Home from Jesus' Time

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Pontifical Mission for Palestine Marks 60 Years
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WITHIN THE COLONNADE

John Paul II's Holiness Was "Unmistakable"

WORDS MADE FLESH

Emmanuel, the Prayer and the Promise

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Israel's Hebrew-Speaking Catholics on Pius XII

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VATICAN DOSSIER

2009 Unfolded With an Africa Theme, Says Pope

Stresses Need for Reconciliation on All Levels

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 21, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI, while highlighting key events of this year, noted that 2009 has "passed largely under the sign of Africa."

The Pope affirmed this today when he had his traditional exchange of Christmas greetings with prelates and members of the Roman Curia. In this annual address, the Holy Father highlights key events of the year.

This year he spoke about his apostolic trip to Cameroon and Angola, which took place March 17-23, as well as the Synod of Bishops for Africa, held Oct. 4-25 in Rome.

The visit to Africa, the Pontiff said, was "moving," as he experienced a reception of "great warmth," "festive joy and cordial affection."

He noted that he was "particularly impressed" by the liturgical celebrations he witnessed in those countries.

"The celebrations of the Holy Eucharist were authentic feasts of faith," Benedict XVI affirmed.

He described two "particularly important elements" that he observed: "First of all, there was the great joy that was shared, which was experienced even through the body, but in a disciplined way that was oriented towards the presence of the living God.

"And that in itself already indicated the second element: the sense of sacredness -- the mystery of the living God that was present shaped, so to speak, each single gesture. The Lord is present -- the Creator, he to whom we all belong, from which we all came, and towards whom are all journeying."

Ecclesiology

The Pope next spoke about the synod, which followed a few months after his visit to Africa, and the experience of collegiality among the prelates at that event.

It was "touching" to hear the testimonies from the faithful of that continent, he said, "stories of suffering as well as of concrete reconciliations in the tragedies that have marked the continent's recent history."

The bishops had the task to "transform theology into pastoral activity," the Pontiff noted, to apply Scripture and tradition to "a specific time and place."

He added, however, that "we must not fall into the temptation of taking politics in hand, and turn ourselves from pastors into political leaders."

The synod, the Holy Father said, "sought to examine deeply the concept of reconciliation as a task for the Church today, calling attention to its various dimensions."

He continued: "Part of reconciliation is the capacity to recognize one's fault and to ask forgiveness -- from God, and from one's neighbor.

"Likewise, part of reconciliation is the readiness to do penitence, the readiness to suffer to the utmost for one's fault and to allow oneself to be transformed."

"If reconciliation is not in the heart," Benedict XVI said, "then the political commitment to peace lacks its interior prerequisite."

He recalled that in the synod, "the pastors of the Church committed themselves to that interior purification of man that constitutes the essential preliminary condition to build justice and peace."

The Pope reminded his listeners that "such a purification and interior maturation towards true humanity cannot take place without God."

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Holy Father Recalls Yad Vashem Visit

Calls Experience "Overwhelming"

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 21, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is describing his visit in May to Israel's Yad Vashem memorial as an "overwhelming" encounter with hatred.

The Pope stated this today in a traditional meeting with the Roman Curia and other officials for the exchange of Christmas greetings. In his address, the Holy Father recalled some of the major events of 2009, including his visit to Jordan and the Holy Land.

The Pontiff made a special mention of his closeness to the people of Israel, the victims of Nazi cruelty, and his visit to the memorial where he placed a wreath in honor of the dead and met with survivors of the Holocaust.

The visit to Yad Vashem was an "overwhelming encounter with the cruelty of human sin and the hatred of a blind ideology that, without justification, sent millions of human beings to their death," he said.

In this, the Holy Father continued, there was an attempt "to chase God himself from the world, the God of Abraham, of Isaac and of Jacob, and the God of Jesus Christ."

"Thus," he said, "Yad Vashem is first of all a commemorative monument against hatred, a heartfelt call for purification and forgiveness, a plea for love."

Benedict XVI added, "This very monument against human sin lent greater significance to my visits to the places of the faith and made their unaltered relevance today even more perceptible."

He thanked the king of Jordan for working in an "exemplary manner" for the peaceful coexistence between Christians and Muslims.

The Pope expressed gratitude toward the Israeli authorities for their work "to ensure my visit could take place peacefully and securely."

He also thanked the Palestinian Authority for the opportunity to celebrate a public liturgy in Bethlehem, and to observe the "suffering and the hopes present in their territory."

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Declaration Made on Use of Pope's Name

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 21, 2009 (Zenit.org).- If a university or foundation wants to name itself after Benedict XVI, they are going to have to check with the Vatican first.

An announcement made Saturday by the Vatican press office declared that that "the use of anything referring directly to the person or office of the Supreme Pontiff -- his name, his picture or his coat of arms -- and/or the use of the title 'Pontifical,' must receive previous and express authorization from the Holy See."

The communiqué noted that in the past years, there has been a "great increase of affection and esteem for the person of the Holy Father," as well as a "desire to use the Pope's name in the title of universities, schools or cultural institutions, as well as associations, foundations and other groups."

"Occasionally," the note explained, "attempts have been made to attribute credibility and authority to initiatives by using ecclesiastical or papal symbols and logos," or "for ends and activities which have little or nothing to do with the Catholic Church."

The Holy See affirmed that it "alone has the right to ensure the respect due to the Successors of Peter," as well as the corresponding right "to protect the figure and personal identity of the Pope from the unauthorized use of his name and/or the papal coat of arms."

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WORLD FEATURES

Cancer Survivor Grateful to Blessed Mary MacKillop

Nun and Founder to Be Australia's 1st Saint

SYDNEY, Australia, DEC. 21, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The woman whose cure from inoperable lung cancer has been decreed by the Church as a true miracle of Blessed Mary MacKillop, hopes the nun's canonization will be a source of inspiration.

The woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, was quoted in a statement released over the weekend by the Sisters of St. Joseph, after the Vatican announced that Benedict XVI approved the decree attesting to the veracity of the miracle.

The decree paves the way for Mother Mary MacKillop's canonization, which will make her Australia's first saint.

"This is wonderful news," the woman stated. "I feel personally humbled and grateful to Mary MacKillop and the influence she has had on my life."

"It is a day to celebrate and reflect on Mary's life, the work she did and the love she has shown to so many of us ordinary people around the world," she continued. "Mary MacKillop has always provided me with hope and inspiration, particularly during the most difficult times in my life.

"I hope this news today provides others, especially younger Australians, with inspiration and encouragement to live as generously and compassionately as Mary did."

On Saturday, Benedict XVI approved a total of 21 decrees of the Congregation for Saints' Causes, five of which were decrees that attributed miracles to those the Church had already pronounced blessed. Among those was Mother Mary MacKillop.

Other decrees included those attesting to the heroic virtue of two Popes, Pius XII and John Paul II.

Hero

The Sisters of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart, the congregation founded by Mary MacKillop, reacted with joy.

"This is a special time not only for the sisters but also for Australia and the universal Church," Sister Anne Derwin, Congregational Leader said in a statement.

"Mary has been acknowledged as not only truly saintly but also one of Australia's true heroes," she continued. "Mary was a woman ahead of her time; she was bold and tenacious and let nothing stand in the way of her care for others.

"Her strength, humor and egalitarian vision have important relevance in today's busy and complex times."

"The universal recognition of Mary’s holiness for the Church and the whole world will inspire future generations both in Australia and throughout the world," added Sister Anne.

Mary MacKillop, born in Victoria in 1842, to Scottish parents. She founded the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart in 1866, at the age of 25.

The congregation established schools and charitable organizations across Australia, especially in the country's outback. The sisters cared for orphans, neglected children, the homeless, the sick and the elderly.

Mother MacKillop's efforts to found her congregation met with some resistance from the hierarchy in Australia. At one point she was excommunicated by a bishop, only to have the sentence removed five months later.

She died in 1909. Since then the congregation she founded has grown and now numbers about 1,200, working mainly in Australia and New Zealand, but also scattered singly or in small groups around the world.

An early Christmas

On Sunday, Cardinal George Pell, the archbishop of Sydney, called the announcement "a welcome Christmas present."

He noted that Australians, who are used to called her Blessed Mary MacKillop, will now have to get used to calling her St. Mary MacKillop: "It is a change Australians will be very happy to make."

Cardinal Pell reflected that it isn't "easy to become a saint," adding that "saints often answer the challenges of the time and promote religious renewal."

"In Mary's case, she brought education and religious instruction to many poor youngsters, especially in the bush," he said.

"Mary MacKillop stands at the heart of the Catholic tradition," the archbishop of Sydney affirmed. "She was unusual in her faith and prayer, her ability to inspire others to join her -- so lacking today -- her ability to forgive and her loyalty to her fellow sisters and the Church leadership, which did not always treat her well."

Cardinal Pell noted that Mother MacKillop "suffered much and was treated very badly on occasions. She was often sick, regularly short of money, excommunicated by one bishop and expelled from Adelaide by another."

"She prayed and persevered, never lapsed into bitterness, and regularly spoke well of her opponents," the cardinal continued. "God blessed her in her troubles and her work prospered."

"By the time of her death in 1909, she had established 109 houses, staffed by 650 sisters teaching 12,400 pupils in 117 schools across Australia and New Zealand."

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Hebrew-Speaking Catholics Affirm Pius XII's Virtues

Say Only God Can Know if He Did Enough to Save Jews

JERUSALEM, DEC. 21, 2009 (Zenit.org).- While the Hebrew-speaking Catholics of Israel acknowledge that it may never be "humanly possible" to determine if Pope Pius XII did "enough" to save Jews during the Holocaust, they are affirming the wartime Pontiff's many virtues.

The Hebrew-Speaking Catholic Vicariate in Israel (www.catholic.co.il) issued a statement today that lent its support to Benedict XVI's move Saturday to approve a decree that testifies to the heroic virtues of Pius XII, a gesture that puts the Pontiff one step away from beatification.

For Pius XII to be declared Blessed by the Church, a decree testifying to a miracle attributed to his intercession must be approved.

The note, signed by the community's vicar, Jesuit Father David Neuhaus, and priests of the vicariate, laments that the move has led to another "storm in the relations between Jews and Catholics."

Ronald Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress, said in a statement over the weekend that "there are strong concerns about Pope Pius XII's political role during World War II which should not be ignored."

He urged the Vatican to open its archives that concern the wartime years of 1939-1945, and added that until that happens, a "beatification is inopportune and premature."

The statement from Israel's Hebrew-speaking Catholic community, however, notes Pius XII's many accomplishments, including his efforts to promote scientific Biblical research, which "brings together Jews and Christians and influences greatly the definition of the shared Jewish -- Christian Biblical heritage."

"The Pope, who served from 1939 to 1958, was active in many different fields and he left his mark on the Church in the 20th century," the statement affirms. "Catholics remember him and honor his memory in a Church context much wider than just the black years of the Second World War."

Accusations

Regarding those who criticize how Pius XII steered the Church during World War II, the note says they "reject the defamation of Pius XII" and accusations of his "cowardice and even anti-Semitism and collaboration with the Nazi enemy. These accusations are absolutely without foundation.

"Likewise, we reject the interpretations that see any honoring of Pius XII as a minimizing of the importance of the Shoah or as a retreat from the breathtaking progress in the relations between Jews and Catholics in the past decades."

Having said that, the community notes that it does "understand the discomfort of many of our Jewish brothers and sisters who argue that the Pope 'did not do enough' in saving Jews in the hour of their sufferings during the Shoah."

"We understand the cry 'he did not do enough' as a cry of deep pain coming from the sense of betrayal among the Jewish people at the time of their trial," the statement explains. "The world indeed did not do enough as it is an undeniable fact that six million members of the Jewish people were murdered.

"Ultimately, there can be no 'enough' in the attempt to confront a tragedy of the dimensions of the Shoah!"

"Could the Pope have done more?" the note asks. "The question is both legitimate and understandable, however, perhaps there is no human answer to this question.

"Only God can know whether he indeed did everything that he could do."

Father Neuhaus and the other priests of the vicariate, however, acknowledge a large body of historical research that documents Pius XII's diplomatic efforts to end World War II, and his instructions to churches and monasteries to aid Jews fleeing persecution, even to the point of providing them with false documents and smuggling them out of Nazi-controlled areas.

"We continue to pray," the note concludes, "that both in the Church and in the Jewish people we will continue in searching together for the historical truth so that we can educate our children in mutual respect and brotherhood, and that we continue our efforts to collaborate for 'the mending of the world' (tikkun olam)."

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Bishop Olmsted: Church Has Role in the University

Phoenix Prelate Underlines Task of Evangelization, Serving Truth

PHOENIX, Arizona, DEC. 21, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The bishop of the Phoenix Diocese is affirming that the Church has a necessary role in the university, which is primarily that of evangelization.

Bishop Thomas Olmsted stated this in a pastoral letter, "Serving Truth in the University," which was released to the public Dec. 12.

In the letter, he discussed a plan for Catholic ministry, especially through the Newman Centers, at two universities in his diocese, Arizona State University and Northern Arizona University.

"A Newman Center takes up the task of promoting the vital interaction between faith and reason, the two harmonious ways to the truth, which is always one," the bishop wrote.

He continued: "This interaction fosters not only a greater love for truth itself, but becomes a vibrant witness to the goodness and beauty of human life.

"The discovery of truth through faith and reason has the power to draw students into a new life characterized by all that is beautiful, good, and true."

The prelate expressed concern over the "substantial distortions of truth" that can hinder university students from discovering and serving the truth.

In our "postmodern university communities," he noted, "materialism, relativism, secular humanism, sexual promiscuity, drug and alcohol abuse" are "pervasive."

True freedom

"These gravely limit true freedom or even disable young persons' capacity for truth and love," Bishop Olmsted affirmed.

Thus, he said, the Church has a mission of evangelization in the university setting, especially through the Newman Center. He listed three components of this evangelization: visible witness, proclamation and conversion, and ongoing conversion and sacramental life.

"In the university environment," the prelate said, "the Newman Center provides this visible witness primarily through the sacred liturgy, through which Christ's unchanging beauty radiates."

As well, he added, this witness comes through "promoting the inalienable dignity of the human person at all stages of life, a commitment to marriage and to social justice, and the integration of knowledge, especially through the authentic interaction between faith and reason."

The bishop called on the Newman Centers to guide students "to the font of grace that is the Eucharist."

"The Blessed Sacrament, which is Jesus Christ himself, is the goal toward which all campus evangelization is directed, as well as the source from which campus evangelization receives its efficacy and strength," he affirmed.

Bishop Olmsted also underlined the importance of encouraging frequent confession, "to ensure that students have ample opportunity to be reconciled to God and the Church."

Marriage

He stressed the role of the Newman Center in preparing students for the sacrament of marriage.

The prelate affirmed: "While remote preparation begins in the womb and is primarily taught by parents in the family, the years of university study are to be a time of reinforcement and maturation, where the sacrament of marriage is honored and discerned.

"It is in this stage of formation that pastoral guidance should help to equip those discerning marriage to engage in honorable courtship."

"A Newman Center must provide a faithful and courageous education in chastity," he said. "Indeed chastity is not a mortification of love as some suppose, but rather a condition and impetus for authentic love."

As well, the prelate pointed out, "it is particularly the work of priests serving at Newman Centers to ensure that the students understand basic principles of prayer and discernment that will enable persons to better know and respond to God's will for them."

Bishop Olmsted underlined the need for collaboration between the university ministry and the diocese.

"This collaboration will help young people remain closely connected to the life of the Church especially in the transition to and from university life," he affirmed.

Bishop Olmsted concluded, "It continues to be a privilege and joy to work in close conjunction with our university communities."

"These indeed are vast oceans of life, creativity and thought," he said, "which have been and must continue to be waters teeming with faith and charity."

--- --- ---

On the Net:

Full text: http://www.catholicsun.org/2009/december/15/serving-truth-pastoral.html

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Spanish Journalist "Lolo" to Be Beatified

Pope Acknowledges Miraculous Healing

By Jesús Colina

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 21, 2009 (Zenit.org).- After Benedict XVI's approval of a decree recognizing a miracle attributed to the intercession of a Spanish journalist known as "Lolo," the way to his beatification is opened.

The Pope authorized the recognition regarding Manuel Lozano Garrido on Saturday morning in an audience with Archbishop Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for Saints' Causes.

The miracle involved the "scientifically inexplicable" cure of Rogelio de Haro Sagra, who was healed of multiple organ failure from Gram-negative sepsis in 1972, when he was two years old.

Lolo was born in Linares, Spain, on August 9, 1920, and died in the same city on November 3, 1971.

He joined Catholic Action as an adolescent and, during the Spanish Civil War, secretly brought Communion to prisoners until he himself was arrested.

As a journalist, Lolo wrote for the daily "Ya," the reviews "Telva" and "Vida Nueva" and the Associated Press.

In 1942 he began to suffer from spondylitis, which deformed his body and left him an invalid in just a year. In 1962 the journalist lost his sight.

Despite the illness, he received professional recognitions, such as the prestigious Bravo journalism award.

In 1956 Lolo founded Sinai, a magazine for sick people. He also authored nine books, which he dictated to his sister Lucía and his friends.

Last Thursday the journalist's remains were transferred to a grotto of the Blessed Virgin in the monastery of the Discalced Carmelites in Linares, in the presence of the bishop of the Jaen Diocese, Bishop Ramón del Hoyo López, Lolo's two sisters, Lucía and Expectación, and numerous friends.

"The child -- now a man -- who 'loaned' his grave illness to God so that his power would shine through the intercession of Lolo, was also there," explained Father Rafael Higueras Álamo, who accompanied Lolo at the moment of death and is the postulator of the cause of his beatification.

The data of Lolo's beatification has not yet been revealed.

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Excavation Uncovers Nazareth Home from Jesus' Time

Provides Unprecedented Window into Ancient Lifestyles

NAZARETH, DEC. 21, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Excavations in Nazareth have uncovered an unprecedented discovery: the remains of a family home from Jesus' time.

A press release from the Israel Antiquities Authority announced today that this finding "is of the utmost importance since it reveals for the very first time a house from the Jewish village of Nazareth and thereby sheds light on the way of life at the time of Jesus."

This discovery is giving archaeologists new information about the way of life in Nazareth during Jesus' time.

Yardenna Alexandre, the authority's excavation director, explained: "The building that we found is small and modest and it is most likely typical of the dwellings in Nazareth in that period.

"From the few written sources that there are, we know that in the first century Nazareth was a small Jewish village, located inside a valley. Until now a number of tombs from the time of Jesus were found in Nazareth; however, no settlement remains have been discovered that are attributed to this period."

The discovery was made during excavations linked to the construction of the International Marian Center of Nazareth, which is being carried out by the Association Mary of Nazareth.

The center is being built next to the Church of the Annunciation, which tradition holds as the site where Mary, the mother of Jesus, lived.

The press release reported that the ancient building that was uncovered had two rooms and a courtyard with a rock-hewn cistern for collecting rainwater.

A few artifacts were found, including pottery fragments from the first and second centuries. As well, some pieces of chalk vessels were discovered, which were used by Jews because the "vessels were not susceptible to becoming ritually unclean," the authority explained.

Another pit with a hidden entrance was found, which was "probably hewn as part of the preparations by the Jews to protect themselves during the Great Revolt against the Romans in 67," Alexandre noted.

The Association Mary of Nazareth announced its plans to conserve the archeological remains inside its new center.

The center, which is scheduled to be completed next year, will be run by the Chemin Neuf Community, a Catholic organization with an ecumenical mission that is active in 25 countries. It aims to offer multimedia educational tools to teach about Nazareth and its role in the Christian faith.

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NEWS BRIEFS

Pontifical Mission for Palestine Marks 60 Years

JERUSALEM, DEC. 21, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The Pontifical Mission for Palestine, a Papal agency for Middle East relief and development, celebrated its 60th anniversary this year.

This Holy See agency was founded in 1949 as a "temporary" solution to help Palestinian refugees until their situation could be resolved.

The anniversary celebration was held last month in the Notre Dame of Jerusalem Center.

Archbishop Antonio Franco, apostolic nuncio to Israel, presided over a Mass for the occasion, which was concelebrated by Archbishop Elias Chacour of Akka, Bishop Giacinto-Boulos Marcuzzo, auxiliary of Jerusalem, Monsignor William Shomali, chancellor of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, and other priests.

At the reception following Mass, the newly appointed regional director of the mission, Sami El-Yousef, spoke about the four-fold focus of the agency: humanitarian assistance, pastoral support, interfaith communication and public awareness.

He presented a new logo for the organization that aims to emphasize the partnership between the Holy See and the Palestinian people in building their society.

In present day, the mission also serves the people of Israel, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon and Syria.

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Archbishop Schnurr Leads Cincinnati Diocese

Pope Names Bishops in Canada and Kenya

CINCINNATI, Ohio, DEC. 21, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI accepted the resignation of Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk of Cincinnati, upon having reached the age limit. Coadjutor Archbishop Dennis Schnurr will assume leadership of the archdiocese.

Archbishop Pilarczyk, who turned 75 in August, has been the archbishop of Cincinnati for 27 years.

A native of Dayton, Ohio, Daniel Pilarczyk was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati in 1959, and named auxiliary bishop of the same diocese in 1974.

In 1982, he was named the archbishop of Cincinnati. He served as president of the U.S. episcopal conference from 1989 to 1992.

Archbishop Dennis Schnurr, 61, is a native of Sheldon, Iowa. He studied to be a canon lawyer in Rome, and was ordained in 1974 as a priest of the Diocese of Sioux City, Iowa.

Father Schnurr served as the national executive director of the 1993 World Youth Day in Denver, and from 1995-2001 served as general secretary of the U.S. bishops' conference.

He was appointed bishop of Duluth in 2001, and named the coadjutor archbishop of Cincinnati in 2008.

The Archdiocese of Cincinnati is the 26th largest diocese in the United States, with almost 500,000 Catholics and 220 parishes.

Saskatoon

The Pontiff named Monsigner Donald Bolen, 48, vicar general of the Archdiocese of Regina, Canada, as bishop of Saskatoon. Both dioceses are located in the Canadian territory Saskatchewan.

Donald Bolen was born in Gravelbourg, Saskatchewan, in 1961 and ordained a priest in 1991.

The Diocese of Saskatoon covers an area of 17,304 square miles, with a population of 292,000. The diocese is composed of 88,900 Catholics, 88 priests, 3 permanent deacons, and 225 religious.

Nakuru

On Saturday, Benedict XVI named Father Maurice Muhatia Makumba, 41, of the clergy of the Diocese of Kakamega, Kenya, and rector and professor of the major national seminary of St. Thomas Aquinas in Nairobi, as bishop of the Diocese of Nakuru.

Maurice Muhatia Makumba was born in Lirhanda, Kenya, in 1968 and ordained a priest in 1994.

The Diocese of Nakuru covers an area of 7,010 square miles, and has a population of 1,571,097, of which some 224,653 are Catholics. The diocese counts on 134 priests and 202 religious.

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WITHIN THE COLONNADE

John Paul II's Holiness Was "Unmistakable"

Supreme Knight Carl Anderson Reflects on Pontiff

NEW HAVEN, Connecticut, DEC. 21, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Pope John Paul II's holiness was apparent to anyone who met him, or even read his writings, says the supreme knight of the Knights of Columbus.

Carl Anderson, who met several times with the Pontiff, spoke with ZENIT of the Holy Father's cause for canonization, which advanced one step closer to beatification this weekend.

On Saturday, Benedict XVI approved a decree testifying to John Paul II's heroic virtue. To qualify for beatification, John Paul II, who died in 2005, needs a miracle attributed to his intercession.

ZENIT: Benedict XVI has approved the heroic virtues of Pope John Paul II, and there is talk that the former Pope could be beatified as early as next October. How exceptional is it for a figure to pass so quickly through the process of canonization?

Anderson: It is certainly exceptional for someone's cause to move this quickly, but it is not unprecedented in truly extraordinary cases. Mother Teresa's cause also moved forward very quickly. I think the key with both John Paul II and Mother Teresa was this: Both were known throughout and universally acclaimed for their holiness.

We should not forget the cries of "santo subito" that rang out at John Paul's canonization.

As for John Paul's beatification, I wouldn't want to speculate on the timing of his beatification. Such an event will only come after a process, a careful process, that takes time, but certainly things have been moving forward as quickly as is prudent.

ZENIT: You knew John Paul II personally. What most impressed you about the late Pontiff?

Anderson: Pope John Paul was unforgettable on many levels. It was unmistakable that he was a very holy man, that he loved Christ immensely and that he was Christ's vicar on earth -- a role he took very seriously.

If his holiness was unmistakable, so too was his human side. He had a great sense of humor, and a very bright mind. Anyone who has read John Paul's writing knows just how brilliant he was and just how important his faith was.

Meeting him, I found a man consistent with his writing. A man with a deep concern and compassion for humanity, for his fellow man, for the future. He was a man every bit as remarkable in person as he was in his thought and writing, and that was almost immediately apparent when spending time with him.

ZENIT: Many have analyzed the pontificate of John Paul II, and its impact on the Church and the world. But the process of canonization has to do with the late Pontiff's personal holiness. In what ways can you attest to John Paul II's personal holiness?

Anderson: I think that John Paul's impact on the Church and the world was a direct result of his holiness. He understood that faith was something that needed to be preached, something that needed to be presented to people in order to create a just society in which the dignity of all people -- born and unborn, young and old, rich and poor -- was taken seriously and protected. He brought his faith to bear on the world, with remarkable results.

He also led by example. John Paul had a deep prayer life, and a real relationship with Christ. His love for God and neighbor is obvious from any page of his writing one might read.

During the last years of his life, and indeed, beginning with the assassination attempt in 1981, he was a man who was often in physical pain, but he witnessed to love and hope in spite of the pain. He continued to say Mass, to meet people, to preach, no matter how sick he was, and when he was too sick to be seen in public, he showed the world how beautifully one can die, when one is prepared to meet God as a good and faithful servant.

ZENIT: It's been said that the late Pontiff performed hundreds of miracles. Is this true?

Anderson: As the sainthood process continues, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints will certainly, review the evidence, and if a miracle has occurred, they will certify it. And I think few people will be surprised if we learn that John Paul is still looking out for us from heaven.

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WORDS MADE FLESH

Emmanuel, the Prayer and the Promise

Biblical Reflection for Vigil Mass for Christmas Eve Year C

By Father Thomas Rosica, CSB

TORONTO, DEC. 21, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The Gospel for the liturgy of Christmas Eve, taken from Matthew's infancy narrative (1:1-25), provides a wide-angle view of the Incarnation event, against a rich, biblical panorama.

More than Mark and Luke, Matthew stresses the Jewish origin of Jesus: The genealogy presents him as "son of David, son of Abraham" (1:1) and goes back no further. Matthew is concerned with 14 generations, probably because 14 is the numerical value of the Hebrew letters forming the name of David.

Of the two genealogies of Jesus in the New Testament -- found in Matthew and Luke -- that of Matthew's Gospel is presented in a descending order, listing the ancestors of Jesus, son of Mary, beginning from Abraham.

The one found in Luke's Gospel (3:23-38), is in ascending order, beginning with Jesus and going back to Adam.

While Luke's genealogy links Jesus with the whole of humanity, Matthew's genealogy makes evident the fact that he was of the offspring of Abraham. It is as a son of Israel -- God's Chosen People in the old covenant, to which he directly belongs -- that Jesus of Nazareth is fully a member of the human family.

While the genealogy shows the continuity of God's providential plan from Abraham on, discontinuity is also present. The women Tamar (1:3), Rahab and Ruth (1:5), and the wife of Uriah, Bathsheba (1:6), bore their sons through unions that were in varying degrees strange and unexpected.

These "irregularities" culminate in the great "irregularity" of the Messiah's birth of a young virgin. Matthew has taken care to draw our attention to the peculiarities of these biblical women of the Old Testament, perhaps in order to warn us that something even stranger is coming, or perhaps to enable us, when the news is announced, to connect it with God's strange way of operating in the past. Our God certainly writes straight with crooked lines, and this genealogy is living proof of that fact!

Prophecies fulfilled

Matthew's Gospel is about the scriptures being fulfilled in Jesus. The angel, the dream, the command not to be afraid, the righteous couple doing what they are told -- all is very familiar to anyone reading and listening to the story with biblical lenses.

Matthew tells us that Jesus' birth in human history fulfills at least three biblical themes. He brings Israel into the Promised Land; "Jesus" is the Greek for "Joshua." As Emmanuel, he embodies God's presence with his people (Isaiah 7:14, quoted in 1:23). As the new David, he is the Messiah born at Bethlehem (2:5, fulfilling Micah 5:1-3).

In the genealogy, Jesus is the culmination point toward which Israel's long covenant history has been leading, particularly its puzzling and tragic latter phase. Matthew agrees with his Jewish contemporaries that the exile was the last significant event before Jesus; when the angel says that Jesus will "save his people from their sins" (1:21), liberation from exile is in view.

Jesus, David's true descendant, will fulfill the covenant of Abraham by undoing the exile and all that it entailed.

Drawing upon both biblical tradition and Jewish stories, Matthew portrays Jesus as reliving the Exodus experience of Israel and the persecutions of Moses. His rejection by his own people and his passion are foreshadowed by the troubled reaction of "all Jerusalem" to the question of the magi who are seeking the "newborn king of the Jews" (2:2-3), and by Herod's attempt to have him killed.

The magi who do him homage prefigure the Gentiles who will accept the preaching of the Gospel. The infancy narrative proclaims who Jesus is, the savior of his people from their sins (1:21), Emmanuel -- "God is with us" (1:23), and the Son of God (2:15).

Jesus' mission during his public life is limited "to the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (15:24), and he assigns the same limits to the mission of the Twelve (10:5-6). More than the other evangelists, Matthew takes great care to note that events in Jesus' life happened "so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled" (2:23).

Jesus himself makes it clear that he has come not to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it (5:17). This extraordinary history and story, guided from the very beginning by the powerful hand of the God of the covenant, finds its fulfillment in Jesus, "who is called Christ" (1:16).

The term "Christ" is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word "Messiah," which means "Anointed." Israel, God's chosen people, had lived for generations in expectation of the fulfillment of the promise of the Messiah, whose coming was prepared by the history of the covenant.

Joseph's perspective

Matthew's story is told from Joseph's point of view, while the more familiar account from Luke is told from the perspective of Mary. Joseph, a righteous man, is presented as a devout observer of the Mosaic law (1:19). His betrothal to Mary was the first part of the marriage, constituting a man and woman as husband and wife. Subsequent infidelity was considered adultery. Some months after the betrothal, the husband would take his wife into his home, at which time normal married life began.

The virginal conception of Jesus is the work of the Spirit of God. Matthew sees the virginal conception as the fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14. Joseph's decision to divorce Mary is overcome by the heavenly command that he take her into his home and accept the child as his own. The natural genealogical line is broken, but the promises to David are fulfilled; through Joseph's adoption the child belongs to the family of David.

Given the circumstances, Joseph wished to break his union with someone whom he suspected of egregious violation of the law. It is commonly said that the law required him to do so, but the texts are usually given in support of that view, (e.g., Deuteronomy 22:20-21 does not clearly pertain to Joseph's situation). He was unwilling to expose her to shame: The penalty for proved adultery was death by stoning (cf Deuteronomy 22:21-23).

In another obvious reference and link to the Old Testament, Joseph of the New Testament receives the Lord's message in a dream, from the "angel of the Lord." These dreams may be meant to recall the dreams of Joseph, son of Jacob the patriarch (Genesis 37:5-11:19). A closer parallel is the dream of Amram, father of Moses, related by Josephus in his Antiquities.

Joseph protected and provided for Jesus and Mary. He named Jesus, taught him how to pray, how to work, how to be a man. While no words or texts are attributed to him, we can be sure that Joseph pronounced two of the most important words that could ever be spoken, and that happened when he named his son "Jesus" and called him "Emmanuel."

God truly with us

On Christmas Eve, we listen attentively to the words of the prophets, to the dream of Joseph, and the promise of the eternal God that takes flesh in the womb of the Virgin. It becomes clear to us that the story of the birth of a baby in Bethlehem was no idyllic country folk tale. It was the true fulfillment of the hopes and longings, dreams and desires of the people of ancient Israel.

God does not abandon humanity, but rather enters into all that frequently makes life on earth so difficult. God's promise of deliverance to Judah at the time of the prophets is seen by Matthew as fulfilled in the birth of Jesus, in whom God is with his people.

In the name "Emmanuel," we find the answer to humanity's deepest longings for God throughout the ages. Emmanuel is both a prayer and plea (on our behalf) and a promise and declaration on God's part. When we pronounce the word, we are really praying and pleading: "God, be with us!" And when God speaks it, the Almighty, Eternal, Omnipresent Creator of the world is telling us: "I am with you" in this Child.

In the baby Jesus, God is "with us" not merely to bless us in some sort of cameo appearance at one difficult moment in history. Nor is God with us in that he is going to use Jesus to help us, protect us, and guide us. No -- the little Lord Jesus asleep in the manger of Bethlehem is "God with us" because he is God.

The true message of Christmas takes our breath away and continues to stagger the imagination: The Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, the only begotten Son of the Father, the eternal Word, our Creator wills to clothe himself in our nature, and to become man, our brother, one of us. God Himself lies in the manger, completely human, completely Divine.

The shepherds went back to the fields rejoicing in Luke's marvelous Christmas story and the wise men bow down in wonder, awe and worship in Matthew's account because they realized what was unfolding before their very eyes: They were in the presence of their Creator made man, of the Word made flesh, of God becoming one of us.

The name Emmanuel is also alluded to at the end of Matthew's Gospel where the risen Jesus assures his disciples of his continued presence: "I am with you always, until the end of the age" (28:20). God did indeed keep his promise in Jesus. Jesus truly fulfills the plan of God in word and deed, in desire and presence, in flesh and blood.

An exaggerated demand

Let us give thanks to the God and Father of Jesus who writes straight with the crooked lines of our own lives and of human history. May Emmanuel find welcome in our hearts and take flesh in our lives at Christmas this year.

Let's conclude with the words of "The Mystery of Christmas" of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross:

"In order to penetrate a whole human life with the divine life it is not enough to kneel once a year before the crib and let ourselves be captivated by the charm of the holy night. To achieve this, we must be in daily contact with God. [...] Just as our earthly body needs its daily bread, so the divine life must be constantly fed. 'This is the living bread that came down from heaven.'

"If we make it truly our daily bread, the mystery of Christmas, the Incarnation of the Word, will daily be re-enacted in us. And this, it seems, is the surest way to remain in constant union with God. [...] I am well aware that many think this an exaggerated demand. In practice it means for most of those who start the habit that they will have to rearrange their outer and inner life completely. But this is just what it is meant to do. Is it really demanding too much to make room in our life for the Eucharistic Savior, so that He may transform our life into His own?"

[The readings for the Christmas vigil are Isaiah 62:1-5; Acts 13:16-17, 22-25; and Matthew 1:1-25 or 1:18-25]

* * *

Basilian Father Thomas Rosica, chief executive officer of the Salt and Light Catholic Media Foundation and Television Network in Canada, is a consultor to the Pontifical Council for Social Communications. He can be reached at: rosica@saltandlighttv.org.

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On the Net:

Salt and Light: www.saltandlighttv.org

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DOCUMENTS

Israel's Hebrew-Speaking Catholics on Pius XII

"He Left His Mark on the Church in the 20th Century"

JERUSALEM, DEC. 21, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is the statement published today by the Hebrew-Speaking Catholic Vicariate in Israel (www.catholic.co.il) on the recent declaration of the virtues of Pius XII. The statement is signed by the vicar, Jesuit Father David Neuhaus, and priests of the vicariate.

* * *

On Saturday, December 19, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI recognized the virtues of 21 men and women in the history of the Church who gave exemplary witness (albeit very diverse witness) to their Christian faith in their lives. Among the outstanding examples were also two popes, John Paul II and Pius XII. This step again led to a storm in the relations between Jews and Catholics.

Hebrew-speaking Catholics live in the midst of the Jewish people in Israeli society. Their existence is founded on their belonging to and love for the Church and their proximity (in some cases their belonging too) and their love for the Jewish people. It is natural, after hundreds of years of history shared by the Church and the Jewish people, history that has known difficult and even tragic periods, that the belonging to these two worlds can be heartbreaking at times. Our vocation as Hebrew-speaking Catholics in Israel is to feel both with the Church and with Israel, to try and be a bridge between the two, and sometimes to even live the painful division of misunderstanding, polemic and mutual defensiveness.

In recent years, the figure of Pope Pius XII has created a storm from time to time in the relations between the Church and the Jewish people. Some in the Church have sought to recognize the Pope as an exemplary believer who faced the great challenges of his time but some Jews have argued that the Pope of the period of the Second World War "did not do enough" to save the Jews of occupied Europe. On Saturday, the Pope recognized the virtues of Pius XII and the reaction of the Jews was expected: This hurts the Jews. The declaration of Pope Benedict concerning the virtues of Pius XII does not focus on the period of the Shoah and does not shut the door on the research of the historians. The Pope, who served from 1939 to 1958, was active in many different fields and he left his mark on the Church in the 20th century. It was he who opened the gate of scientific Biblical research in the Church (research that today brings together Jews and Christians and influences greatly the definition of the shared Jewish -- Christian Biblical heritage). He appointed bishops from non-European countries to serve in Africa and Asia, thus recognizing the changing face of the universal Church. He encouraged the liturgical reform and the dialogue between faith and science. He had to deal with the persecution of the Church in the countries that were under Communist rule. Catholics remember him and honor his memory in a Church context much wider than just the black years of the Second World War.

We, as Hebrew-speaking Catholics in Israel, some of us also members of the Jewish people, express our joy concerning the shared view of many Jews and Catholics when it comes to the virtues of Pope John Paul II. For us what is particularly important is all he did to bring the Church closer to the Jewish people. At the same time, we express our pain once again concerning the division between the Church and the Jewish people when it comes to Pope Pius XII. As Catholics, we are called to understand the figures of the Popes John Paul II and Pius XII in the light of the teaching of the Church. We reject the defamation of Pius XII and that accuses him of cowardice and even anti-Semitism and collaboration with the Nazi enemy. These accusations are absolutely without foundation. Likewise, we reject the interpretations that see any honoring of Pius XII as a minimizing of the importance of the Shoah or as a retreat from the breathtaking progress in the relations between Jews and Catholics in the past decades. On the other hand, we are called to understand the discomfort of many of our Jewish brothers and sisters who argue that the Pope "did not do enough" in saving Jews in the hour of their sufferings during the Shoah.

We understand the cry "he did not do enough" as a cry of deep pain coming from the sense of betrayal among the Jewish people at the time of their trial. The world indeed did not do enough as it is an undeniable fact that six million members of the Jewish people were murdered. Ultimately, there can be no "enough" in the attempt to confront a tragedy of the dimensions of the Shoah! We hear the cry of the Jewish people and we feel their pain. In the light of the Shoah, the question is asked: "Could the Pope have done more?" The question is both legitimate and understandable, however, perhaps there is no human answer to this question. Only God can know whether he indeed did everything that he could do. We are witnesses to the historical research regarding the diplomatic efforts of the Pope to end the war and the terror against the Jewish people. We are witnesses to the many stories about the instructions the Pope gave to open churches and monasteries in order to give refuge to the Jews who were fleeing, to provide them with false documents and to smuggle them out of the dangerous areas. We must commemorate the role of men and women in the Church, heroic "righteous among the nations", who saw themselves under the authority of the Pope and who were active in Italy and other European countries in helping Jews hide and flee. In some cases they paid for this help with their lives.

We continue to pray that both in the Church and in the Jewish people we will continue in searching together for the historical truth so that we can educate our children in mutual respect and brotherhood and that we continue our efforts to collaborate for "the mending of the world" (tikkun olam).

Rev. Father David Neuhaus SJ, Patriarchal Vicar for the Hebrew speaking Catholics and the priests from the Vicariate

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New Biblical Studies Solve Important Gospel Contradictions

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Seeking the Divine Spark: A Satire in the Style of Evelyn Waugh

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Give a gift this Christmas: Spread the word about ZENIT

2009-12-21T10:33:00.000-08:00

Dear readers actively committed to the service of the Church:

As Christmas fast approaches, we want to assure you of our heartfelt wishes for a holy and happy feastday, and to thank you for having chosen ZENIT again this year.

We hope you've been pleased with our news service. As always, we promise our best efforts to continue offering you the best we can provide.

In the world, there are thousands of men and women religious, missionaries and laypeople who have committed their lives to the Church. We have often asked ourselves if all of them -- or at least a large majority -- know about ZENIT.

From the testimonies that come to us, we know how important it is to receive news of the Pope and the Church, above all for those who live in nations where the Church is a minority, or suffers persecution.

The testimonies that arrive are very often quite moving. They make it clear that our work can be fundamental for those who do not have the possibility of being in contact with the Church, or who do not have other sources of information at their fingertips.

That's why we want the maximum number of people to know about ZENIT, and to know that it is available -- and free -- for anyone who wants it.

In these last days of our "Give ZENIT" campaign, we send a special request to you who have committed your lives to the Church. Help us to spread the word about ZENIT.

Give a gift subscription to a brother or sister in your community, to your parishioners, to those who participate in your group or movement -- to anyone you know who is committed to the Church. Tell them about ZENIT. Many of them could be looking for a news service just like ours!

Help us to bring people closer to the Pope and the Church.

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Again, may these last few days of Advent bring you many blessings, and have a very holy and merry Christmas!

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2009-12-20T18:38:00.000-08:00

ZENIT

The World Seen From Rome

Daily dispatch - December 20, 2009

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VATICAN DOSSIER

Pontiff to Children: Approach Christ Without Fear
John Paul II Closer to Canonization
Pope Greets Staff of L'Osservatore Romano
Christmas Is Not a Fairytale for Children, Says Pope

ANALYSIS

Turkey's Lack of Religious Liberty

WORLD FEATURES

Mary MacKillop to Be Australia's 1st Saint

NEWS BRIEFS

US Bishops: Senate Bill Still Unacceptable

ANGELUS

On Bethlehem, City-Symbol of Peace

DOCUMENTS

Pontiff Speaks to Children of Catholic Action

CLASSIFIED ADS

Seeking the Divine Spark: A Satire in the Style of Evelyn Waugh

VATICAN DOSSIER

Pontiff to Children: Approach Christ Without Fear

Tells Them That Jesus Is Glad to Hear From Them

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 20, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI encouraged the youth of Italian Catholic Action to not be shy about approaching Christ, as he is very interested in hearing from them.

The Pope affirmed this today in a traditional Christmas meeting with a delegation of the youth organization, urging them to take as a role model the biblical figure of Zacchaeus, "the man who meets the Lord and welcomes him with joy."

"You too are a little like Zacchaeus, who climbed a tree because he wanted to see Jesus," the Holy Father said. "But the Lord, looking up, noticed him immediately, in the midst of the crowd.

"Jesus sees you and hears you even though you are little, even if the grown-ups do not take account of you as you would like."

"Always imitate the example of Zacchaeus," Benedict XVI continued, "who immediately came down from the tree, full of joy he welcomed him into his house and did not cease to celebrate him!"

The Pope spoke to the children of Jesus as a friend who "comes to meet you and calls you!"

"He is the Son of God, he is the Lord whom you see every day in the images in churches, along the street, in houses. He speaks to you always of the love that is 'greater,' able to give itself without limit, to bring peace and forgiveness," the Pontiff added.

"Only Jesus' presence in your lives gives complete joy, because he is able to make everything always new and beautiful," the Holy Father said. "He never forgets you."

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On ZENIT's Web page:

Full text: http://www.zenit.org/article-27894?l=english

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John Paul II Closer to Canonization

Benedict XVI Advances Cause of Pius XII

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 20, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI authorized the decrees that recognize the heroic virtue of Popes John Paul II and Pius XII, which pushes them both one step closer to canonization.

The German Pontiff approved a total of 21 decrees Saturday, five of which are for miracles attributed to those who are beatified, and are now qualified for canonization.

Five decrees are for miracles attributed to those who are venerable, and are now qualified for beatification. One decree testifies to martyrdom, and another is a decree of the heroic virtue of a Blessed.

The nine remaining decrees, including those of the two Pontiffs, testify to the heroic virtue of Servants of God. The nine are now given the title Venerable. The candidates need a miracle attributed to their intercession to qualify for beatification.

Pius XII, born Eugenio Pacelli, was born in Rome in 1876, and served as Pope from 1939 until he died in 1958 at Castel Gandolfo.

The Holy Father steered the Church through the stormy years of the Second World War. He has been criticized for remaining silent in face of the Jewish Holocaust, although many historians note that he served an important role in helping to save the lives of many Jews.

John Paul II, born Karol Wojtyla, was born in 1920 in Wadowice, Poland. He was elected Pope in October 1978, and he served until he died on April 2, 2005. Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims filled St. Peter's Square during his last days, and for his funeral.

The historians of the 20th century attribute the fall of Communism in great part to the Polish Pope, and Church historians note his decisive efforts to faithfully apply the Second Vatican Council.

Australia's 1st saint

Benedict XVI approved a decree attesting to a miracle attributed to Blessed Mary MacKillop, who will become Australia's first saint.

A miracle decree was also approved for Blessed André Bessette, the Holy Cross brother who founded St. Joseph's Oratory in Montreal, Canada.

Another decree attested to the martyrdom "in odium fidei" of Father Jerzy Popieluszko, who was the chaplain of Poland's Solidarity union. The decree paves the way for Father Popieluszko's beatification.

The Communist regime regarded him as a fanatic, an example of militant clericalism. In 1984, at the age of 37, he was kidnapped and killed by secret service agents, who beat him and threw him into the icy waters of the Vistula River.

The cause of canonization of the English nun Mary Ward (1585-1645) was also advanced. A decree was approved that attested to the heroic virtue of the founder of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, also known as the Loreto Sisters.

The process

In an audience granted to Archbishop Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for Saints' Causes, and the dicastery's superiors, officials and collaborators, on the occasion of its 40th anniversary, Benedict XVI reflected on the process of canonization.

"The principal stages of recognition of sanctity by the Church, namely, beatification and canonization, are united by a great bond of consistency," he said. "To them must added, as an indispensible phase, the declaration about heroic virtue or of martyrdom of a Servant of God and the verification of some extraordinary gift, the miracle, that the Lord gives through the intercession of his faithful servant."

"What pedagogical wisdom is manifested in such an itinerary," the Pope continued. "In a first step, the people of God are invited to look to these brothers and sisters who, after a first accurate discernment, are proposed as models of Christian life; then they are exhorted to develop a cult of veneration and invocation circumscribed by the ambit of the local Churches and the religious orders."

Finally, the Pontiff added, the faithful are called "to exult with the whole community of believers with the certainty that, thanks to the solemn pontifical proclamation, a son or daughter has reached the glory of God, where they participate in the perennial intercession of Christ on behalf of their brothers."

In this journey, Benedict XVI declared, "the Church welcomes with joy and stupor the miracles that God, in his infinite goodness, gratuitously gives her, to confirm the evangelical preaching. She welcomes, moreover, the witness of the martyrs as the most limpid and intense form of configuration to Christ."

The Pontiff noted that the Church undertakes these processes because "in the itinerary of recognition of sanctity, there emerges a spiritual and pastoral wealth that involves the whole Christian community."

He defined sanctity as the "transfiguration of persons and human realities into the image of the risen Christ," and added that it "represents the ultimate purpose of the plan of divine salvation."

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Pope Greets Staff of L'Osservatore Romano

Daily to Increase International Distribution

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 20, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI directed a "cordial greeting" to the staff of the Vatican's daily newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, after the recitation of the Angelus today.

On Sundays and Wednesdays during the Christmas season the newspaper will set up a newsstand in St. Peter’s Square, where it will be possible to buy the newspaper together with small picture of the Nativity.

"I wish this initiative well," the Pontiff said, noting the project will not only make the Vatican's daily newspaper readily available to pilgrims, but that it will "also help to build a school in Democratic Republic of the Congo."

In its Sunday edition, L'Osservatore Romano announced that its international distribution will increase, as the Spanish daily La Razon will print and distribute it as an insert in its Sunday paper, beginning Dec. 27.

"The 200,000 copies of the Sunday edition that will be printed in Spanish will join those already printed in the Vatican, Argentina, Mexico and Perù," the paper said.

This initiative is similar to that launched in 2008 with the Italian daily L'Eco di Bergamo, which is distributed every Sunday together with a copy of L'Osservatore. It was the first time that such an agreement was reached with a newspaper with national circulation.

La Razón also made the announcement, explaining that the weekly distribution of L'Osservatore, in full color, will not have an additional cost to the readers.

In statements published by La Razón, the director of L'Osservatore Romano, Giovanni Maria Vian, said that "it is important" to have reached this agreement in Spain, which is "a country of great Catholic tradition that is undergoing, like many other western countries in recent times, a major process of secularization."

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Christmas Is Not a Fairytale for Children, Says Pope

Calls It God's Answer to Mankind's Search for Peace

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 20, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Christmas is much more than the season of Santa Claus and sugar plums; it's God's answer to mankind's yearning for peace, says Benedict XVI.

The Pope affirmed this today in a reflection on Christmas and the town of Bethlehem, which he gave before praying the midday Angelus with the pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square.

Noting the prophecies regarding the town of Judea in the Book of Micah, which foretell a "mysterious birth," the Holy Father spoke of the "divine plan that includes and explains the times and places of the coming of the Son of God into the world."

"It is a plan of peace," the Pontiff noted, adding that it makes Bethlehem a "city-symbol of peace in the Holy Land and in the whole world."

"Unfortunately," he explained, "Bethlehem does not represent an achieved and stable peace, but rather a peace that is laboriously sought and awaited.

"God, however, never resigns himself to this state of affairs. So, once again this year in Bethlehem and in the entire world, he will renew in the Church the mystery of Christmas, the prophecy of peace for all mankind."

"Christmas is not a fairytale for children," Benedict XVI continued, "but rather God's answer to the drama of humanity in search of peace."

"We are expected to throw open the doors to welcome him," the Pope said, referring to the Messiah. "Let us put ourselves at the service of God's plan with faith.

"Even if we do not fully understand it, let us entrust ourselves to his wisdom and goodness. Let us first seek the Kingdom of God and Providence will help us."

The Pope then wished a Merry Christmas to all the faithful.

--- --- ---

On ZENIT's Web page:

Full text: http://www.zenit.org/article-27892?l=english

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ANALYSIS

Turkey's Lack of Religious Liberty

It's Been a Difficult Year for Christians

By Father John Flynn, LC

ROME, DEC. 20, 2009 (Zenit.org).- It’s been another difficult year for Christians in Turkey and it is finishing just as it began, with problems. Early in December, three Muslims entered the Meryem Ana Church, a Syriac Orthodox church in Diyarbakir, and confronted the Reverend Yusuf Akbulut, according to a Dec. 15 report by Compass Direct News, an agency specializing in reporting on religious persecution.

They told the priest that that unless the bell tower was destroyed in one week, they would kill him. The Muslims were apparently acting in reaction to the recent referendum in Switzerland, which banned the construction of new minarets for mosques.

According to the report Meryem Ana is more than 250 years old and is one of a handful of churches that serve the Syriac community in Turkey.

The Syriacs are an ethnic and religious minority in Turkey and were one of the first groups of people to accept Christianity, said the article by Compass News Direct.

The year had started badly, with a land dispute involving one of the world’s oldest Christian monasteries, reported Reuters, Jan. 21. The fifth-century Syriac monastery Mor Gabriel is located in Midyat, a village near the border with Syria.

"This is our land. We have been here for more than 1,600 years," said Kuryakos Ergun, head of the Mor Gabriel Foundation, according to the report.

Problems began when Turkish government officials redrew the boundaries around Mor Gabriel and the surrounding villages in 2008 as part of work to update a land registry.

According to the monks, the new boundaries take away from them large plots of land the monastery has owned for centuries. It also designates part of the monastery's land as public forest.

Fleeing

According to Reuters, there were 250,000 Syriacs when Ataturk founded Turkey after World War I. Today they number only 20,000, with many having left the country to escape persecution.

The Wall Street Journal published a lengthy article on the dispute over the monastery property on March 7. The article pointed out that the dispute comes at a critical moment in Turkey’s long-standing attempt to be accepted as a member of the European Union.

The monastery’s Bishop Timotheus Samuel Aktas presides over a dwindling community, made up of only 3 monks and 14 nuns. Locally, there are around 3,000 Syriacs.

The monastery, founded in 397, has a great symbolic importance, the article explained and is considered by Syriacs to be a sort of "second Jerusalem."

The battles are still continuing in the courts and, in another link with events in Switzerland, the Federal Council of Switzerland recently adopted a motion in support of the monastery in Turkey.

According to a Dec. 8 report by the Assyrian International News Agency the motion states:

"The Federal Council is to be asked to intervene with the Turkish government to ensure that the ownership of the Syriac Monasteries in southeast of Turkey continue to be guaranteed, and that the minority rights of Assyrians is respected according to the Copenhagen criteria."

The Copenhagen criteria refer to a series of principles that a country seeking to join the European Union, as Turkey is currently doing, must respect. One of them involves respect for human rights and the protection of minorities.

Accusations

Other instances of intolerance punctuated the life of Christians in Turkey during the past 12 months. On Oct. 16 Compass Direct News reported on the trial of two Christians, accused of having insulted Islam.

Defense Attorney Haydar Polat said the trial was a scandal, pointing to the fact that in proceedings three of the witnesses for the prosecution admitted they did not even know the two Christians on trial.

Hakan Tastan and Turan Topal were arrested in October 2006 following charges that they had slandered Turkishness and Islam while talking about their faith with three young men in Silivri, a town about an hour’s drive west of Istanbul. They could be jailed for up to 2 years if found guilty of the charges.

The matter is still not over, with proceedings adjourned until Jan. 28, 2010, due to the court having repeated its summons to three more prosecution witnesses who failed to appear at the hearing.

Then, on Dec. 4 Compass Direct News published a report on a survey that showed more than half of the population of Turkey opposes members of other religions holding meetings or publishing materials to explain their faith.

The survey also found that almost 40% of the population of Turkey said they had "very negative" or "negative" views of Christians.

The survey, carried out in 2008, was part of a study commissioned by the International Social Survey Program, a 45-nation academic group that conducts polls and research about social and political issues.

Overview

Forum 18, a Norwegian-based human rights group, published on Nov. 27 a survey of religious freedom in Turkey. The group takes its name from Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which declares that everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.

Overall, the study concluded: “that the country continues to see serious violations of international human rights standards on freedom of religion or belief.”

Turkey has not given recognition to religious communities in their own right as independent communities with full legal status -- such as the right to own places of worship and the legal protection religious communities normally have in states under the rule of law, according to Forum 18.

Moreover, the survey observed that Christians have been the object of a series of violent attacks and murders in recent years.

The government, the study explained, remains committed to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's "secularism." This involves not only state control of Islam, but also restrictions on the ability of non-Muslims and Muslims outside state control to exercise freedom of religion or belief.

Communities as diverse as Alevi Muslims, Catholics, Greek Orthodox, Protestants, and the Syrian Orthodox Church have seen no significant progress in resolving property problems,
the study added.

In fact, even recognized religious communities cannot themselves own properties such as places of worship.

It is virtually impossible to find people from non-Muslim backgrounds in high-level civil servant positions and impossible in senior ranks in the military, the study continued.

Intolerance

Forum 18 listed a number of deadly attacks on Christians in recent years: The murder of Father Andrea Santoro, a Catholic priest in 2006; the killing of two ethnic Turkish Protestants, Necati Aydin and Ugur Yuksel, and a German, Tilmann Geske in Malatya in 2007. Then, in July 2009 a Catholic German businessman engaged to an ethnic Turk, Gregor Kerkeling, was murdered by a mentally disturbed young man for being a Christian.

Among the causes of this intolerance the study cited the habitual disinformation and defamation against Christians, both in public discourse as well as in the media. As well, intolerance is actively promoted within the school curriculum.

The report concluded by saying that the serious problems with the lack of religious freedom in Turkey casts serious doubts about whether the country is really committed to universal human rights for all.

Of course Turkey is not alone in limiting religious freedom. On Wednesday a report titled: “Global Restrictions on Religion,” was published by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion and Public Life.

If found that 64 nations -- about one-third of the countries in the world -- have high or very high restrictions on religion. Moreover, because some of the most restrictive countries are very populous, nearly 70% of the world's 6.8 billion people live in countries with high restrictions on religion, the brunt of which often falls on religious minorities. A fact worth meditating on, and praying about, as we celebrate the birth of the child Jesus.

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WORLD FEATURES

Mary MacKillop to Be Australia's 1st Saint

Called a "True Inspiration" In a World Lacking Heroes

ADELAIDE, Australia, DEC. 20, 2009 (Zenit.org).- At a time when heroes are hard to come by, Blessed Mary MacKillop -- who is soon to become Australia's first saint -- is a "true inspiration," says the president of the country's episcopal conference.

Archbishop Philip Wilson of Adelaide said this Sunday, after Benedict XVI approved the decree confirming a second miracle attributed to the nun, paving the way for the canonization of Australia's first saint.

"Today is a great day for the Catholic Church in Australia and for the Australian nation at large," the archbishop said.

"It is always a great joy when the Church recognizes in one of its members the creative, saving and sanctifying action of God at work amongst us," he said. "It is a particular joy for us in Australia that Mary MacKillop is to be formally recognized in this way."

On Saturday, Benedict XVI approved 21 decrees of the Congregation for Saints' Causes, five of which were decrees that attributed miracles to those the Church had already pronounced blessed. Among those was Sister Mary MacKillop of Australia.

Other decrees included those attesting to the heroic virtue of two Popes, Pius XII and John Paul II.

"Mary MacKillop has quite rightly gained a reputation in recent times as 'The Australian Peoples' Saint,'" Archbishop Wilson said. "Largely, this is because people can relate to her."

Mary MacKillop, born in Victoria in 1842, founded the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart, which established schools and charitable organizations across Australia and was devoted to the care of orphans, neglected children, the homeless, sick and elderly. She died in 1909.

"One of us"

"She was one of us," the archbishop continued. "Born in Melbourne, and fired by a deep desire to serve God and to help alleviate the plight of the poor, Mary was an ordinary person who lived a holy life.

"Perhaps it is because of her down to earth nature that we relate to her so well. Mary MacKillop could be feisty and stubborn. She suffered terrible setbacks, discouragement and injustice and yet through all of this her faith in God did not falter."

"At a time when real heroes are in short supply, Mary MacKillop is a true inspiration," Archbishop Wilson continued. "Her heroism is all the more firm because it is built not on celebrity or sporting skill but on her love for Jesus Christ and a life of dedication to God and her fellow human beings."

The archbishop said that Australia looks forward to the canonization "with great hope and joy," and he invited the entire country to take part in the celebrations being planned around the event.

Pope John Paul II beatified Sister MacKillop in 1995, saying she embodied the best of Australia and its people.

He noted her "genuine openness to others, hospitality to strangers, generosity to the needy, justice to those unfairly treated, perseverance in the face of adversity, kindness and support to the suffering."

In 2008, Sister MacKillop was a key patron of the World Youth Day hosted by Sydney, Australia. Ahead of the international youth event, the government honored the nun by featuring her on a collector's coin.

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NEWS BRIEFS

US Bishops: Senate Bill Still Unacceptable

Send Last-Minute Letter on Health Care Reform

WASHINGTON, D.C., DEC. 20, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Despite last-minute efforts to improve the language on abortion and conscience rights in the Senate's proposed health care reform bill, the U.S. bishops oppose its passage.

This was affirmed in a statement released Saturday by Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, chairman of the conference's Committee on Pro-Life Activities; Bishop John Wester of Salt Lake City, chair of the bishops' Committee on Migration; and Bishop William Murphy of Rockville Centre, New York, chair of the Domestic Policy Committee.

The prelates acknowledge the "good faith" efforts of several Senators in proposing changes to the bill, as well as several positive points of the Manager's Amendment that was proposed Saturday.

While praising adoption tax credits and assistance for pregnant women, the letter laments that the current legislation "does not seem to allow purchasers who exercise freedom of choice or of conscience to 'opt out' of abortion coverage in federally subsidized health plans that include such coverage."

"While we appreciate the good-faith efforts made," the letter continues, "our judgment is the same as it was yesterday: This legislation should not move forward in its current form.

"It should be opposed unless and until such serious concerns have been addressed."

In a separate letter issued Friday, Cardinal DiNardo reaffirmed the position of the episcopal conference that "the legislation will be morally unacceptable 'unless and until' it complies with longstanding current laws on abortion funding such as the Hyde amendment."

The cardinal concluded by affirming that the bishops will "continue to work for health care reform which truly protects the life, dignity, conscience and health of all."

"As the bishops have said many times," he continued, "providing affordable and accessible health care that clearly reflects these fundamental principles is a public good, moral imperative and urgent national priority."

A final vote on the bill in the Senate is expected this week.

--- --- ---

On the Net:

A searchable online version of the bill is available here (including the Manager's Amendment): http://www.marpx.com/

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ANGELUS

On Bethlehem, City-Symbol of Peace

"A Peace That Is Laboriously Sought and Awaited"

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 20, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the public address Benedict XVI gave today before praying the midday Angelus with the pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square.

* * *

Dear brothers and sisters!

With the 4th Sunday of Advent, the birth of the Lord is now before us. With the words of the prophet Micah, the liturgy invites us to look to Bethlehem, the little town of Judea that is witness to the great event: "And you, Bethlehem-Ephrathah too small to be among the clans of Judah, From you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel; Whose origin is from of old, from ancient times" (Micah 5:1). One thousand years before Christ, Bethlehem had given birth to the great king David, whom the Scriptures concur in presenting as the ancestor of the Messiah. Luke's Gospel says that Jesus was born in Bethlehem because Joseph, the husband of Mary, being "of the house of David," had to return there for the census, and it was then that Mary gave birth to Jesus (cf. Luke 2:1-7).

The same prophecy of Micah continues, noting a mysterious birth: "God will give them up," he says "until the time when she who is to give birth has borne, And the rest of his brethren shall return to the children of Israel" (Micah 5:2). There is thus a divine plan that includes and explains the times and places of the coming of the Son of God into the world. It is a plan of peace, as the prophet proclaims, saying of the Messiah: "He shall stand firm and shepherd his flock by the strength of the Lord, in the majestic name of the Lord, his God. And they shall remain, for now his greatness shall reach to the ends of the earth. He himself shall be peace!" (Micah 5:3).

Precisely this last aspect of the prophecy -- that of the messianic peace -- naturally brings us to note that Bethlehem is also a city-symbol of peace in the Holy Land and in the whole world. Unfortunately, Bethlehem does not represent an achieved and stable peace, but rather a peace that is laboriously sought and awaited.

God, however, never resigns himself to this state of affairs. So, once again this year in Bethlehem and in the entire world, he will renew in the Church the mystery of Christmas, the prophecy of peace for all mankind, which commits Christians to face the barriers, the crises, often unknown and hidden, and the conflicts of their lives, with the sentiments of Jesus, to become the instruments and messengers of peace everywhere, to bring love where there is hate, forgiveness where there is offense, joy where there is sadness, and truth where there is error, according to the beautiful expressions of a famous Franciscan prayer.

Today, as in the time of Jesus, Christmas is not a fairytale for children, but rather God's answer to the drama of humanity in search of peace. "He himself will be peace!" the prophet says, referring to the Messiah. We are expected to throw open the doors to welcome him. Let us learn from Mary and Joseph: Let us put ourselves at the service of God's plan with faith. Even if we do not fully understand it, let us entrust ourselves to his wisdom and goodness. Let us first seek the Kingdom of God and Providence will help us. Merry Christmas, everyone!

[After the Angelus, the Pope greeted the pilgrims in various languages. In Italian, he said:]

I address a cordial greeting to the personnel of L'Osservatore Romano, who, during the Sundays and Wednesdays of the Christmas season, will set up a stand in St. Peter’s Square, where one can buy a copy of the newspaper with a little picture of the Nativity. I wish this initiative well. Besides making the Vatican-daily available, it will also help to build a school in Democratic Republic of the Congo.

[Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic]

[In English, he said:]

I greet all the English-speaking visitors and pilgrims here today. On this fourth Sunday of Advent, we are filled with joy because the Lord is at hand. We heard in today’s Gospel about Mary’s journey to visit her cousin Elizabeth. Just as Mary travelled through the hill country of Judah, to share with her kinswoman the joyful news of Christ’s coming, so too the Church is called to journey through history, proclaiming the wondrous message of salvation. As the great feast of Christmas draws near, I invoke God’s abundant blessings upon all of you, and upon your families and loved ones at home.

© Copyright 2009 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana

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DOCUMENTS

Pontiff Speaks to Children of Catholic Action

"Jesus Sees You and Hears You, Even Though You Are Little"

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 20, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave Saturday to a delegation of the children of Italian Catholic Action upon receiving them in audience at the Vatican.

* * *

Dear Children of Catholic Action,

I greet you with great affection. For me it is always wonderful to meet with you for this pre-Christmas occasion, so long awaited and desired by all of you. I cordially greet the national president of Italian Catholic Action, Dr. Franco Miano, and the assistant general, Bishop Domenico Sigalini. Through them I thank those who generously give their time and personal resources to your worthy association for your religious and human education.

I know that this year you have been especially focusing on the theme "We Are on the Air," to put yourselves in communication with Jesus and with others, having as your point of reference the biblical figure of Zacchaeus, the man who meets the Lord and welcomes him with joy.

You too are a little like Zacchaeus, who climbed a tree because he wanted to see Jesus. But the Lord, looking up, noticed him immediately, in the midst of the crowd. Jesus sees you and hears you even though you are little, even if the grown-ups do not take account of you as you would like. Not only does Jesus see you, but he tunes in to you, he wants to stop at your place and spend time with you, to establish a true friendship with you.

Dear friends, before Jesus always imitate the example of Zacchaeus, who immediately came down from the tree, full of joy he welcomed him into his house and did not cease to celebrate him! Welcome him into your life every day, in games and in chores, in prayer, when he asks for your friendship and your generosity, when you are happy and when you are afraid. During Christmas, once again, Jesus the friend comes to meet you and calls you! He is the Son of God, he is the Lord whom you see every day in the images in churches, along the street, in houses. He speaks to you always of the love that is "greater," able to give itself without limit, to bring peace and forgiveness.

Only Jesus' presence in your lives gives complete joy, because he is able to make everything always new and beautiful. He never forgets you. If you tell him every day that you are "on the air," you must certainly expect that he will call you to send a message of friendship and affection. He does it when you participate in Holy Mass, when you dedicate yourselves to your studies, to your daily chores and when you perform acts of sharing, solidarity, generosity and love toward others. Thus you can say to your friends, your parents, your group leaders, and your teachers, that you were able to take the call with Jesus in your prayer, in your chores, and when you are able to stand with boys and girls who suffer, especially with those from far away countries and are often alone, without parents and without friends.

Dear children, with these sentiments I wish you a happy and holy Christmas. I extend my wishes to your families and to all of Catholic Action and, entrusting you to the protection of the Mother of Jesus, I bless you all from my heart.

[Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic]

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End-of-Year Charitable Contribution

2009-12-20T13:08:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends of ZENIT,

We are fast approaching Christmas and the end of the fiscal year, and for many people and companies this is also a time to close budgets and make year-end charitable contributions.

That's why we would like to propose to each one of you the possibility of sending a tax-deductible contribution to ZENIT. We are going through a period of exceptional need, and anything you could send along would help keep us moving forward.

I know that many people are already tightening their belts and cutting back on many important expenditures. If you can find it in your heart in this Christmas season to send a contribution to ZENIT, we would be most grateful.

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We need to raise about $100,000 before the end of the Year/the first 10 days of January.

That's the amount that allows us to cover the ordinary ZENIT's expenses to reach next month of February, when we will start the annual fund-raising campaign among readers that normally generates enough funds to cover all expenses until the end of next year 2010.

As you know ZENIT exists only thank to the generosity of its readers.

Please help us to continue spreading the voice of the Pope, and the Good News of the Gospel!
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2009-12-19T15:16:00.000-08:00

ZENIT

The World Seen From Rome

Daily dispatch - December 19, 2009

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DOCUMENTS

Father Cantalamessa's 3rd Advent Sermon
Decrees of Vatican's Saint Congregation

DOCUMENTS

Father Cantalamessa's 3rd Advent Sermon

"Mary, Mother and Model of the Priest"

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 19, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is the Advent reflection delivered Friday by Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa, the preacher of the Pontifical Household, for Benedict XVI and members of the Roman Curia. The talk was titled "Mary, Mother and Model of the Priest."

* * *

Mary, Mother and Model of the Priest

In his letter to priests on the occasion of Holy Thursday in 1979, the first of a series during his pontificate, Pope John Paul II wrote: "In our ministerial priesthood there is the wonderful and penetrating dimension of nearness to the Mother of Christ." In this last meditation of Advent, I would like to reflect on this closeness between Mary and the priest.

There is not much talk of Mary in the New Testament. However, if we pay attention, we note that she is not absent from any of the three central events of the Christian mystery, which are: the Incarnation, the Paschal Mystery and Pentecost. Mary was present at the Incarnation because it happened in her womb; she was present at the Paschal Mystery, because it is written that "standing by the cross of Jesus was Mary, his Mother" (cf. John 19:25), she was present at Pentecost, because it is written that the Apostles were "with one accord devoted themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus" (cf. Acts 1:14). Each of these three moments reveals to us something of the mysterious closeness between Mary and the priest. As we are now approaching Christmas, I would like to limit myself to the first of these, and discuss what Mary says of the priest and to the priest in the mystery of the Incarnation.

1. What Is the Relationship Between Mary and the Priest?

First of all I would like to refer to the question of the title of priest attributed to the Virgin in tradition. A writer of the end of the fifth century calls Mary "Virgin, and at the same time priest, and altar who has given us Christ -- bread of Heaven for the remission of sins."[1] After this, there were frequent references to the topic of Mary as priest, which subsequently became the object of theological developments in the 17th century, in the French school of St. Sulpice. In it, Mary's priesthood is not placed so much in the context of a relationship with the ministerial priesthood, but rather with that of Christ.

At the end of the 19th century a true and proper devotion to the Virgin-priest spread, and St. Pius X even accorded an indulgence to its relative practice. However, when the danger was perceived of confusing the priesthood of Mary with the ministerial priesthood, the magisterium of the Church became reticent and two interventions of the Holy Office practically put an end to such devotion.[2]

After the council, the priesthood of Mary is still spoken of, but it is no longer linked to the ministerial priesthood nor to the supreme priesthood of Christ, but rather to the universal priesthood of the faithful. As figure and first fruits of the Church, she possessed in a personal way that "royal priesthood" (1 Peter 2:9), that all the baptized possess in a collective way.

What can we retain of this long tradition that associates Mary to the priest and what meaning can we give to the "closeness " between Mary and the priest affirmed by John Paul II? It seems to me that what remains is the analogy or the correspondence between the different dimensions of the mystery of salvation. What Mary was once and for all times on the plane of historical reality, the priest is ever anew on the plane of the sacramental reality.

In this connection we can understand the words of Paul VI: "What relationship and what distinctions are there between the maternity of Mary, rendered universal by the dignity and charity of the role given to her by God on the plane of redemption, and the apostolic priesthood, constituted by the Lord to be an instrument of salvific communication between God and men? Mary gives Christ to humanity; and the priesthood also gives Christ to humanity, but in a different way, as is clear; Mary through the Incarnation and through the effusion of grace, of which God filled her; the priesthood through the powers of the sacred order."[3]

The analogy between Mary and the priest can be expressed thus: Mary, through the power of the Holy Spirit, conceived Christ and, after nourishing him and carrying him in her womb, gave birth to him in Bethlehem; the priest, anointed and consecrated in the Holy Spirit at ordination, is also called to be filled with Christ to be able to give birth to him and have him be born in souls through the proclamation of the word and the administration of the sacraments.

In this connection, the relationship between Mary and the priest has a long tradition behind it, much more authoritative than the notion of Mary-priest. Taking up a thought of St. Augustine [4], the Second Vatican Council wrote: "[The Church is] converted into Mother, because with preaching and baptism she engenders a new and immortal life in her children conceived by the work of the Holy Spirit and born of God."[5]

The baptistery, said the Fathers, is the womb in which the Church gives birth to her children, and the word of God is the pure milk with which she nourishes them. "O mystic marvel! The universal Father is one, and one the universal Word; and the Holy Spirit is one and the same everywhere, and one is the only virgin mother. I love to call her the Church. [...] She is once virgin and mother -- pure as a virgin, loving as a mother. And calling her children to her, she nurses them with holy milk, with the Word for childhood" (cf 1 Peter 2:2).[6]

The Blessed Isaac of Stella, in a passage which we read in the office of readings last Saturday, made a synthesis of this tradition: "Mary and the Church are one mother, yet more than one mother; one virgin, yet more than one virgin. Both are mothers, both are virgins. Each conceives of the same Spirit, without concupiscence. Each gives birth to a child of God the Father, without sin. Without any sin, Mary gave birth to Christ the head for the sake of his body. By the forgiveness of every sin, the Church gave birth to the body, for the sake of its head."[7]

What is said in these texts of the Church as a whole, as a sacrament of salvation, should be applied in a special way to priests, because by way of their ministry they are the ones who concretely engender Christ in souls through the word and the sacraments.

2. Mary Believed

This is the objective analogy to be made between Mary and the priest, or the analogy of grace. There is, however, an analogy to be made on the subjective plane, that is, between the personal contribution that the Virgin gave to the grace of election and the contribution that the priest is called to give to the grace of ordination. Neither one is a pure channel which lets grace past without any contribution of itself.

Tertullian speaks of a version of Gnostic Docetism, according to which Jesus was born, yes, of Mary, but not conceived in her and by her; the body of Christ, come down from heaven, would have passed through the Virgin, but not generated in her and by her; Mary was for Jesus a way, not a mother, and Jesus for Mary a guest, not a son.[8]

To not repeat this form of Docetism in his life, the priest cannot limit himself to transmit to others a Christ learned from books that did not become first flesh of his flesh and blood of his blood. As Mary (the image is of St. Bernard), he must be a reservoir that is overflowing with what has filled it, and not simply a channel that allows the water to pass without holding back anything.

The personal contribution, which Mary and the priest have in common, is summed up in the faith. Mary, wrote St. Augustine, "by faith conceived and by faith gave birth" (fide concepit, fide peperit).[9] The priest also by faith carries Christ in his heart and through faith communicates him to others. It will be the center of today's meditation: What can the priest learn from Mary's faith.

When Mary reaches Elizabeth, the latter receives her with great joy and, "full of the Holy Spirit," she exclaimed: "And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord" (Luke 1:45). There is no doubt that this having believed refers to Mary's answer to the angel: "Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word" (Luke 1:38).

At first glance, Mary's was an easy act of faith, even taken for granted. To become the mother of a king who was to reign for all eternity over the house of Jacob, mother of the Messiah! Was it not the dream of every young Jewish girl? But this is a way of reasoning that is too human and carnal. Mary found herself in total solitude. To whom could she explain what happened to her? Who would believe her when she said that the babe she is carrying in her womb is the "work of the Holy Spirit"? This had never happened to anyone before, and would never happen to anyone again.

Mary certainly knew what was written in the book of the law, and that is that if a young girl at the moment of marriage was not found in a state of virginity, she had to be brought to the front door of her father's house and stoned by the people of the village (cf. Deuteronomy 22:20 ff). We speak willingly today of the risk of faith, understanding in general with this, the intellectual risk; but for Mary it was a real risk!

Carlo Carretto, in his book on Our Lady, recounts how he came to discover Mary's faith. When he lived in the desert, he knew from some Tuareg friends that a girl from the camp was promised as spouse to a young man, but that she did not go to live with him, being too young. He connected this fact with that which Luke says of Mary. Therefore, going over two years later in that same camp, he asked for news of the girl. He noticed a certain embarrassment among his friends, and later one of them, approaching with great secrecy, made a sign: He passed his hand on the throat with the characteristic gesture of Arabs when they wish to say: "They cut off her head." She was discovered pregnant before marriage, and to preserve the honor of the family they had to kill her. He thought again of Mary, and that same night he chose her as his travel companion and teacher of his faith.[10]

God never takes consent from those he calls, hiding the consequences they will have to face. We see it in all the great calls of God. He tells Jeremiah: "They will fight against you" (Jeremiah 1:19). And of Saul, he says to Ananias: "I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name" (Acts 9:16). Could he have acted differently with Mary, for a mission such as hers? In the light of the Holy Spirit, which accompanies God's call, she certainly would have perceived that her path would not be different from that of the others who had been called. In fact, Simeon would soon express this premonition, when he tells her that a sword would pierce her soul.

A modern writer, Erri De Luca, has described in a poetic way this premonition of Mary at the moment of Jesus' birth. She is alone in the grotto, Joseph is watching outside -- by law no man can be present at a birth; and scarcely has she given birth to the son, when strange associations flashed through her mind: "Why my son were you born here in Bet Lehem, House of Bread? And why must we call you Ieshu? Make this shivering up my back, this shiver come from the future be far away from him." Mary senses that her son will be taken from her, then she repeats to herself: "Until the first light Ieshu is mine alone. I want to sing a song with these three words and no more. This night, here, at Bet Lehem, he is mine alone." And, thus saying, she took him to the breast to nurse him.[11]

Mary is the only one who believed "as a contemporary," that is, while the event is happening, before any confirmation or any corroboration on the part of events and of history.[8] Jesus said to Thomas: "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe" (John 20:29): Mary is the first of those who have believed without yet having seen.

St. Paul says that God loves the one who gives with joy (2 Corinthians 9:7), and Mary said her "yes" to God with joy. The verb with which Mary expresses her consent, and which is translated as "fiat" or as "let it be done." In the original Greek it appears in the optative mood ("genoito"), which is used to express desire and even joyful impatience that a certain thing should happen. It is as if the Virgin said: "I also want, with all my being, what God wants; may what he wishes be fulfilled soon." In truth, as St. Augustine said, before conceiving him in her body, she conceived him in her heart.

However, Mary did not actually say "fiat" as she didn't speak Latin, and she didn't even say "genoito," which is a Greek word. What did she say then? What is the word, which in the language spoken by Mary, corresponds most closely to this expression?

When a Jew wished to say to God, "yes, so be it," he said "amen!" If we try to go back to the exact word that came from Mary's lips, we arrive precisely at the word "amen." Those Psalms that in the Latin Vulgate ended with the expression: "fiat, fiat", in the Greek text of LXX, end with "genoito, genoito" and in the original Hebrew known by Mary with "amen, amen."

Amen is a Hebrew word, the root of which means to be solid, to be certain; it was used in the liturgy as a response of faith to the Word of God. With "amen" one recognizes what has been said as firm, stable, valid and binding. Its exact translation, when it is a response to the Word of God, is this: "So it is, and so be it."

It indicates faith and obedience at the same time; it recognizes that what God says is true and one submits to it. It is to say "yes" to God. In this sense it appears on the lips of Jesus. "Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will" (cf Matthew 11:26).

Furthermore, Jesus is amen personified -- "The Amen […] says this" (Revelation 3:14) -- and through him all other amen's that are said in the world are taken to God (cf 2 Corinthians 1:20). Mary as well, after her son, is the amen to God made person.

The faith of Mary is an act of love and docility, mysterious like every encounter between grace and liberty. This is the true personal greatness of Mary, her blessedness, confirmed himself by Christ. "Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed!" (Luke 11:27), says a woman in the Gospel. The woman proclaims that Mary is blessed because she carried Jesus; Elizabeth proclaimed her blessed because she believed; the woman proclaims blessed the one who carries Jesus in the womb; Jesus proclaims blessed the one who carries him in the heart: "Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it," Jesus responds. In this way, it helps this woman and all of us to understand from where this personal greatness of Mary comes from. Who "keeps" the Word of God better than Mary, of whom it says on two occasions in Spirture that she "kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart?" (cf. Luke 2:19,51).

We should not finish our contemplation of the faith of Mary with the impression that Mary believed once, on one occasion, and never again in her life; that there was only one great act of faith in the Virgin's life. How many times, after the Annunciation, Mary was martyred by the apparent contrast of her situation with all that was written and known about the will of God, in the Old Testament, and about the figure of the Messiah. The Second Vatican Council gave us a great gift by affirming that Mary also walked in faith, and more, that she "advanced" in faith, that is to say, faith grew and was perfected in her ("Lumen Gentium," 58).

3. Let's Also Believe!

We move now from Mary to the priest. St. Augustine wrote: "Mary believed, and in her what was believed came to pass. Let's also believe so that what came to pass in her can also happen to us".[9] Let us also believe! The contemplation of Mary should bring us to renew above all our personal act of faith and abandonment to God.

We all should and can imitate Mary in our faith, but in a special way the priest should. "The just man, because of his faith, shall live" (cf. Habakkuk 2:4; Romans 1:17). This applies, in a special way, to the priest. He is the man of faith. Faith is what makes him what he is, that is to say, his "weight" and the efficacy of his ministry.

What the faithful capture immediately in a priest, in a pastor, is if he believes in what he says and in what he celebrates. Those who seek God above all in the priest, realize immediately; those who do not seek God in him can be easily fooled and even fool the priest himself, making him seem important, brilliant, in step with the trends, when in reality he is a "resounding gong or a clashing cymbal."

Those who don't believe, but approach the priest with a spirit of seeking, understand the difference immediately. What puts one in a healthy crisis is not generally a learned discussion on faith, but rather an encounter with one who truly believes with all his being. Faith is contagious. One does not catch something by hearing someone speak of a virus or by studying it, but rather by entering into contact with someone who has it. This is faith.

At times we suffer and even complain in prayer to God, because people abandon the Church, they don't leave sin behind them. We talk, and talk and talk ... and nothing happens. One day the apostles attempted to expel a demon from a young man, but they couldn't do it. After Jesus expelled the demon from the young boy, they approached Christ and took him to one side and asked: "Why could we not drive it out?" Jesus responded: "Because of your little faith" (Matthew 17:19-20).

St. Bonaventure tells us how one day, when he was living on the Alvernia Mount, it came to him what the Fathers say, that is to say, that the devout soul, by the grace of the Holy Spirit and the power of the Almighty, can spiritually conceive by faith the blessed Word of the Father, give birth to it, give it a name and seek it and adore it like the Three Kings, and finally present it happily to God Our Father in his temple. He then wrote a work titled "The Five Feasts of the Child Jesus" to show how the Christian can relive in himself each one of the five moments of the life of Jesus. I limit myself to what St. Bonaventure says of the first two feasts, the conception and the nativity, and I will apply it in particular to priests.

The priest conceives Jesus when, unhappy with the life he is living, and moved by holy inspirations and inflamed with holy ardour, detaching himself resolutely from his old customs and attachments, remains spiritually fecund by the grace of the Holy Spirit and conceives the proposal of a new life.

Once conceived, the blessed Son of God is born in the heart of the priest if, after having conducted a holy discernment, asked opportune counsel, invoked the help of God, he put into practice the holy proposal, beginning to realize what he had been thinking but never undertaken for fear of not being capable.

This proposition of new life should, however, translate itself immediately, without delay, into something specific, in a change, possibly something external and visible, in our life and in our customs. If the proposal is not fulfilled, Jesus is conceived, but is not born. It would be one of so many spiritual abortions, which, unfortunately, the world of souls is full of.

There are two simple words that Maria said in the moment of the Anunciation, and that the priest says in the moment of his ordination: "Here I am," and "Amen" or "Yes." I remember the moment of my ordination, together with some 10 other companion, when my name was called. I responded with emotion, "Here I Am!"

During the rite, they ask us some questions: "Do you want to exercise the priestly ministry during your entire life?", and "Do you want to undertake faithfully and with dignity the ministry of the word through preaching?" "Do you want to celebrate with devotion and fidelity the mysteries of Christ?" To each question we respond: "Yes, I do."

The spiritual renewal of the Catholic priesthood, desired by the Holy Father, will be proportional to the enthusiasm with which each one of us, priests and bishops of the Church, will be capable of pronouncing again a joyful "I am here" and "yes, I do," making one relive the anointing received in the ordination.

Jesus entered the world saying: "Behold, I come to do your will" (Hebrews 10:7). Let's welcome him at Christmas saying these same words: "I have come, Lord Jesus, to do your will!"

NOTES

[1] Ps. Epiphany, Homily in praise of the Blessed Virgin, (PG 43, 497)
[2] Cf. On the questions, R. Laurentin, Mary -- ecclesiology -- priesthood, Paris 1952; art. "Sacerdoti" in the New Dictionary of Mariology, Ed. Paoline 1985, 1231-1242.

[3] Paul VI, General Audience, Oct. 7, 1964.
[4] St. Augustine, Sermons, 72 A, 8 (Misc. Aug. I, p.164).
[5] "Lumen Gentium," 64.

[6] Clement of Alexandria, Paedagogus, I, 6.
[7] Blessed Isaac Stella, Sermons, 51 (PL 194, 1863).

[8] Tertulliano, "De Carne Christi," 20-21 (CCL 2, 910 ss.).
[9] St. Augustine, Sermons, 215, 4 (PL 38,1074).

[10] C. Carretto, "Beata te che hai creduto," Ed. Paoline, 1986, pp. 9 ss.
[11] E. De Luca, "In Nome Della Madre," Feltrinelli, Milano, 2006, pp. 66 ss.

[12] "Lumen Gentium," 58.
[13] St. Augustine, Discourses, 215,4 (PL 38, 1074).

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Decrees of Vatican's Saint Congregation

Testify to 10 Miracles; 10 Cases of Heroic Virtue; 1 Martyrdom

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 19, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here are the 21 decrees of the Congregation for Saints' Causes approved today by Benedict XVI.

Five of the decrees are for miracles attributed to those who are beatified, and are now qualified for canonization. Five decrees are for miracles attributed to those who are venerable, and are now qualified for beatification.

One decree testifies to martyrdom, and another is a decree of the heroic virtue of a blessed. The nine remaining decrees testify to the heroic virtue of servants of God.

* * *

[Decrees of miracles for blesseds]

-- a miracle attributed to the intercession of Blessed Stanislaw Soltys, called Kazimierczyk, professed priest of the Canons Regular of the Lateran, born Sept. 27, 1433 in Kazimierz (Poland) and died in the same place May 3, 1489;

-- a miracle attributed to the intercession of Blessed André Bessette (born Alfred), religious of the Congregation of the Holy Cross; born in Saint-Grégoire d'Iberville, Canada, Aug. 9, 1845, and died in Montreal, Canada, Jan. 6, 1937.

-- a miracle attributed to the intercession of Blessed Mary MacKillop (born Mary Helen), founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart; born Jan. 15, 1842 in Fitzroy, Australia, and died Aug. 8, 1909, in Sydney, Australia;

-- a miracle attributed to the intercession of Blessed Giulia Salzano, founder of the Congregation of the Catechetical Sisters of the Sacred Heart; born Oct. 13, 1846, in Santa Maria Capua Vetere, Italy, and died May 17, 1929, in Casoria, Italy;

-- a miracle attributed to the intercession of Camilla Battista da Varano, sister of the Poor Clares and founder of the monastery of St. Clare in Camerino; born April 0, 1458, in Camerino, Italy, and died in the same city May 31, 1524;

[Decrees of miracles for venerables]

-- a miracle attributed to the intercession of Venerable José Tous y Soler, priest and professed of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin and founder of the Congregation of the Capuchin Sisters of the Mother of the Divine Pastor; born March 21, 1811, in Igualada, Spain, and died Feb. 21, 1871, in Barcelona, Spain.

-- a miracle attributed to the intercession of Venerable Leopoldo de Alpandeire Sánchez Márquez (born Francisco), a professed brother of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin; born July 24, 1866, in Alpandeire, Spain, and died Feb. 9, 1956, in Granada, Spain.

-- a miracle attributed to the intercession of Venerable Manuel Lozano Garrido, a layman; born Aug. 9, 1920, in Linares, Spain, and died in the same city Nov. 3, 1971;

-- a miracle attributed to the intercession of Venerable Teresa Manganiello, a laywoman, of the Third Order of St. Francis; born in Montefusco, Italy, Jan. 1, 1849, and died Nov. 4, 1876;

-- a miracle attributed to the intercession of Venerable Chiara Badano, lay; born in Sassello, Italy, Oct. 29, 1971, and died Oct. 7, 1990;

[Decree recognizing marytrdom]

-- the martyrdom of the Servant of God Jerzy Popieluszko, diocesan priest; born Sept. 14, 1947, in Okopy Suchowola, Poland, and killed for hatred of the faith Oct. 20, 1984, near Wloclawek, Polond;

[Decree recognizing heroic virtue of a blessed]

-- the heroic virtue of Blessed Giacomo Illirico da Bitetto, a professed brother of the Order of the Friars Minor, born in 1400 in Zara, Dalmacia, and died around the year 1496 in Bitetto, Italy;

[Decrees recognizing heroic virtue for servants of God]

-- the heroic virtues of Servant of God Pius XII (Eugenio Pacelli), supreme pontiff; born in Rome on March 2, 1876, and died in Castel Gandolfo on Oct. 9, 1958;

-- the heroic virtues of Servant of God John Paul II (Karol Wojtyla), supreme pontiff; born May 18, 1920, in Wadowice, Poland, and died in April 2, 2005, in Rome;

-- the heroic virtues of Servant of God Louis Brisson, priest and founder of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales; born June 23, 1817, in Plancy, France, and died n the same city Feb. 2, 1908;

-- the heroic virtues of Servant of God Giuseppe Quadrio, professed priest of the Salesians of St. John Bosco; born Nov. 28, 1921, in Vervio, Italy, and died in Turin, Italy, Oct. 23, 1963;

-- the heroic virtues of Servant of God Mary Ward, founder of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, born in Mulwith, England, Jan. 23, 1585, and died in Hewarth, England, Jan. 30, 1645;

Father Giuseppe Quadrio (1921-63), a Salesian.

Sister Mary Ward (1545-1615), an Englishwoman who founded the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Loreto Sisters).

-- the heroic virtues of Servant of God Antonia Maria Verna, founder of the Sisters of Charity of the Immaculate Conception of Ivrea; born in Pasquaro di Rivarolo, Italy, June 12, 1773, and died in the same city Dec. 25, 1838;

-- the heroic virtues of Servant of God Maria Chiara Serafina de Jesús Farolfi (born Francisca), founder of the Missionary Franciscan Clarists of the Blessed Sacrament; born Oct. 7, 1853, in Tossignano, Italy, and died June 18, 1917, in Badia di Bertinoro, Italia;

-- the heroic virtues of Servant of God Enrica Alfieri (born Maria Angela), professed religious of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Charity of St. Juana Antide Thouret; born Feb. 23, 1891, in Borgovercelli, Italy, and died in Milan, Italy, on Nov. 23, 1951;

-- the heroic virtues of Servant of God Giunio Tinarelli, layman, member of the Silent Workers of the Cross, born in Terni, Italy, May 27, 1912, and died in the same city Jan. 14, 1956.

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ZENIT would also be great for ...

2009-12-19T09:27:00.000-08:00

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