Pope BEnedict on prayer and the Holy Family

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Today’s meeting is taking place in the atmosphere of Christmas, imbued with deep joy at the Birth of the Saviour. We have just celebrated this Mystery whose echo ripples through the Liturgy of all these days. It is a Mystery of Light that all people in every era can relive with faith and prayer. It is through prayer itself that we become capable of drawing close to God with intimacy and depth.

Therefore, bearing in mind the theme of prayer that I am developing in the Catecheses in this period, I would therefore like to invite you to reflect today on the way that prayer was part of the life of the Holy Family of Nazareth. Indeed, the house of Nazareth is a school of prayer where one learns to listen, meditate on and penetrate the profound meaning of the manifestation of the Son of God, following the example of Mary, Joseph and Jesus.

The Discourse of the Servant of God Paul VI during his Visit to Nazareth is memorable. The Pope said that at the school of the Holy Family we “understand why we must maintain a spiritual discipline, if we wish to follow the teaching of the Gospel and become disciples of Christ”. He added: “In the first place it teaches us silence. Oh! If only esteem for silence, a wonderful and indispensable spiritual atmosphere, could be reborn within us! Whereas we are deafened by the din, the noise and discordant voices in the frenetic, turbulent life of our time. O silence of Nazareth! Teach us to be steadfast in good thoughts, attentive to our inner life, ready to hear God’s hidden inspiration clearly and the exhortations of true teachers” (Discourse in Nazareth, 5 January 1964).

We can draw various ideas for prayer and for the relationship with God and with the Holy Family from the Gospel narratives of the infancy of Jesus. We can begin with the episode of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple. St Luke tells how “when the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses”, Mary and Joseph “brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord” (2:22). Like every Jewish family that observed the law, Jesus’ parents went to the Temple to consecrate their first-born son to God and to make the sacrificial offering. Motivated by their fidelity to the precepts of the Law, they set out from Bethlehem and went to Jerusalem with Jesus who was only 40 days old. Instead of a year-old lamb they presented the offering of simple families, namely, two turtle doves. The Holy Family’s pilgrimage was one of faith, of the offering of gifts – a symbol of prayer – and of the encounter with the Lord whom Mary and Joseph already perceived in their Son Jesus.

Mary was a peerless model of contemplation of Christ. The face of the Son belonged to her in a special way because he had been knit together in her womb and had taken a human likeness from her. No one has contemplated Jesus as diligently as Mary. The gaze of her heart was already focused on him at the moment of the Annunciation, when she conceived him through the action of the Holy Spirit; in the following months she gradually became aware of his presence, until, on the day of his birth, her eyes could look with motherly tenderness upon the face of her son as she wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in the manger.

Memories of Jesus, imprinted on her mind and on her heart, marked every instant of Mary’s existence. She lived with her eyes fixed on Christ and cherished his every word. St Luke says: “Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart” (2:19) and thus describes Mary’s approach to the Mystery of the Incarnation which was to extend throughout her life: keeping these things, pondering on them in her heart. Luke is the Evangelist who acquaints us with Mary’s heart, with her faith (cf. 1:45), her hope and her obedience (cf. 1:38) and, especially, with her interiority and prayer (cf. 1:46-56), her free adherence to Christ (cf. 1:55).

And all this proceeded from the gift of the Holy Spirit who overshadowed her (cf. 1:35), as he was to come down on the Apostles in accordance with Christ’s promise (cf. Acts 1:8). This image of Mary which St Luke gives us presents Our Lady as a model for every believer who cherishes and compares Jesus’ words with his actions, a comparison which is always progress in the knowledge of Jesus. After Bl. Pope John Paul II’s example (cf. Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae) we can say that the prayer of the Rosary is modelled precisely on Mary, because it consists in contemplating the mysteries of Christ in spiritual union with the Mother of the Lord.

Mary’s ability to live by God’s gaze, is so to speak, contagious. The first to experience this was St Joseph. His humble and sincere love for his betrothed and his decision to join his life to Mary’s attracted and introduced him, “a just man”, (Mt 1:19), to a special intimacy with God. Indeed, with Mary and later, especially, with Jesus, he began a new way of relating to God, accepting him in his life, entering his project of salvation and doing his will. After trustfully complying with the Angel’s instructions “Do not fear to take Mary your wife” (Mt 1:20) – he took Mary to him and shared his life with her; he truly gave the whole of himself to Mary and to Jesus and this led him to perfect his response to the vocation he had received.

As we know, the Gospel has not recorded any of Joseph’s words: his is a silent and faithful, patient and hard-working presence. We may imagine that he too, like his wife and in close harmony with her, lived the years of Jesus’ childhood and adolescence savouring, as it were, his presence in their family.

Joseph fulfilled every aspect of his paternal role. He must certainly have taught Jesus to pray, together with Mary. In particular Joseph himself must have taken Jesus to the Synagogue for the rites of the Sabbath, as well as to Jerusalem for the great feasts of the people of Israel. Joseph, in accordance with the Jewish tradition, would have led the prayers at home both every day – in the morning, in the evening, at meals – and on the principal religious feasts. In the rhythm of the days he spent at Nazareth, in the simple home and in Joseph’s workshop, Jesus learned to alternate prayer and work, as well as to offer God his labour in earning the bread the family needed.

And lastly, there is another episode that sees the Holy Family of Nazareth gathered together in an event of prayer. When Jesus was 12 years old, as we have heard, he went with his parents to the Temple of Jerusalem. This episode fits into the context of pilgrimage, as St Luke stresses: “His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom” (2:41-42).

Pilgrimage is an expression of religious devotion that is nourished by and at the same time nourishes prayer. Here, it is the Passover pilgrimage, and the Evangelist points out to us that the family of Jesus made this pilgrimage every year in order to take part in the rites in the Holy City. Jewish families, like Christian families, pray in the intimacy of the home but they also pray together with the community, recognizing that they belong to the People of God, journeying on; and the pilgrimage expresses exactly this state of the People of God on the move. Easter is the centre and culmination of all this and involves both the family dimension and that of liturgical and public worship.

In the episode of the 12-year-old Jesus, the first words of Jesus are also recorded: “How is it that you sought me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” (2:49). After three days spent looking for him his parents found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions (cf. 2:46). His answer to the question of why he had done this to his father and mother was that he had only done what the Son should do, that is, to be with his Father.

Thus he showed who is the true Father, what is the true home, and that he had done nothing unusual or disobedient. He had stayed where the Son ought to be, that is, with the Father, and he stressed who his Father was.

The term “Father” therefore dominates the tone of this answer and the Christological mystery appears in its entirety. Hence, this word unlocks the mystery, it is the key to the Mystery of Christ, who is the Son, and also the key to our mystery as Christians who are sons and daughters in the Son. At the same time Jesus teaches us to be children by being with the Father in prayer. The Christological mystery, the mystery of Christian existence, is closely linked to, founded on, prayer. Jesus was one day to teach his disciples to pray, telling them: when you pray say “Father”. And, naturally, do not just say the word say it with your life, learn to say it meaningfully with your life. “Father”; and in this way you will be true sons in the Son, true Christians.

It is important at this point, when Jesus was still fully integrated in the life of the Family of Nazareth, to note the resonance that hearing this word “Father” on Jesus’ lips must have had in the hearts of Mary and Joseph. It is also important to reveal, to emphasize, who the Father is, and, with his awareness, to hear this word on the lips of the Only-Begotten Son who, for this very reason, chose to stay on for three days in the Temple, which is the “Father’s house”.

We may imagine that from this time the life of the Holy Family must have been even fuller of prayer since from the heart of Jesus the boy – then an adolescent and a young man – this deep meaning of the relationship with God the Father would not cease to spread and to be echoed in the hearts of Mary and Joseph.

This episode shows us the real situation, the atmosphere of being with the Father. So it was that the Family of Nazareth became the first model of the Church in which, around the presence of Jesus and through his mediation, everyone experiences the filial relationship with God the Father which also transforms interpersonal, human relationships.

Dear friends, because of these different aspects that I have outlined briefly in the light of the Gospel, the Holy Family is the icon of the domestic Church, called to pray together. The family is the domestic Church and must be the first school of prayer. It is in the family that children, from the tenderest age, can learn to perceive the meaning of God, also thanks to the teaching and example of their parents: to live in an atmosphere marked by God’s presence. An authentically Christian education cannot dispense with the experience of prayer. If one does not learn how to pray in the family it will later be difficult to bridge this gap. And so I would like to address to you the invitation to pray together as a family at the school of the Holy Family of Nazareth and thereby really to become of one heart and soul, a true family. Many thanks.

john the almsgiving

Today marks the beginning of Ordinary Time. As we bid farewell to the Christmas season and welcome ordinary time. Ordinary time is a period in which we see JEsus in action. HE enters fully into his public ministry.

To start this ordinary time we are invited to recall St. John the Almsgiver. He lived in the 7th century. HE was a widower and was elevated to be patriarch of Alexandria.

His focus was almsgiving. Giving everything to support others continually.

He always referred to the poor as his "lords and masters", because of their mighty influence at the Court of the Most High.

What a unique focus on life. What if we just focused on giving.

How often do we excuse ourselves from giving with excuses such as they should get a job, or they just are going get drunk or blow it on cigarettes.

It is nice to be in the position of making excuses not to give.

What if we were on the other side of things.

ponder this quote from St. Vincent de Paul

"When the demands of life seem unfair, when you are exhausted and have to pull yourself out of bed yet another time to do some act of service, do it gladly, without counting the cost without self-pity. for if you persevere in serving others , in giving yourself to the poor, if you persevere to the point of completely spending yourself, perhaps someday the poor will find it in their hearts to forgive you. For it is more blessed to give than to receive, and it is also a lot easier."


Almsgiving isn't just for Lent; it must accompany us throughout our life. IT is the primary way we imitate Christ, giving ourselves.

baptism of the Lord & iPhone

Isaiah 55:1-11; Ps you will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation; 1 John 5:1-9; Mark 1:7-11

The Christmas season as finally come to a close as we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord.

Today is also the day in which Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone.

Which has made a bigger impact on the history of humanity: the iPhone or the Baptism of the Lord.

The iPhone as certainly revolutionized the way we communicate. There have been 100 million iPhones sold. WHo would disagree with the fact that iPhone has certainly had a dramatic affect on our society.

In fact, I have an iPhone and on it i have the daily readings of the mass.

It is truly an ingenious development as far as communicating and staying connecting with family and friends.

So what of the Baptism of the Lord.

In order to understand the Baptism of the Lord we must first go back to the genealogy of Jesus according to Luke.

Luke traces Jesus' genealogy all the back to being the "son of Adam, son of God." Luke 3:38

As Pope Benedict points out, Luke "underscores the universal scope of JEsus' mission. HE is the son of Adam-the son of man. Because he is man, all of us belong to him and he to us; in him humanity starts anew and reaches its destiny."

A little more impacting on humanity then the iPhone.

The iPhone allows us to communicate with each other; JEsus comes to allows us to communicate with God himself.

The Baptism of the Lord marks the beginning of Jesus' public ministry. How does he begin his ministry by being baptized. Jesus marks his public ministry by blending into the gray mass of sinners waiting on the banks of the Jordan.

Jesus has no need to be baptized, he has no need for he knows no sin. Yet, in his humility he seeks to be completely one with those he will save. He inaugurates his public ministry by stepping into the place of sinners, already an anticipation of the cross.

Jesus identifies himself with us so there we now discover our identification with him.

We too are now sons of Adam, sons of God in Christ.

The words spoken from the heavens as Jesus rises from the waters ring true for us all, "You are my beloved son, with you I am well pleased."

Words spoken bu Pope Benedict in 2006 on the feast of the baptism of the Lord

“What happens in Baptism? What do we hope for from Baptism? You have given a response on the threshold of this Chapel: We hope for eternal life for our children. This is the purpose of Baptism. But how can it be obtained? How can Baptism offer eternal life? What is eternal life?

In simpler words, we might say: we hope for a good life, the true life, for these children of ours; and also for happiness in a future that is still unknown. We are unable to guarantee this gift for the entire span of the unknown future, so we turn to the Lord to obtain this gift from him.

We can give two replies to the question, "How will this happen?". This is the first one: through Baptism each child is inserted into a gathering of friends who never abandon him in life or in death because these companions are God's family, which in itself bears the promise of eternity.

This group of friends, this family of God, into which the child is now admitted, will always accompany him, even on days of suffering and in life's dark nights; it will give him consolation, comfort and light.

This companionship, this family, will give him words of eternal life, words of light in response to the great challenges of life, and will point out to him the right path to take. This group will also offer the child consolation and comfort, and God's love when death is at hand, in the dark valley of death. It will give him friendship, it will give him life. And these totally trustworthy companions will never disappear.

No one of us knows what will happen on our planet, on our European Continent, in the next 50, 60 or 70 years. But we can be sure of one thing: God's family will always be present and those who belong to this family will never be alone. They will always be able to fall back on the steadfast friendship of the One who is life.

And, thus, we have arrived at the second answer. This family of God, this gathering of friends is eternal, because it is communion with the One who conquered death and holds in his hand the keys of life. Belonging to this circle, to God's family, means being in communion with Christ, who is life and gives eternal love beyond death.

And if we can say that love and truth are sources of life, are life itself -- and a life without love is not life -- we can say that this companionship with the One who is truly life, with the One who is the Sacrament of life, will respond to your expectation, to your hope....”

porter

1 John5:5-13; Ps 147 praise the Lord Jerusalem; Mark 1:7-11

Perhaps we should meditate on the opening lines of today's first reading, "Who indeed is the victor over the world but the one who believes that JEsus in the Son of God."


What does it look like to stand victorious over the world?

For this, the church gives us the saints; as we look into their lives we begin to see what victory looks like. In their life, the mystery of God's love shines through and light pierces the darkness and the glimmer of hope brightens our lives and encourages us onward.

Today we see love perfected in the life of Blessed Andre Bessette, who stands as a champion of faith, a victor in Christ.

Born 1845, one of ten, he lost his father at the age of 9 and his mother at age 12 and his family was dispersed. He did odd jobs between the border of U.S. and Canada and finally found his way to the Congregation of the Holy Cross at the age of 25.

The congregation soon discovered that he was illiterate, he could hardly read or write, and was always sick with stomach ailments.

Because of this, the congregation wanted to dismiss him. At the Bishop's request, however, the congregation kept him on and sent him to Notre Dame College for boys in Montreal where he was the porter.

He was in charge of answering the door, welcoming guests, waking up the school, giving the boys haircuts, washing the windows and the floors, and delivering mail. He spent 40 years as the porter.

Later in life he would joke that after his first year in the congregation they showed him the door and there he stayed for the next 40 years.

He loved what he did. His attention to the visitors and all who would come his way was tremendous. His care and concern brought consolation to all. He often invited people to invoke the intercession of St. Joseph for healing and strength.

He was so driven by his devotion to St. Joseph that he desired to build a basilica in St. Joseph's honor.

HE collected money, nickels and dimes, from haircuts and small donations and slowly with the bishops permission a makeshift building was erected.

It started as a 15 ft by 18 ft building with out a roof. Slowly, one step at a time over a period of
30 plus years things were added: a roof, heat, a paved road. Pilgrims started to come and gather and pray and ask Blessed Andre to pray. They were all moved by his poverty and humility.

He died at the age of 92 in 1937.

His road to sainthood was simply patience with the routine of life, allowing each moment to lead to a deeper conversion of God's love being perfected in him.

He is buried in the beautiful St. Joseph Basilica with a tombstone that reads: "poor, humble, obedient servant of God."

Quotes of Blessed Andre:

"It is with the smallest brush that the artist paints the most exquisitely beautiful pictures."

"It is surprising that I am frequently asked for cures, but rarely for humility and the spirit of faith. Yet, they are so important..."


Blessed Andre, porter, pray that we may open our hearts to God's love and allow it to be perfected in our life.

no duplicity

1 John 3:11-21; Ps 100 Let all the earth cry out to God with Joy; John 1:43-51

Many of us remember the story of Cain and Abel. Many of us live that story out in our own relationships with our siblings:fighting, bickering, jealousy and all the rest.

We all remember how the story ends. Cain kills Abel. In fact if you go back to the book of Genesis and reread the story you discover that it seem to all start over worship. Abel's sacrifice was accepted and Cain's sacrifice was denied.

THere never is a clear reason as to why the sacrifice of Cain was not received by God. In fact, this lack of clarity causes many to question God's motives.

They both on the outside seem to do what God asked, Abel with sheep and Cain with produce.

In today's first reading we are invited to revisited the story. John in is letter recounts the story but gives us a bit of insight into the why behind the rejecting of Cain.

John tells us, "We should love one another, unlike Cain who belonged to the evil One and slaughtered his brother. Why did he slaughter his brother? Because his own works were evil, and those of his brother righteous."

There are two components of every act: the external what we see and the internal what lies hidden out of sight.

On the outside, Cain and ABel seem to be equal but it was the internal reality that revealed Cain's true character.

What is on the inside matters most. I think Jesus points this out time and time again.

In fact look to the gospel.

Jesus comments about Nathanael, "Here is a true child of Israel. THere is no duplicity in him."

Duplicity?

definition: contradictory doubleness of thought, speech, or action; especially : the belying of one's true intentions by deceptive words or action


The bottom line is this: duplicity is bearing false witness to your neighbor. It is lying. There isn o room for this in the life of holiness. IS this not what we are aiming at.

Cain was duplicitous. So was Judas.
What about us?

How often do we find our selves betraying our true intentions by our external acts. How often do we pretend?

THis new Year try to eliminate duplicity: let your faith in Christ purify your motivations and intentions.

YOU shall not bear false witness to your neighbor.
This is why John tells us in the today's first reading, "we should love one another." There is no room for lying in loving.

John tells us, "If our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence in God."

What's on the inside!

Come and you will see

1 John 3:7-10; Ps 98 All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God; John 1:35-42


Today in the church we celebrate the Feast of Elizabeth Ann Seton, the first AMerican to be canonized. Now of course this should give us all who live on this side of the Atlantic a cause to pause and reflect not he fact that truly one of us have been raised to the honor roll of the saints.


Here is bit from Pope Paul IV during is homily of canonization in 1975:

"She is the first daughter of the United States of America to be glorified with this incomparable attribute! But what do we mean when we say: «She is a Saint»? We all have some idea of the meaning of this highest title; but it is still difficult for us to make an exact analysis of it. Being a Saint means being perfect, with a perfection that attains the highest level that a human being can reach. A Saint is a human creature fully conformed to the will of God. A Saint is a person in whom all sin-the principle of death-is cancelled out and replaced by the living splendor of divine grace. The analysis of the concept of sanctity brings us to recognize in a soul the mingling of two elements that are entirely different but which come together to produce a single effect: sanctity. One of these elements is the human and moral element, raised to the degree of heroism: heroic virtues are always required by the Church for the recognition of a person's sanctity. The second element is the mystical element, which express the measure and form of divine action in the person chosen by God to realize in herself-always in an original way-the image of Christ"

Heroic virtue and mystical dimension of the divine action of revealing the image of Christ.

But before we even begin to look at the final result of grace and faith in the human heart we must first look to the beginning.

It must start somewhere.

Perhaps every saint has a similar beginning as we encounter in the gospel, where the disciples hear the invitation spoken to every soul as the waters of baptism are poured upon the head and Christ speaks to the interior of each of us: "come and you will see."

Come and you will see, thus begins the journey of every saint.

Like the disciples, Elizabeth ann Seton, "went and saw where he was staying and they stayed with him that day."

Like the words of ANdrew resonating through the gospel, Elizabeth Ann Seaton found herself in jubilation as she too exclaimed "we have found the Messiah."

Here begins the journey of a lifetime of heroic virtue and mystical transformation of grace in the human heart.

Why are there so few saints? If we all start from the same line and move forward, why so few?

Why do so many of us never realize the greatness we are called with that simple invitation: Come!

The questions perhaps should be why so few but rather why not me, why not each of us, why should we not follow in her lead, for only in walking after her do we truly give honor and glory to the God who has called her, the Son who redeemed her and the SPirit who sanctified her.

Saint ELizabeth Ann Seton had her time, it is now our time to raise the banner of sanctity in our lives. If Elizabeth Ann Seton, a wife, mother, widow, religious can surrender to grace so can we.

Why so few becomes why not us, why not now. The call of Christ beckons continually: Come and you will see!

Let us go forth and let us see the fruit of grace be made manifest in the lives of holiness, not the holiness of others but our holiness here and now.


Pope Paul VI continues in his homily of canonization"

"Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton is an American. All of us say this with spiritual joy, and with the intention of honoring the land and the nation from which she marvellously sprang forth as the first flower in the calendar of the saints. This is the title which, in his original foreword to the excellent work of Father Dirvin, the late Cardinal Spellman, Archbishop of New York, attributed to her as primary and characteristic: «Elizabeth Ann Seton was wholly American»! Rejoice, we say to the great nation of the United States of America. Rejoice for your glorious daughter. Be proud of her. And know how to preserve her fruitful heritage. This most beautiful figure of a holy woman presents to the world and to history the affirmation of new and authentic riches that are yours: that religious spirituality which your temporal prosperity seemed to obscure and almost make impossible. Your land too, America, is indeed worthy of receiving into its fertile ground the seed of evangelical holiness. And here is a splendid proof-among many others-of this fact."

What is in a Name

Today we celebrate the Memorial of the Holy Name of Jesus, upon which St. Paul instructs us and admonishes us that every knee shall bend and every head shall bow.


Persons who played prominent roles in the history of salvation often received their names from God Himself. Adam — man of the earth; Eve — mother of all the living; Abraham — father of many nations; Peter — the rock.

Names are very important. Parents agonize over choosing the right name for their children. Unfortunately today, some parents have made a mockery of naming their child. Just think of some of the names given.

Once named, the name contains the person. Saying the name invokes an image. instantly we visualize the person.

Equally, when we think of Jesus, we remember His-name and we visualize the image of God in Jesus. 'For in Jesus the whole fullness of deity dwelled bodily' (Col 1:19, 2:9)."

We read in Sacred Scripture how the angel Gabriel revealed that name to Mary: "You shall call His name Jesus." And to St. Joseph the angel not merely revealed the name but explained its meaning: "You shall call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins." The Messiah should not only be the savior, but should be called Savior. With Jesus, therefore, the name actually tells the purpose of His existence.

This is why we must esteem His name as sacred. Whenever we pronounce it, we ought to bow our heads; for the very name reminds us of the greatest favor we have ever received, salvation.

Jesus' name is and must be associated with the favor offered. Every time we reverently embrace the name we receive the favor time and time again.

It is JEsus in the gospel of John who prays the following, "And now I will no longer be in the world, but they are int he world, while I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are. When I was with them in your name that you gave me, and I guarded them, and none of them was lost..."John 17:11-12


Just a few more passage of scripture to ponder today as we celebrate the feast of the Holy Name

Mark 16:17-18 "These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages, they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."

John 16:23 "Ame, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you."

Acts 3:6 "Peter said, I have neither silver nor gold, but what I do have I give you: in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean, walk."