We must not be discouraged, Pope Benedict advises religious orders

Vatican City, Feb 19, 2008 (vaticans.org) - Yesterday, Pope Benedict XVI spoke to the members of the executive committee of the International Union of Superiors General, telling them that “when communities have chosen to return to the origins and live in a way more in keeping with the spirit of the founder,” they see positive signs of renewal.

The religious superiors were gathered at the Vatican to discuss "some particularly relevant and important aspects of consecrated life."

The Holy Father launched into some of the most pressing problems for religious communities. "We are all aware how, in modern globalized society, it is becoming ever more difficult to announce and bear witness to the Gospel", he said. "The process of secularization which is advancing in contemporary culture does not, unfortunately, spare even religious communities.”

"Nonetheless", the Pontiff encouraged, "we must not be discouraged, because if (as has been said) many clouds are gathering on the horizon of religious life today, there also exist (indeed they are constantly growing) signs of a providential reawakening which gives rise to consolation and hope.

"The Holy Spirit blows powerfully throughout the Church, creating a new commitment to faithfulness, both in the historical institutes and, at the same time, in new forms of religious consecration that reflect the needs of the times. ... What characterizes these new forms of consecrated life is a shared desire ... for a radical form of evangelical poverty, for faithful love of the Church, and for generous dedication to the needy with particular attention to that spiritual poverty which so markedly characterizes the modern age," the Pope noted.

He also addressed the situation within "the orders and congregations with a long tradition in the Church," pointing to how they have suffered a "difficult crisis due to the ageing of members, a more or less accentuated fall in vocations and, sometimes, a spiritual and charismatic 'weariness'".

Although describing this crisis as "worrying", Benedict XVI highlighted certain positive signs, "especially when communities have chosen to return to the origins and live in a way more in keeping with the spirit of the founder. In almost all recent general chapters of religious institutes the recurring theme has been precisely that of rediscovering the original charism, to then incarnate it and renew it in the present."

In parting, the Holy Father explained to the religious superiors that returning to their roots "has helped give institutes a promising new ascetic, apostolic and missionary impulse" and that "It is along this road that we must continue, praying to the Lord to bring to full fruition the work He began."

Source:CNA

Pope asks Lebanese politicians to find the ways of reconciliation

Vatican City, Feb.17,2008 (vaticans.org) - In his first public appearance after the week of Lenten spiritual exercises in the Vatican, Benedict XVI launched an appeal and a prayer for Lebanon, where since last November the parliament has not been able to meet to vote for the new president. The formal obstacles come above all from the pro-Syrian parties and from the Shiite group Hezbollah, but there have also been assassinations of parliamentarians and car bombs that have fostered fear and intransigence.

"I follow with concern", the pontiff said, "the persistent manifestations of tension in Lebanon. For almost three months, the country has been unable to choose a head of state. The efforts to resolve the crisis and the support offered by many prominent representatives of the international community, even if they have not yet obtained a result, demonstrate the intention to identify a president who would be such for all Lebanese, and thus lay the foundation for overcoming existing divisions. Unfortunately, there is also no lack of reasons for concern, above all because of unusual verbal violence, or even because of those who put their trust in weapons and in the physical elimination of their adversaries.

"Together with the Maronite patriarch and all the Lebanese bishops", the pope continued, "I ask you to unite yourselves with my prayer to Our Lady of Lebanon, that she might encourage the citizens of that dear nation, and in particular the politicians, to continue tenaciously in favour of reconciliation, truly sincere dialogue, peaceful coexistence, and the good of a homeland profoundly felt as a common one".

There were at least 30,000 faithful present for the Angelus in Saint Peter's Square.  With them, the pontiff commented on the Gospel of the day, the second Sunday of Lent, which recounts the Transfiguration of Jesus on Mount Tabor.  "The mountain", Mount Tabor just as Mount Sinai, the pope explained, "is the place of closeness to God.  It is an elevated space, in comparison with daily existence, where one breathes the pure air of creation.  It is the place of prayer, where one can be in the presence of the Lord, like Moses and Elijah, who appear beside the transfigured Jesus and speak with Him of the 'exodus' that awaits him in Jerusalem, meaning his Passover.  The Transfiguration is an event of prayer: by praying, Jesus immerses himself in God, unites himself intimately with Him, and adheres with his own human will to the Father's will of love".

"The Transfiguration", he continued, "is an anticipation of the resurrection, but this presupposes death.  Jesus manifests his glory to the apostles, so that they might have the strength to face the scandal of the cross, and understand that one needs to pass through many tribulations to reach the Kingdom of God.  The voice of the Father, which resounds from on high, proclaims Jesus as his well-beloved Son, as at the baptism in the Jordan, adding: 'Listen to him' (Mt 17:5). In order to enter into eternal life, one must listen to Jesus and follow Him on the way of the cross, carrying the hope of the resurrection in one's heart as He did. 'Spe salvi', saved in hope.  Today we could say: 'Transfigured in hope'".

At the end, after the greetings in the various languages, Benedict XVI acknowledged and promised his prayers for the family members of the Italians who have disappeared in Venezuela, following an airplane crash that occurred on January 4.

Source: Asia News

Pope: Prayer nourishes hope, because nothing expresses the reality of God in our lives better than prayer with faith

Vatican City, Feb. 6, 2008 (vaticans.org) - Prayer, "the engine of the world" and the first weapon for winning the battle against evil, together with penance and fasting, characterise the period of Lent, which is "a providential occasion for making our hope more vibrant and firm".  This is also accomplished through suffering, which opens the way to participating in the consolation of God.

Centred around hope, the object of his second encyclical, Benedict XVI  observed the "Lenten station" of Ash Wednesday this afternoon with a celebration in the ancient Roman basilica of Santa Sabina.  It was a long celebration that began not far away in the evocative Church of Saint Anselm on the Aventine hill, on a dazzling afternoon.  From here, after a moment of prayer, the penitential procession got underway, with the participation of cardinals, bishops, priests, and faithful, in addition to the Benedict ine monks of Saint Anselm and the Dominicans of Santa Sabina.  During the celebration in the latter church, the pope received the ashes from Cardinal Joseph Tomko, the head of the basilica. 

Prayer, in the words of the pope, "nourishes hope, because nothing expresses the reality of God in our lives better than prayer with faith.  Even in the solitude of the harshest trials, nothing and no one can prevent me from turning to the Father 'in the secret' of my heart, where He alone 'sees', as Jesus says in the Gospel (cf. Mt. 6:4,6,18)".

"Prayer," Benedict XVI continued, "is a crucible in which our expectations and aspirations are exposed to the light of the Word of God, are immersed in dialogue with the One who is truth, and are freed from hidden deceptions and compromises with various forms of egoism (cf. Spe Salvi, 33).  Without the dimension of prayer, the human ego would end up closing in upon itself, and the conscience, which should be the echo of the voice of God, is in danger of being reduced to the reflection of the ego, such that the interior dialogue would become a monologue, giving rise to thousands of self-justifications.  Prayer is thus a guarantee of openness to others, and frees one for God and his demands, opening one at the same time to others, to the brother who knocks at the door of one's heart and asks for listening, attention, forgiveness, sometimes for correction, but always in fraternal charity.  True prayer is never egocentric, but is always centred upon the other.  As such, it trains the one who prays in the "ecstasy" of charity, in the capacity to come out from oneself in order to become neighbour to the other in humble and disinterested service.  True prayer is the engine of the world, because it keeps it open to God.  For this reason, without prayer there is no hope, only illusion.  It is not, in fact, the presence of God that alienates man, but his absence: without the true God, the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, hopes become illusions that induce one to hide from reality.  To speak with God, to remain in his presence allows us to be enlightened and purified by his Word, it introduces us into the heart of reality, into the deep engine of cosmic transformation; it introduces us, so to speak, into the pulsing heart of the universe". 

"In harmonic connection with prayer", the pope continued, "fasting and almsgiving can also be considered places where Christian hope is learned and exercised".  "Thanks to the joint action of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, Lent in its entirety forms Christians to become men and women of hope, following the example of the saints". 

The last topic that Benedict XVI addressed was that of suffering, "because, as I wrote in the encyclical Spe Salvi, 'The true measure of humanity is essentially determined in relationship to suffering and to the sufferer' (Spe Salvi, 38). Easter, toward which Lent is ordered, is the mystery that gives meaning to human suffering, beginning from the overabundance of God's com-passion, realised in Jesus Christ.  The journey of Lent, therefore, being completely suffused with the light of Easter, makes us to relive what happened in the divine-human heart of Jesus while he went up to Jerusalem for the last time, to offer himself an expiation (cf. Isaiah 53:10).  Suffering and death fell like the darkness as He gradually drew near to the cross, but the light of love was also aflame.  The suffering of Christ is, in effect, entirely permeated by the light of love (cf. Spe Salvi, 38): the love of the Father who permits his Son to proceed with trust toward his last 'baptism', as He himself defines the culmination of his mission (cf. Luke 12:50).  Jesus received that baptism of suffering and love for us, for all of humanity.  He suffered for truth and justice, bringing into human history the Gospel of suffering, which is the other side of the Gospel of love.  God cannot suffer, but he can and wants to suffer-with.  From the passion of Christ, all human suffering can receive con-solatio, 'the consolation of God's compassionate love - and so the star of hope rises' (Spe Salvi, 39)".

Source:asianews

Pope Benedict XVI has revised the Good Friday liturgy prayer for the conversion of Jews

Pope Benedict XVI and church leaders will begin their annual Lenten Retreat on Sunday

Vatican City, Feb. 5, 2008 (vaticans.org) - Pope Benedict XVI and the leaders of the Roman Curia will begin their annual Lenten Retreat on Sunday, February 10.

Cardinal Albert Vanhoye, SJ, the former rector of the Pontifical Biblical Institute, has been appointed by Pope Benedict as the preacher for this year's retreat. The French Jesuit scholar also secretary to the Pontifical Biblical Commission from 1990 to 2001, serving under then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger-- who, in 2006, elevated Father Vanhoye to the College of Cardinal s.

The Lenten Retreat, held in the Redemptoris Mater chapel of the apostolic palace, includes three preached meditations each day along with Mass and Benedict , Eucharistic adoration, and the Liturgy of the Hours, and ample time for private prayer and contemplation.

During the week-long retreat, all papal audiences will be cancelled-- including the regular weekly public audience on Wednesday-- and the regular operations of Vatican offices will be significantly slowed as top officials join the Pope for the spiritual exercises.

Source:cwnews

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