Benedict XVI has not the temperament of a ruler - BBC World Service on Vatican Foreign Policy

At one moment people want the Church to disappear and lose its international profile. Now there is a complaint that Pope Benedict is not sufficiently a ruler - he "has no geopolitical vision" according to Marco Politi in the excerpt from this morning's Newshour from the BBC World Service. I don't know how long this link will be available. I made a recording but it does not appear to be possible to upload it.

The above found at Marco Foppoli

Should Pope Benedict not have discarded the tiara - the sign of temporal power - from this papal shield? Perhaps the next Pope will restore it! Pope John Paul II had it.

One thing we can take from this, however, is that the world does, after all, look to the Papacy for direction. Pope Benedict, of course, was not a diplomat but a pastor and an academic. His domain, prior to becoming Pope, was the Faith. He appears to be putting most of his effort directly into restoring faith within the Catholic Church. He has also appointed non-diplomat priests to certain key nunciature positions. History will judge the wisdom of this approach in the light of the current times in which we live.

Bishop Sample shares his Vision and Program for the New Evangelisation

At the final session of the Convocation of Priests serving in the Diocese of Marquette, Bishop Alexander Sample spoke about his vision or program for the New Evangelisation. He summed it up by saying: It's the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

This is very much in line with Pope John Paul II's view: that there is no need for any new program. However, Bishop Sample highlighted two central themes that are, as it were, coming over the horizon:

• the renewal of the Sacred Liturgy
• the work of the New Evangelisation.

The Sacred Liturgy
Bishop Sample suggested that the new English translation of the Mass was an opportune time for the Church, for us, to set about the work of renewal and reform of the Sacred Liturgy, and that this is central to the work of the New Evangelisation.

The bishop placed himself clearly in the camp of Pope Benedict who spoke of the need for a reform of the reform long before becoming Pope. Some might say that the bishop just wants to take us back to the way things were before? The fact that he celebrates the Extraordinary Form of the Mass at the Cathedral every month has apparently created some waves. And the positioning of the Crucifix on the altar facing the celebrant has also provoked some comment. But there could be nothing further from the truth. Pope Benedict allowed a greater flourishing of the Extraordinary Form so that it would stand side by side with the Novus Ordo, that both forms might enrich one another.

It is a good time to take a step back and to examine: what has been good, what has been lost, what can we recover. "I'm following, I'm listening to Benedict XVI. I trust that the Holy Spirit guides our shepherd" Bishop Sample said.

Priests pray silently before Mass.

A forthcoming Pastoral Letter
Bishop Sample referred to a letter concerning the liturgy that he - with the help of others -  is working on. In this letter he will examine:

• The Essence of the Liturgy
  What is the Holy Mass? We do not create Liturgy. It is what it is. It has an objective and intrinsic meaning as both
  - Sacrifice
  - Sacred Banquet (as per St Thomas Aquinas - Sacrum Convivium).
• The Cosmic nature of the Liturgy
  Pope Benedict discussed this in his book "The Spirit of the Liturgy". The Mass has an eschatological orientation. In the Mass we celebrate and commemorate what already is but await what is to come.

The offertory

A clear understanding of these points informs the celebration of the Mass. In Pope Benedict's book "The Light of the World" the Holy Father reminds his readers that the liturgy is not the expression of the community. It is not to be tinkered with.

• Ars celebrandi
  The Mass is the Sacramentum Caritatis.There is an art - ars - to its celebration. It should be beautiful, reflecting the beauty and greatness of God. We should appreciate the purpose and meaning of the words, gestures, vessels, the Cross on the altar, the orientation of prayer. The East is connected very much with the Cross. Our gaze - especially in the Eucharistic Prayer - must be fixed on Christ glorified on the Cross as we await his coming.

• Sacred Music
  The renewal of the Sacred Liturgy is intimately connected with the renewal of Sacred Music and Bishop Sample will address this in his letter.

Also to be addressed are some practical points:

• some do's and don'ts;
• some things that need correcting;
• not to invent options.

The bishop advised us all to re-read the GIRM (General Instruction of the Roman Missal) and the rubrics. He quoted Fr Z's blog, What Does the Prayer Really Say, and Fr Z's motto: "do the red, say the black." Chances are that if we re-read the GIRM and the rubrics, we will probably notice something that we either had not known, had forgotten or had overlooked.

We must celebrate the liturgy well. Then it will be the Church's liturgy, celebrated with beauty, prayerfully, reverently. "If we don't have the Liturgy, what do we have?"

Bishop sample offering the chalice

The New Evangelisation
Bishop Sample referred the priests to his Holy Thursday Letter.

The letter of Pope John Paul II Novo Millennio Ineunte reminded us that the program for the New Evangelisation is contained in the Gospels. But there were seven pastoral priorities:

1. the call to holiness
2. prayer in the Church
3. Sunday Mass
4. Penance/Confession
5. the primacy of grace (not just our own efforts)
6. listening to the Word
7. proclaiming the Word.

As regards the call to holiness: Are we serious about prayer in our own lives? We must live what we proclaim. When he was elected bishop one of the priests of the diocese presented Bishop Sample with a poster of the movie "The Lord of the Rings" with the quotation of Frodo saying: "I wish the ring had never come to me." The bishop recalled Gandalf's reply: "So do all who live to see such times. That is not ours to decide, but ours is to do the best with the time that has been given to us."

Concerning prayer, the bishop commended the practice of the Holy Hour. "I beg you," he said, "to be men of prayer."

Confession:

1. go!
2. preach about it.
3. be available.

On the primacy of grace, it is less about numbers and more about fidelity. The Church is His Church. Novo Millennion Ineunte refers to the discouragement that can result with the instigation of yet another new program following on the heels of others that have either fizzled out or that have not produced results. It's not us. In other words, it's not a question of dreaming up new programs. The Lord does not want us to be successful but faithful.

Pope Benedict has established a Pontifical Council for the New Evangelisation and there is an upcoming Synod of Bishops on the New Evangelisation. Whilst we await guidance from these ecclesiastical organs, for us it is time to stop talking about the New Evangelisation and rather make it happen.

Whilts it is not about a new program we do need a strategic plan, and we need to develop it together. So perhaps there might be established a task force to focus on a diocesan plan, a strategy for the New Evangelisation, focussed on the 7 headings of NMI.

Our personal holiness really matters as priests. It makes all the difference in the Body of Christ. In the year of priests we were reminded that the effectiveness of the priestly ministry relies on the holiness of priests. If the priest is holy, the people are good. If the priest is good, the people are ok. If the priest is mediocre, God help the people!

We must be serious in our life of prayer, in our sacrifice, etc. The bishop confided to the priests that he prays and offers sacrifice for each priest in the diocese. His Friday Mass, fast, prayer, abstinence are all offered for the priests of the diocese. He asks Our Lady to pour out the Precious Blood and Water that flowed from her Son's side upon all the priests and that she would hold us close to her Immaculate Heart.

Bishop Sample also encouraged us to reach out to one another, to foster priestly friendships, to reach out to one whom we notice to be isolated, reclusive, etc. He encouraged support groups, and exhorted us to do all we can to be present at ordinations, the Chrism Mass, the funerals of our brother priests and of their parents.

Bishop Sample preaching on the feast of St Bruno

In his homily at the Mass that followed the final session, Bishop Sample, commenting on the gospel appointed for the Mass of St Bruno, encouraged us to serve the Lord with undivided hearts, to be men of hope. We are blest because we hope in the Lord, that we should teach our people to place all their hope in him.

On the previous day, Bishop Sample invited all the priests to make the following Act of Consecration after the homily:

ACT OF CONSECRATION TO MARY

Mary, Mother of Jesus and Queen of Peace
since Jesus from the Cross
gave you to me,
I take you as my own.

And since Jesus gave me to you,
take me as your own.
Make me docile like Jesus on the Cross,
obedient to the Father,
trusting in humility and love.

Mary, my Mother,
in imitation of the Father,
who gave His Son to you,
I too give myself to you;
to you I entrust all that I am,
all that I have
and all that I do.

Help me to surrender ever more fully to the Spirit.
Lead me deeper into the Mystery of the Cross and Resurrection
and the fullness of the Church.

As you formed the heart of Jesus by the Spirit,
form my heart to be the throne of Jesus
in His glorious coming.
Amen!

As a final thought, perhaps it is worth recalling Bishop Sample's coat of arms:

You can read about it at the Bishop's Page of the Marquette diocesan website. Concerning his motto, we read the following:

For his motto, Bishop Sample uses the Latin phrase, “VULTUM CHRISTI CONTEMPLARI” (“to contemplate the face of Christ”). This theme is taken from the writings of Pope John Paul II (Novo Millennio Ineunte and Ecclesia de Eucharistia), in which the Holy Father reminded us that it is the task of the Church to make the face of Christ shine before the generations of the new millennium. The Holy Father further reflected: “Our witness, however, would be hopelessly inadequate if we ourselves had not first contemplated his face.” 

So the New Evangelisation has been at the heart of Bishop Sample's vision: that all may be led to the contemplation of the face of Christ.

Blessed Pope John Paul II, pray for us!

Pope Benedict's homily can be found at Catholic Herald.

Washington Archbishop Cardinal Donald Wuerl Writes Book on Pope John Paul II: MyFoxDC.com

Washington Archbishop Cardinal Donald Wuerl Writes Book on Pope John Paul II: MyFoxDC.com

John Paul II - truly the Great

This superb video is on the USCCB website.

What a powerful defender of human life.

All human life is sacred. Whenever it is endangered we will stand up to defend it.

Will we?

On the TV6 website (see my previous post) there is a comment to the effect that there are too many Catholics in Marquette. Just think if all those Catholics stood up to defend endangered human life, what a transformed society we would be.

Rome Diocese launces John Paul II website

ROME, FEB. 9, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Ahead of the May 1 beatification of John Paul II, the Diocese of Rome has launched a Web site dedicated to the event.

Named Ioannes Paulus P.P. II, the site will gather information on the beatification of the Pope, and make it available in six languages: English, Spanish, French, Polish, Italian and Romanian.

The endeavor will also post information on the life of Karol Wojtyla, his thought and his devotion of Mary, the Mother of God, as well as the process of his canonization cause, and other events linked to the May 1 beatification. It will also offer documentation on the initiatives around the world that will surround the Pontiff's beatification, and promote prayers of intercession and thanksgiving.

Additionally, the site links to "Totus Tuus," which is a monthly magazine dedicated to the the Pope's cause of canonization.

Pope John Paul II to be Beatified next Divine Mercy Sunday

VATICAN CITY, 14 JAN 2011 (VIS) - On 1 May, the second Sunday of Easter and Divine Mercy Sunday, Benedict XVI will preside at the rite of beatification for John Paul II in the Vatican.

According to a note released by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, "today 14 January, Benedict XVI, during an audience granted to Cardinal Angelo Amato S.D.B., prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, authorised the dicastery to promulgate the decree of the miracle attributed to the intercession of Venerable Servant of God John Paul II (Karol Wojtyla). This concludes the process which precedes the rite of beatification.

"It is well known that, by pontifical dispensation, his cause began before the end of the five-year period which the current norms stipulate must pass following the death of a Servant of God. This provision was solicited by the great fame of sanctity which Pope John Paul II enjoyed during his life, in his death and after his death. In all other ways, the normal canonical dispositions concerning causes of beatification and canonisation were observed in full.

"Between June 2005 and April 2007 the principal diocesan investigation was held in Rome, accompanied by secondary investigations in various other dioceses, on his life, virtues, fame of sanctity and miracles. The juridical validity of these canonical processes was recognised by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints with a decree of 4 May 2007. In June 2009, having examined the relative 'Positio', nine of the dicastery's theological consultors expressed their positive judgement concerning the heroic nature of the virtues of the Servant of God. The following November, in keeping with the usual procedure, the 'Positio' was submitted for the judgement of the cardinals and bishops of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, who gave their approval.

"On 19 December 2009, Benedict XVI authorised the promulgation of the decree on John Paul II's heroic virtues.

"With a view to the beatification of the Venerable Servant of God, the postulator of the cause invited the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to examine the recovery from Parkinson's disease of Sr. Marie Simon Pierre Normand, a religious of the 'Institut des Petites Soeurs des Maternites Catholiques'.

"As is customary, the voluminous acts of the regularly-instituted canonical investigation, along with detailed reports from medical and legal experts, were submitted for scientific examination by the medical consultors of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints on 21 October 2010. The experts of the congregation, having studied the depositions and the entire documentation with their customary scrupulousness, expressed their agreement concerning the scientifically inexplicable nature of the healing. On 14 December the theological consultors, having examined the conclusions reached by the medical experts, undertook a theological evaluation of the case and unanimously recognised the unicity, antecedence and choral nature of the invocation made to Servant of God John Paul II, whose intercession was effective in this prodigious healing.

"Finally, on 11 January 2011 the ordinary session of the cardinals and bishops of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints took place. They expressed their unanimous approval, believing the recovery of Sr. Marie Simon Pierre to be miraculous, having been achieved by God in a scientifically inexplicable manner following the intercession of the Supreme Pontiff John Paul II, trustingly invoked both by Sr. Simon herself and by many other faithful". CCS/VIS 20110114 (570)
Published by VIS - Holy See Press Office - Friday, January 14, 2011

Pope John Paul II to be beatified?

Raymond Arroyo has tweeted today:

Reports are surfacing that Pope Benedict will approve the beatification of Pope John Paul II. Will keep you all posted.