Click on image to read article
cnn.com
Unity In Diversity
Sunday, 1 July 2012
14,000 killed in Syrian uprising; more than half in last 4 months
Click on image to read article
cnn.com
Friday, 29 June 2012
Saints Peter and Paul
On June 29 the Church celebrates the feast day of Sts. Peter & Paul. As early as the year 258, there is evidence of an already lengthy tradition of celebrating the solemnities of both Saint Peter and Saint Paul on the same day.
Together, the two saints are the founders of the See of Rome, through their preaching, ministry and martyrdom there.Peter, who was named Simon, was a fisherman of Galilee and was introduced to the Lord Jesus by his brother Andrew, also a fisherman. Jesus gave him the name Cephas (Petrus in Latin), which means ‘Rock,’ because he was to become the rock upon which Christ would build His Church.Peter was a bold follower of the Lord.
He was the first to recognize that Jesus was “the Messiah, the Son of the living God,” and eagerly pledged his fidelity until death. In his boldness, he also made many mistakes, however, such as losing faith when walking on water with Christ and betraying the Lord on the night of His passion.
Yet despite his human weaknesses, Peter was chosen to shepherd God's flock. The Acts of the Apostles illustrates his role as head of the Church after the Resurrection and Ascension of Christ. Peter led the Apostles as the first Pope and ensured that the disciples kept the true faith.St. Peter spent his last years in Rome, leading the Church through persecution and eventually being martyred in the year 64. He was crucified upside-down at his own request, because he claimed he was not worthy to die as his Lord.He was buried on Vatican hill, and St. Peter's Basilica is built over his tomb.St. Paul was the Apostle of the Gentiles.
His letters are included in the writings of the New Testament, and through them we learn much about his life and the faith of the early Church.Before receiving the name Paul, he was Saul, a Jewish pharisee who zealously persecuted Christians in Jerusalem. Scripture records that Saul was present at the martyrdom of St. Stephen.Saul's conversion took place as he was on his way to Damascus to persecute the Christian community there.
As he was traveling along the road, he was suddenly surrounded by a great light from heaven. He was blinded and fell off his horse. He then heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” He answered: “Who are you, Lord?” Christ said: “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.”Saul continued to Damascus, where he was baptized and his sight was restored.
He took the name Paul and spent the remainder of his life preaching the Gospel tirelessly to the Gentiles of the Mediterranean world.Paul was imprisoned and taken to Rome, where he was beheaded in the year 67.He is buried in Rome in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls.In a sermon in the year 395, St. Augustine of Hippo said of Sts. Peter and Paul: “Both apostles share the same feast day, for these two were one; and even though they suffered on different days, they were as one.
Peter went first, and Paul followed. And so we celebrate this day made holy for us by the apostles' blood. Let us embrace what they believed, their life, their labors, their sufferings, their preaching, and their confession of faith.”http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint.php?n=501June 29, 2012
Wednesday, 27 June 2012
Sunday, 24 June 2012
New evangelization
http://www.news.va
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - "Handing on the Faith" is the title of the third chapter of laboris the XIII General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the theme: "The new evangelization for the transmission of the Christian faith" (7 to 28 October 2012).
Here it is evident that the purpose of the new evangelization and the transmission of the faith, and this is not the work of one individual only, but instead is the responsibility of every Christian and the whole Church. It focuses especially on the liturgy and life of prayer, which "transform a Christian community which celebrates and transmits the Trinitarian faith", and on the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which develops the fundamental contents of faith and at the same time indicates the pedagogy of its transmission. At the heart of the new evangelization the parish must be placed, point of reference and coordination of pastoral initiatives, and family, the model-place of evangelization.
The Year of Faith represents an urgent call to conversion so that every Christian and every community, transformed by grace, may bear abundant fruits. Among the fruits of faith the first mentioned is charity, then a renewed ecumenical commitment, the search for truth, interreligious dialogue, the courage to denounce the infidelities and scandals emerging in Christian communities.The last chapter, the fourth, of the Instrumentun titled "Revivifying pastoral activity" starts by remembering the missionary mandate entrusted by Jesus to the Church, which at different times gave rise to "pastoral practices dictated by the desire to transmit faith and the need to proclaim the Gospel with the language of men, rooted in their cultures and among them. " A review of such practices, before the rapid social and cultural changes, was started some time ago and, in many respects, is still in action. In particular it emphasizes the richness of the ways of Christian evangelization at an evangelical point of view; the need to help Christian communities, starting from the parishes, "to adopt a more missionary style" of its presence, the urgency to find forms, places, initiatives to bring in the daily life of society the first proclamation.
The Church throughout its history has made great effort in the field of education. The current cultural context makes this process more difficult and the commitment of the Church therefore assumes particular importance, especially, "to highlight the root of the anthropological and metaphysical challenges concerning education." The chapter concludes by pointing out that the problem of evangelization is not an organizational and strategical question, but spiritual: "The ultimate secret of the new evangelization is the answer to the call of every Christian to holiness.
"In the Conclusion we note that the first evangelization began at Pentecost, and that new evangelization does not mean "new Gospel", but it means "appropriate response to the signs of times, the needs of individuals and peoples of today, new scenarios ... ". Jesus Christ, crucified and risen, present among us with his Spirit, allows us to look at the future "with eyes of faith, without tears of despair." This hope must be the foundation of our pastoral activities and our church life. "In this regard we have a password for a present and future pastoral: new evangelization, that is, new proclamation of the message of Jesus, which brings joy and frees us. This password nourishes the hope that we need: the contemplation of the Church was born to evangelize, knows the deep source of energy for the proclamation." (2) (SL) (Agenzia Fides 21/6/2012)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)