Melancholy, Hosea 14:2-10, Psalms 81:6-17, Mark 12: 28-34, Saint John of God , Granada Spain, Catholic Catechism Part One Section 2 The Creeds Chapter 3:9:3 The Church is One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic. The Election of The Roman Catholic Pontiff (Pope): Code of Canon Law I:II Synod of Bishops
Good Day Bloggers! Wishing everyone a Blessed Week!
Year of Faith - October 11, 2012 - November 24, 2013
P.U.S.H. (Pray Until Serenity Happens). It has a remarkable way of producing solace, peace, patience and tranquility and of course resolution...God's always available 24/7.
The world begins and ends everyday for someone. We are all human. We all experience birth, life and death. We all have
flaws but we also all have the gift of knowledge and free will,
make the most of these gifts. Life on earth is a stepping stone to our eternal home in
Heaven. Its your choice whether to rise towards eternal light or lost to
eternal darkness. Material items, though needed for sustenance and
survival on earth are of earthly value only. The only thing that passes
from this earth to Purgatory and/or Heaven is our Soul, our Spirit...it's God's perpetual
gift to us...Embrace it, treasure it, nurture it, protect it...
"Raise not a hand to another unless it is to offer in peace and goodwill." ~ Zarya Parx 2012
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Prayers for Today: Friday in Lent
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Prayer For the Holy Election of Our New Pope
May the Lord preserve the sanctity of the enclave as they embark on electing our new Holy Father, give him life, and make him blessed upon earth, and deliver him not to the will of his enemies.
LET US PRAY:
O God, the Shepherd and Ruler of all the faithful, in Thy mercy look down upon Thy servant, (Our New Pope), whom Thou will appoint to preside over Thy Church, and grant we beseech Thee that both by word and example he may edify those who are under his charge; so that, with the flock entrusted to him, he may attain life everlasting. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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March 2, 2013 Message From Our Lady of Medjugorje to World:
“Dear children; Anew, in a motherly way, I am calling you not to be of a hard heart. Do not shut your eyes to the warnings which the Heavenly Father sends to you out of love. Do you love Him above all else? Do you repent for having often forgotten that the Heavenly Father, out of His great love, sent His Son to redeem us by the Cross? Do you repent for not having accepted the message? My children, do not resist the love of my Son. Do not resist hope and peace. Along with your prayers and fasting, by His Cross, my Son will cast away the darkness that wants to surround you and come to rule over you. He will give you the strength for a new life. Living it according to my Son, you will be a blessing and a hope to all those sinners who wander in the darkness of sin. My children, keep vigil. I, as a mother, am keeping vigil with you. I am especially praying and watching over those whom my Son called to be light-bearers and carriers of hope for you – for your shepherds. Thank you.”
February 25, 2013 Message From Our Lady of Medjugorje to World:
“Dear children! Also today I call you to prayer. Sin is pulling you towards worldly things and I have come to lead you towards holiness and the things of God, but you are struggling and spending your energies in the battle with the good and the evil that are in you. Therefore, little children, pray, pray, pray until prayer becomes a joy for you and your life will become a simple walk towards God. Thank you for having responded to my call.”
“Dear children! Also today I call you to prayer. Sin is pulling you towards worldly things and I have come to lead you towards holiness and the things of God, but you are struggling and spending your energies in the battle with the good and the evil that are in you. Therefore, little children, pray, pray, pray until prayer becomes a joy for you and your life will become a simple walk towards God. Thank you for having responded to my call.”
February 2, 2013 Message From Our Lady of Medjugorje to World:
"Dear children, love is bringing me to you - the love which I desire to
teach you also - real love; the love which my Son showed you when He
died on the Cross out of love for you; the love which is always ready to
forgive and to ask for forgiveness. How great is your love? My motherly
heart is sorrowful as it searches for love in
your hearts. You are not ready to submit your will to God's will out of
love. You cannot help me to have those who have not come to know God's
love to come to know it, because you do not have real love. Consecrate
your hearts to me and I will lead you. I will teach you to forgive, to
love your enemies and to live according to my Son. Do not be afraid for
yourselves. In afflictions my Son does not forget those who love. I will
be beside you. I will implore the Heavenly Father for the light of
eternal truth and love to illuminate you. Pray for your shepherds so
that through your fasting and prayer they can lead you in love. Thank
you."
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Today's Word: melancholy mel·an·chol·y [mel-uh
n-kol-ee]
Origin: 1275–1325; Middle English melancholie < Late Latin melancholia < Greek melancholía condition of having black bile, equivalent to melan- melan- + chol ( ḗ ) bile + -ia -ia
noun
1. a gloomy state of mind, especially when habitual or prolonged; depression.
2. sober thoughtfulness; pensiveness.
3. Archaic.
a. the condition of having too much black bile, considered in ancient and medieval medicine to cause gloominess and depression.
a. the condition of having too much black bile, considered in ancient and medieval medicine to cause gloominess and depression.
b. black bile.
adjective
adjective
4. affected with, characterized by, or showing melancholy; mournful; depressed: a melancholy mood.
5. causing melancholy or sadness; saddening: a melancholy occasion.
6. soberly thoughtful; pensive.
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Today's Old Testament Reading - Psalms 81:6-17
6 'I freed his shoulder from the burden, his hands were able to lay aside the labourer's basket.
7 You cried out in your distress, so I
rescued you. 'Hidden in the storm, I answered you, I tested you at the
waters of Meribah.Pause
8 Listen, my people, while I give you warning; Israel, if only you would listen to me!
9 'You shall have no strange gods, shall worship no alien god.
10 I, Yahweh, am your God, who brought you here from Egypt, you have only to open your mouth for me to fill it.
11 'My people would not listen to me, Israel would have none of me.
14 at one stroke I would subdue their enemies, turn my hand against their opponents.
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Today's Epistle - Hosea 14:2-10
2 Israel, come back to Yahweh your God your guilt was the cause of your downfall.
3 Provide yourself with words and come
back to Yahweh. Say to him, 'Take all guilt away and give us what is
good, instead of bulls we will dedicate to you our lips.
4 Assyria cannot save us, we will not ride horses any more, or say, "Our God!" to our own handiwork, for you are the one in whom orphans find compassion.'
5 I shall cure them of their disloyalty, I shall love them with all my heart, for my anger has turned away from them.
6 I shall fall like dew on Israel, he will bloom like the lily and thrust out roots like the cedar of Lebanon;
7 he will put out new shoots, he will have the beauty of the olive tree and the fragrance of Lebanon.
8 They will come back to live in my shade; they will grow wheat again, they will make the vine flourish, their wine will be as famous as Lebanon's.
9 What has Ephraim to do with idols any
more when I hear him and watch over him? I am like an evergreen cypress,
you owe your fruitfulness to me.
10 Let the wise understand these words, let the intelligent grasp their meaning, for Yahweh's ways are straight and the upright will walk in them, but sinners will stumble.
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Today's Gospel Reading - Mark 12: 28-34
One of the scribes who had listened to them debating appreciated that Jesus had given a good answer and put a further question to him, 'Which is the first of all the commandments?' Jesus replied, 'This is the first: Listen, Israel, the Lord our God is the one, only Lord, and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: You must love your neighbour as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.' The scribe said to him, 'Well spoken, Master; what you have said is true, that he is one and there is no other. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself, this is far more important than any burnt offering or sacrifice.' Jesus, seeing how wisely he had spoken, said, 'You are not far from the kingdom of God.' And after that no one dared to question him any more.
Reflection
• In today’s Gospel (Mk 12, 28b-34),
the Scribes and the Doctors of the Law want to know from Jesus which is
the greatest commandment of all. Even today, many people want to know
what is more important in religion. Some say that it is to be baptized.
Others say that it is to go to Mass and to participate in the Sunday
Mass. Others still say: to love our neighbour and to struggle for a more
just world! Others are concerned only of the appearances and of the
tasks in the Church.
• Mark 12, 28: The question of the Doctor of the Law. Some time before the question of the Scribe, the discussion was with the Sadducees concerning faith in the resurrection (Mk 12, 23-27). The doctor who had participated in the debate, was pleased with Jesus’ answer, he perceived in it his great intelligence and wishes to profit of this occasion to ask a question to clarify something: “Which is the greatest commandment of all?” At that time; the Jews had an enormous amount of norms to regulate the observance of the Ten Commandments of the Law of God. Some said: “All these norms have the same value, because they all come from God. It is not up to us to introduce any distinction in the things of God”. Others said: “Some laws are more important than others, and for this reason, they oblige more!” The Doctor wants to know what Jesus thinks.
• Mark 12, 29-31: The response of Jesus. Jesus responds quoting a passage from the Bible to say that the greatest among the commandments is “to love God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all our strength!” (Dt 6, 4-5). At the time of Jesus, the pious Jews recited this phrase three times a day: in the morning, at noon and in the evening. It was so well known among them just as the Our Father is among us. And Jesus adds, quoting the Bible again: “The second one is: You shall love your neighbour as yourself” (Lec 19, 18). There is no other greater commandment than these two”. A brief but very profound response! It is the summary of everything that Jesus teaches on God and his life (Mt 7, 12).
• Mark 12, 32-33: The response of the Doctor of the Law. The doctor agrees with Jesus and concludes: “Well said, to love your neighbour as yourself, this is far more important than any burnt offering or sacrifice”. That is, the commandment of love is more important than the commandments which concern the worship and sacrifices of the Temple. The Prophets of the Old Testament already had affirmed this (Ho 6, 6; Ps 40, 6-8; Ps 51, 16-17). Today we would say that the practice of love is more important than novenas, promises, sermons and processions.
• Mark 12, 34: The summary of the Kingdom. Jesus confirms the conclusion of the Doctor and says: “You are not far from the Kingdom of God!”. In fact, the Kingdom of God consists in the union of two loves: love toward God and love toward neighbour. Because if God is Father/Mother, we are all brothers and sisters, and we should show this in practice, living in community. “On these two commandments, depend all the law and the prophets!” (Mt 22, 40). We, disciples, should keep this law in our mind, in our intelligence, in our heart, in our hands and feet, which is the first one, because one cannot reach God without giving oneself totally to one’s neighbour!.
• Jesus had said to the Doctor of the law: “You are not far from the Kingdom of God!”(Mk 12, 34). The Doctor was already close, but in order to be able to enter into the Kingdom he had to still go a step forward. In the Old Testament the criterion of the love toward neighbour was: “Love the neighbour as yourself”. In the New Testament Jesus extends the sense of love: “This is my commandment: love one another as I have loved you! (Jn 15, 12-23). Then the criterion will be “Love the neighbour as Jesus has loved us”. This is the sure path to be able to live together in a more just and fraternal way.
Personal questions
• Which is the most important thing in religion for you?
• Today, are we closer or farther away from the Kingdom of God than the Doctor who was praised by Jesus? What do you think?
• Today, are we closer or farther away from the Kingdom of God than the Doctor who was praised by Jesus? What do you think?
Reference: Courtesy of Order of Carmelites, www.ocarm.org.
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Featured Item of the Day from Litany Lane
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Saint of the Day: Saints John of God
Feast Day: March 8
Patron Saint: hospitals, the sick, nurses, firefighters, alcoholics, and booksellers
Attributes: alms; cord; crown of thorns; heart
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| Sant Joan de Déu |
Biography
The first biography of John of God was written by Francisco de Castro, the chaplain at John of God’s hospital at Granada. As a youth he knew the Saint and he used material gathered from eyewitnesses and contemporaries of his subject. It was published at the express wish of the Archbishop of Granada who gave financial backing to its publication. Castro began writing in 1579, twenty-nine years after John of God’s death, but he did not see it published for he died soon after completing the work. His mother, Catalina de Castro, had the book published in 1585. Shortly after the publication of Castro’s ‘Historia’, an Italian translation by St Philip Neri’s discipline and fellow Oratorian, Giovanni Bordini was published at Rome in 1587.[1]Early life
John of God was born João Cidade in Montemor-o-Novo, Portugal, into a once-prominent family that was impoverished but had great religious faith. His mother died when he was only a small child, and his father joined a monastic order.One day, when John was eight years of age, he disappeared. Whether he had been deliberately kidnapped, or whether he had been seduced from his home by some stranger, is not clear; at all events a short time after he found himself an outcast, a homeless waif, in the streets of Oropesa, in the kingdom of Castile, on the opposite coast of the Spanish peninsula from the place where he was born. There, in a foreign land, he had no one to care for him, nothing on which to live; he had to be content with whatever means of subsistence he could find, and he settled down as a shepherd-boy in the neighboring countryside.[2]
The farmer was so pleased with his strength and diligent work that he wanted John to marry his daughter and become his heir. When he was about twenty-two years of age, to escape his master's well-meant, but persistent, offer of his daughter's hand in marriage, he joined a company of foot-soldiers, and in that company fought for the Emperor, Charles V, first against the French in Fontarabia, later in Hungary against the Turks. For some eighteen years John was a trooper employed in various parts of Europe.[2] On another occasion he was set to guard an enormous heap of booty. When he was relieved it was found that much of the treasure had been rifled. Naturally the suspicion fell on John; even if he had not been partner in the theft, at least he had failed in his duty. He was condemned to be shot; and that would have been his doom had not some more tolerant officer intervened to win his pardon.[2]
After many heroic exploits, he worked disseminating religious books, using the recent moveable type printing press of Johannes Gutenberg to provide people with the Bible.[3] John was 40 before he decided to give the rest of his life to God’s service, and headed at once for Africa, where he hoped to free captive Christians and, possibly, be martyred. He was soon advised that his desire for martyrdom was not spiritually well based, and returned to Spain and the relatively prosaic activity of a religious goods store. [4]
Military life
The farmer was so pleased with Cidad's strength and diligence that he wanted him to marry his daughter and to become his heir. When he was about 22 years of age, to escape his master's well-meant, but persistent, offer of his daughter's hand in marriage, the young man joined a company of foot-soldiers, and in that company fought for the Emperor, Charles V of Spain, eventually dispatched by the Count of Oropesa, Fernando Álvarez de Toledo y Zúñiga, against French forces at Fontarabia. While serving there, he was appointed to guard an enormous heap of booty. When he was relieved it was found that much of the treasure had been rifled. Naturally suspicion fell on Cidad; even if he had not been partner in the theft, at the least he was guilty of dereliction of duty. He was condemned to be hanged, and that would have been his fate had not some more tolerant officer intervened to win his pardon.[2]Disillusioned by this turn of events after what he felt was faithful military service, Cidad returned to the farm in Oropesa. He then spent four years again following a pastoral life. This went on until the day that the Count and his troops marched by, on their way to fight in Hungary against the Turks. Still unmarried, he immediately decided to enlist with them, and left Oropesa for a final time. For the next 18 years he served as a trooper in various parts of Europe.[2]
When the Count and his troops had helped in the rout of the Turks, they set sail to return to Spain, landing in A Coruna in Galicia. Since Cidad found himself so close to his homeland, he decided to return to his hometown, and to see what he could learn of the family he had lost so many years before. By that time, he had forgotten his parents' names but retained enough information from his childhood that he was able to track down an uncle he had still living in the town. He learned their fate from this uncle and, realizing that he no longer had no real ties to the region, returned to Spain.[1]
Africa
Cidad arrived near Seville, where he soon found work herding sheep, which was familiar to him. With the time now available to him to ponder his life, he began to realize that this occupation no longer satisfied him and he felt a desire to see Africa, and possibly give his life as a martyr through working to free Christians enslaved there. He immediately set out for Ceuta (located on the western coast of Morocco), recently conquered by the Spanish. On the way, he befriended a knight also traveling there with his wife and daughters, who was being exiled to that region by the King of Portugal for some crime he had committed.[1]When they arrived in the colony, the knight found that the few possessions the family had been able to take with them had been stolen, leaving them penniless. Additionally the entire family had become ill. Having no other recourse, the knight appealed to Cidad for his help. He promised to care for the family, and began to nurse them and found work to provide them with food, despite the poor treatment poor Spaniards received at the hands of the colony's rulers.[1]
The desertion of one of Cidad's coworkers to a nearby Muslim city, which meant his conversion to that faith, in order to escape this treatment led to a growing feeling of despair in him. Troubled and feeling spiritual lost from his failure to practice his faith during his years of military service, he went to the Franciscan friary in the colony. There he was advised that his desire to be in Africa was not working to his spiritual growth and that he should consider returning to Spain. He decided to do this.[1] Landing in Gibraltar, he began to wander around the region of Andalusia, trying to find what God might want from him.[3]
It was during this period of his life that Cidad is said to have had a vision of the Infant Jesus, who bestowed on him the name by which he was later known, John of God, also directing him to go to Granada.[4] Cidad then settled in that city, where he worked disseminating books, using the recent moveable type printing press of Johannes Gutenberg to provide people with works of chivalry and devotional literature.[3]
Conversion
Cidad expended all his energy in caring for the neediest people of the city. He established a house where he wisely tended to the needs of the sick poor, at first doing his own begging.[6] When John began to put into effect his dream because of the stigma attached to mental illness he found himself misunderstood and rejected. [5] For some time he was alone in his charitable work, soliciting by night the needed medical supplies, and by day attending to the needs of his patients and the hospital; but he soon received the cooperation of charitable priests and physicians. Many stories are related of the heavenly guests who visited him during the early days of his immense tasks, which were lightened at times by the archangel St. Raphael in person. To put a stop to his custom of exchanging his cloak with any beggar he chanced to meet, Sebastian Ramirez, Bishop of Tuy, had a religious habit made for him, which was later adopted in all its essentials as the religious garb of his followers, and the bishop imposed on him for all time the name given him by the Infant Jesus, John of God.[4]
Veneration
John of God died on March 8, 1550, his 55th birthday, in Granada. His body was initially buried in the Church of Our Lady of the Victories, belonging to the Minim friars, and remained there until November 28, 1664, when the Hospitaller Brothers had his relics moved to the church of their hospital in the city, John was canonized by Pope Alexander VIII on October 16, 1690, and later named the patron saint of hospitals, the sick, nurses, firefighters, alcoholics, and booksellers. His feast day is celebrated on March 8. A church was erected in 1757 to house his remains. On October 26, 1757, they were transferred to that church, now protected by the Knights of Saint John of God. The church has been raised to the rank of a basilicaLegacy
Down the centuries and across the world, today the Order has a presence in 53 countries and more than 300 hospitals, services and centers that respond to a whole variety of needs, not just in the area of mental health and psychiatry but other areas of needs as well. The Family of Saint John of God, as the Order is referred to today, is made up of more than 45,000 members, Brothers and Co-workers, and supported by tens of thousands of benefactors and friends who identify with and support the work of the Order for sick and needy people across the world.[5]References
- ^ General Curia in Rome of the Hospitaller Order of St. John of God
- ^ Goodier, S.J., Alban, Saints For Sinners, Sheed & Ward, Inc.
- ^ Rudge, F.M. "St. John of God." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 10 Jan. 2013
- ^ Foley O.F.M., Leonard, Saint of the Day, (rev. Pat McCloskey)
- ^ Forkan, O.H., Br. Donatus, Prior General, Rome, Thursday, June 10, 2010
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Today's Snippet I: Granada, Spain
Granada (Spanish pronunciation: [ɡɾaˈnaða]) is a city and the capital of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence of three rivers, the Beiro, the Darro and the Genil. It sits at an elevation of 738 metres above sea level, yet is only one hour from the Mediterranean coast, the Costa Tropical. Nearby is the Sierra Nevada Ski Station, where the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1996 were held.
In the 2005 national census, the population of the city of Granada proper was 236,982, and the population of the entire urban area was estimated to be 472,638, ranking as the 13th-largest urban area of Spain. About 3.3% of the population did not hold Spanish citizenship, the largest number of these people (31%) coming from South America. Its nearest airport is Federico García Lorca Granada-Jaén Airport.
The Alhambra, a Moorish citadel and palace, is in Granada. It is the most renowned building of the Andalusian Islamic historical legacy with its many cultural attractions that make Granada a popular destination among the touristic cities of Spain. The Almohad influence on architecture is preserved in the area of the city called the Albaicín with its fine examples of Moorish and Morisco construction. Granada is also well-known within Spain for the prestigious University of Granada which has about 80,000 students spread over five different campuses in the city. The pomegranate (in Spanish, granada) is the heraldic device of Granada.
History
Early history
The region surrounding Granada has been populated by Iberians from at least the 8th century B.C. The region has furthermore experienced Phoenician, Greek, Punic, Roman and Visigothic influences. The Iberians called the wide region Ilturir. On the site of present day Granada there seems to have existed a Roman settlement, but no definitive proof has been found. Some 20 miles south of the modern city, the Iberians built the settlement of Elibyrge in the 5th century BC which later became the Roman city of Illiberis.Founding
In 711, the Moors, after the Umayyad conquest of Hispania, conquered large parts of the Iberian Peninsula, thus establishing Al-Andalus (Moorish Spain). Meanwhile, Jewish people had established a small community some twenty miles north of Illiberis, called Gárnata or Gárnata al-yahūd ("Granada of the Jews"). The word Gárnata (or Karnattah) possibly means "Hill of Strangers".The actual founding of present day Granada took place in the 11th century, during a civil war that ended the Caliphate in the early 11th century. In the aftermath of these wars, the Berber general Ziri ibn Manad established an independent kingdom for himself, with Elvira as its capital. Because the city was situated on a low plain and, as a result, difficult to protect from attacks, the Zirid ruler decided to transfer his residence to the higher situated hamlet of Gárnata. In a short time this village was transformed into one of the most important cities of Al-Andalus. By the end of the 11th century, the city had spread across the Darro to reach the hill of the future Alhambra, and included the Albayzín (also Albaicín or El Albaicín) neighborhood (a world heritage site). The Almoravid and Almohad dynasties ruled Granada in this period.
Nasrid Dynasty—Emirate of Granada
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| The Capitulation of Granada by F. Padilla: Muhammad XII before Ferdinand and Isabella. |
Ibn Batuta, a famous traveler and an authentic historian, visited the kingdom of Granada in 1350. He described it as a powerful and self-sufficient kingdom in its own right, although frequently embroiled in skirmishes with the kingdom of Castile. If it was really a vassal state, it was contrary to the policy of the Reconquista to allow it to flourish for almost two centuries and a half after the fall of Sevilla in 1248.
Reconquista and the 16th century
On January 2, 1492, the last Muslim ruler in Iberia, Emir Muhammad XII, known as Boabdil to the Spanish, surrendered complete control of the Emirate of Granada to Ferdinand II and Isabella I, Los Reyes Católicos ('The Catholic Monarchs'), after the last battle of the Granada War.The 1492 surrender of the Islamic Emirate of Granada to the Catholic Monarchs is one of the most significant events in Granada's history as it marks the completion of the Reconquista of Al-Andalus. The terms of the surrender, expressed in the Alhambra Decree treaty, explicitly allowed the city's Muslim inhabitants to continue unmolested in the practice of their faith and customs, known as Mudéjar. By 1499, however, Cardinal Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros grew frustrated with the slow pace of the efforts of Granada's first Archbishop, Fernando de Talavera, to convert non-Christians to Christianity and undertook a program of forced Christian baptisms, creating the Converso (convert) class for Muslims and Jews. Cisneros's new tactics, which were a direct violation of the terms of the treaty, provoked an armed Muslim revolt centered in the rural Alpujarras region southwest of the city.
Responding to the rebellion of 1501, the Castilian Crown rescinded the Alhambra Decree treaty, and mandated that Granada's Muslims must convert or emigrate. Under the 1492 Alhambra Decree, Spain's Jewish population, unlike the Muslims, had already been forced to convert under threat of expulsion or even execution, becoming Marranos (meaning "pigs" in Spanish), or Catholics of Jewish descent. Many of the elite Muslim class subsequently emigrated to North Africa. The majority of the Granada's Mudéjar Muslims stayed to convert, however, becoming Moriscos, or Catholics of Moorish descent ("Moor" being equivalent to Muslim). Both populations of conversos were subject to persecution, execution, or exile, and each had cells that practiced their original religion in secrecy.
Over the course of the 16th century, Granada took on an ever more Catholic and Castilian character, as immigrants came to the city from other parts of the Iberian Peninsula. The city's mosques were converted to Christian churches or completely destroyed. New structures, such as the cathedral and the Chancillería, or Royal Court of Appeals, transformed the urban landscape. After the 1492 Alhambra decree, which resulted in the majority of Granada's Jewish population being expelled, the Jewish quarter (ghetto) was demolished to make way for new Catholic and Castilian institutions and uses.
Legacy
The fall of Granada has a significant place among the important events that mark the latter half of the Spanish 15th century. It completed the Reconquista of the eight hundred year-long Moorish occupation in the Iberian Peninsula. Spain, now without any major internal territorial conflict, embarked on a great phase of exploration and colonization around the globe. In the same year the sailing expedition of Christopher Columbus resulted in what is usually claimed to be the first European sighting of the New World, although Leif Ericson is often regarded as the first European to land in the New World, 500 years before Christopher Columbus. The resources of the Americas enriched the crown and the country, allowing Isabella I and Ferdinand II to consolidate their rule as Catholic Monarchs of the united kingdoms. Subsequent conquests, and the Spanish colonization of the Americas by the maritime expeditions they commissioned, created the vast Spanish Empire: for a time the largest in the world.Heritage and monuments
The greatest artistic wealth of Granada is its Spanish-Muslim art — in particular, the compound of the Alhambra and the Generalife. The Generalife is a pleasure palace with attached romantic gardens, remarkable both for its location and layout, as well as for the diversity of its flowers, plants and fountains. The Alhambra is the architectural culmination of the works of Nasrid art that were undertaken in the 13th and 14th centuries, with most of the Alhambra having been built at the time of Yusuf I and Mohammed V, between 1333 and 1354.At present, the buildings of Granada are typically bourgeois in appearance, with much of the architecture dating from the 19th Century, together with numerous Renaissance and Baroque buildings.
The Alhambra
 |
| The Alhambra |
The Alhambra occupies a small plateau on the southeastern border of the city in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada above the Assabica valley. Some of the buildings may have existed before the arrival of the Moors. The Alhambra as a whole is completely walled, bordered to the north by the valley of the Darro, to the south by the al-Sabika, and to the east of the Cuesta del Rey Chico, which in turn is separated from the Albaicín and Generalife, located in the Cerro del Sol.
In the 11th century the Castle of the Alhambra was developed as a walled town which became a military stronghold that dominated the whole city. But it was in the 13th century, with the arrival of the first monarch of the Nasrid dynasty, Mohammed I ibn Nasr (Mohammed I, 1238–1273), that the royal residence was established in the Alhambra. This marked the beginning of its heyday. The Alhambra became palace, citadel and fortress, and was the residence of the Nasrid sultans and their senior officials, including servants of the court and elite soldiers (13th-14th centuries).
In 1527 Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor demolished part of the architectural complex to build the Palace which bears his name. Although the Catholic Monarchs had already altered some rooms of the Alhambra after the conquest of the city in 1492, Charles V wanted to construct a permanent residence befitting an emperor. Around 1537 he ordered the construction of the Peinador de la Reina, or Queen's dressing room, where his wife Isabel lived, over the Tower of Abu l-Hayyay.
There was a pause in the ongoing maintenance of the Alhambra from the 18th century for almost a hundred years, and during the French domination substantial portions of the fortress were blown apart. The repair, restoration and conservation that continues to this day did not begin until the 19th century. The complex currently includes the Museum of the Alhambra, with objects mainly from the site of the monument itself and the Museum of Fine Arts.
The Generalife
It is difficult to know the original appearance of the Generalife, as it has been subject to modifications and reconstructions throughout the Christian period which disfigured many of its former aspects. All buildings of the Generalife are of solid construction, and the overall decor is austere and simple. There is little variety to the Alhambra's decorative plaster, but the aesthetic is tasteful and extremely delicate. In the last third of the 20th century, a part of the garden was destroyed to build an auditorium.
Cathedral
 |
| Cathedral of Granada - south portal |
The church was conceived on the model of the Cathedral of Toledo, for what initially was a Gothic architectural project, as was customary in Spain in the early decades of the 16th century. However, Egas was relieved by the Catholic hierarchy in 1529, and the continuation of the work was assigned to Diego Siloe, who built upon the example of his predecessor, but changed the approach towards a fully Renaissance aesthetic.
The architect drew new Renaissance lines for the whole building over the Gothic foundations, with an ambulatory and five naves instead of the usual three. Over time, the bishopric continued to commission new architectural projects of importance, such as the redesign of the main facade, undertaken in 1664 by Alonso Cano (1601–1667) to introduce Baroque elements. In 1706 Francisco de Hurtado Izquierdo and later his collaborator José Bada built the current tabernacle of the cathedral.
Highlights of the church's components include the Main chapel, where may be found the praying statues of the Catholic Monarchs, which consists of a series of Corinthian columns with the entablature resting on their capitals, and the vault over all. The spaces of the walls between the columns are perforated by a series of windows. The design of the tabernacle of 1706 preserves the classic proportions of the church, with its multiple columns crossing the forms of Diego de Siloé.
Royal Chapel
 |
| Royal Chapel of Granada |
The Royal Chapel was declared a Historic Artistic Monument on May 19, 1884, taking consideration of B.I.C. (Bien de Interés Cultural) in the current legislation of the Spanish Historical Heritage (Law 16/1985 of 25 June). The most important parts of the chapel are its main retable, grid and vault. In the Sacristy-Museum is the legacy of the Catholic Monarchs. Its art gallery is highlighted by works of the Flemish, Italian and Spanish schools.
Albayzín
The Albayzín (or Albaicín) is a neighborhood of Al-Andalus origin, much visited by tourists who flock to the city because of its historical associations, architecture, and landscape.The archeological findings in the area show that it has been inhabited since ancient times. It became more relevant with the arrival of the Zirid dynasty, in 1013, when it was surrounded by defensive walls. It is one of the ancient centers of Granada, like the Alhambra, the Realejo and the Arrabal de Bib-Rambla, in the flat part of the city. Its current extension runs from the walls of the Alcazaba to the cerro of San Miguel and on the other hand, from the Puerta de Guadix to the Alcazaba.
This neighborhood had its greatest development in the Nasrid era, and therefore largely maintains the urban fabric of this period, with narrow streets arranged in an intricate network that extends from the upper area, called San Nicolás, to the river Darro and Calle Elvira, located in Plaza Nueva. The traditional type of housing is the Carmen granadino, consisting of a free house surrounded by a high wall that separates it from the street and includes a small orchard or garden.
In the Muslim era the Albaicín was characterized as the locus of many revolts against the caliphate. At that time it was the residence of craftsmen, industrialists and aristocrats. With the Christian reconquest, it would progressively lose its splendor. The Christians built churches and settled there the Real Chancillería. During the rule of Philip II of Spain, after the rebellion and subsequent expulsion of the Moors, the district was depopulated. In 1994 it was declared a Unesco World Heritage Site.[8] Of its architectural wealth among others include the Ziri walls of the Alcazaba Cadima, the Nasrid walls, the towers of the Alcazaba, the churches of El Salvador (former main mosque), San Cristóbal, San Miguel Alto and the Real Chancillería.
Sacromonte
The Sacromonte neighborhood is located on the Valparaíso hill, one of several hills that make up Granada. This neighborhood is known as the old neighborhood of the gypsies, who settled in Granada after the conquest of the city. It is one of the most picturesque neighborhoods, full of whitewashed caves cut into the rock and used as residences. The sound of strumming guitars may still be heard there in the performance of flamenco cantes and "quejíos", so that over time it has become one of the most popular tourist attractions in Granada.At the top of this hill is the Abbey of Sacromonte and the College of Sacromonte, founded in the 17th century by the then Archbishop of Granada Pedro de Castro. The Abbey of Sacromonte was built to monitor and guard the relics of the evangelists of Baetica. Since the first findings the area has been a religious pilgrimage destination.
The abbey complex consists of the Catacombs, The Abbey (17th-18th centuries), the Colegio Viejo de San Dionisio Areopagita (17th century) and the Colegio Nuevo (19th century). The interior of the church is simple and small but has numerous excellent works of art, which accentuate the size and rich carving of the Crucificado de Risueño, an object of devotion for the gypsy people, who sing and dance in the procession of Holy Week. The facilities also include a museum, which houses the works acquired by the Foundation.
Charterhouse
The Monastery suffered heavy damage during the Peninsular War and lost considerable property in 1837 as a result of the confiscations of Mendizábal. Currently, the monastery belongs to the Carthusians, reporting directly to the Archdiocese of Granada.
The street entrance to the complex is an ornate arch of Plateresque style. Through it one reaches a large courtyard, at the end which is a wide staircase leading to the entrance of the church. The church, of early 16th century style and plan, has three entrances, one for the faithful and the other two for monks and clergy. Its plan has a single nave divided into four sections, highlighting the retables of Juan Sánchez Cotán and the chancel's glass doors, adorned with mother-of-pearl, silver, precious woods and ivory. The presbytery is covered by elliptical vaulting. The main altar, between the chancel arch and the church tabernacle, is gilded wood.
The Church tabernacle and Sancta Santorum is considered a masterpiece of baroque Spanish art in its blend of architecture, painting and sculpture. The dome that covers this area is decorated with frescoes by the Cordovan artist Antonio Palomino (18th century) representing the triumph of the Church Militant, the faith, and religious life.
The courtyard, with galleries of arches on Doric order columns opening on it, is centered by a fountain. The Chapter House of Legos is the oldest building of the monastery (1517). It is rectangular and covered with groin vaulting.
References
- Jedidiah Morse; Richard C. Morse (1823), "Granada", A New Universal Gazetteer (4th ed.), New Haven: S. Converse
- Arthur de Capell Brooke (1831), "(Granada)", Sketches in Spain and Morocco, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, OCLC 13783280
- Richard Ford (1855), "Granada", A Handbook for Travellers in Spain (3rd ed.), London: J. Murray, OCLC 2145740
- John Lomas, ed. (1889), "Granada", O'Shea's Guide to Spain and Portugal (8th ed.), Edinburgh: Adam & Charles Black
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Catechism of the Catholic Church
Part One: Profession of Faith, Sect 2 The Creeds, Ch 3:9:3
CHAPTER THREE
I BELIEVE IN THE HOLY SPIRIT
Article 9
"I BELIEVE IN THE HOLY CATHOLIC
CHURCH"
Paragraph 3. THE CHURCH IS ONE, HOLY, CATHOLIC,
AND APOSTOLIC
811
"This is the sole Church of Christ, which in the Creed we profess to be
one, holy, catholic and apostolic."LG 8 These four characteristics,
inseparably linked with each other,Cf. DS
2888 indicate essential features of
the Church and her mission. the Church does not possess them of herself; it is
Christ who, through the Holy Spirit, makes his Church one, holy, catholic, and
apostolic, and it is he who calls her to realize each of these qualities.
812
Only faith can recognize that the Church possesses these properties from her
divine source. But their historical manifestations are signs that also speak
clearly to human reason. As the First Vatican Council noted, the "Church
herself, with her marvellous propagation, eminent holiness, and inexhaustible
fruitfulness in everything good, her catholic unity and invincible stability,
is a great and perpetual motive of credibility and an irrefutable witness of
her divine mission."Vatican Council I, DS Filius 3: DS 3013
I. THE
CHURCH IS ONE
"The sacred
mystery of the Church's unity" (UR 2)
813
The Church is one because of her source: "the highest exemplar and source
of this mystery is the unity, in the Trinity of Persons, of one God, the Father
and the Son in the Holy Spirit."UR 2 # 5 The Church is one because of
her founder: for "the Word made flesh, the prince of peace, reconciled all
men to God by the cross, . . . restoring the unity of all in one people and one
body."GS 78 # 3 The Church is one because of her "soul":
"It is the Holy Spirit, dwelling in those who believe and pervading and
ruling over the entire Church, who brings about that wonderful communion of the
faithful and joins them together so intimately in Christ that he is the
principle of the Church's unity."UR 2 # 2 Unity is of the essence of
the Church:
What an astonishing mystery!
There is one Father of the universe, one Logos of the universe, and also one
Holy Spirit, everywhere one and the same; there is also one virgin become
mother, and I should like to call her "Church."St. Clement of Alexandria, Paed. 1, 6, 42: PG 8,300
814
From the beginning, this one Church has been marked by a great diversity which
comes from both the variety of God's gifts and the diversity of those who
receive them. Within the unity of the People of God, a multiplicity of peoples
and cultures is gathered together. Among the Church's members, there are
different gifts, offices, conditions, and ways of life. "Holding a
rightful place in the communion of the Church there are also particular
Churches that retain their own traditions."LG 13 # 2 The great richness
of such diversity is not opposed to the Church's unity. Yet sin and the burden
of its consequences constantly threaten the gift of unity. and so the Apostle
has to exhort Christians to "maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond
of peace."Eph 4:3
815
What are these bonds of unity? Above all, charity "binds everything
together in perfect harmony." Col 3:14 But the unity of the pilgrim
Church is also assured by visible bonds of communion:
- profession of one faith received from the Apostles;
-common celebration of divine worship, especially of the sacraments;
- apostolic succession through the sacrament of Holy Orders, maintaining the fraternal concord of God's family.Cf. UR 2; LG 14; ⇒ CIC, can. 205
-common celebration of divine worship, especially of the sacraments;
- apostolic succession through the sacrament of Holy Orders, maintaining the fraternal concord of God's family.Cf. UR 2; LG 14; ⇒ CIC, can. 205
816
"The sole Church of Christ [is that] which our Savior, after his
Resurrection, entrusted to Peter's pastoral care, commissioning him and the
other apostles to extend and rule it.... This Church, constituted and organized
as a society in the present world, subsists in (subsistit in) in) the Catholic
Church, which is governed by the successor of Peter and by the bishops in
communion with him."LG 8 # 2
The Second Vatican Council's
Decree on Ecumenism explains: "For it is through Christ's Catholic Church
alone, which is the universal help toward salvation, that the fullness of the
means of salvation can be obtained. It was to the apostolic college alone, of
which Peter is the head, that we believe that our Lord entrusted all the blessings
of the New Covenant, in order to establish on earth the one Body of Christ into
which all those should be fully incorporated who belong in any way to the
People of God."UR 3 # 5
Wounds to
unity
817
In fact, "in this one and only Church of God from its very beginnings
there arose certain rifts, which the Apostle strongly censures as damnable. But
in subsequent centuries much more serious dissensions appeared and large
communities became separated from full communion with the Catholic Church - for
which, often enough, men of both sides were to blame."UR 3 # 1 The
ruptures that wound the unity of Christ's Body - here we must distinguish
heresy, apostasy, and schismCf. ⇒ CIC, can. 751 - do not occur without human sin:
Where there are sins, there
are also divisions, schisms, heresies, and disputes. Where there is virtue,
however, there also are harmony and unity, from which arise the one heart and
one soul of all believers.Origen, Hom. in Ezech. 9, 1: PG 13, 732
818
"However, one cannot charge with the sin of the separation those who at
present are born into these communities [that resulted from such separation]
and in them are brought up in the faith of Christ, and the Catholic Church
accepts them with respect and affection as brothers .... All who have been
justified by faith in Baptism are incorporated into Christ; they therefore have
a right to be called Christians, and with good reason are accepted as brothers
in the Lord by the children of the Catholic Church."UR 3 # 1
819
"Furthermore, many elements of sanctification and of
truth" LG 8 # 2 are found outside the visible confines of the Catholic
Church: "the written Word of God; the life of grace; faith, hope, and
charity, with the other interior gifts of the Holy Spirit, as well as visible
elements."UR 3 # 2; cf. LG 15 Christ's Spirit uses these Churches and ecclesial
communities as means of salvation, whose power derives from the fullness of
grace and truth that Christ has entrusted to the Catholic Church. All these
blessings come from Christ and lead to him, Cf. UR 3 and are in themselves
calls to "Catholic unity."Cf. LG 8
Toward
unity
820
"Christ bestowed unity on his Church from the beginning. This unity, we
believe, subsists in the Catholic Church as something she can never lose, and
we hope that it will continue to increase until the end of
time." UR 4 # 3 Christ always gives his Church the gift of unity, but
the Church must always pray and work to maintain, reinforce, and perfect the
unity that Christ wills for her. This is why Jesus himself prayed at the hour
of his Passion, and does not cease praying to his Father, for the unity of his
disciples: "That they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am
in you, may they also be one in us, . . . so that the world may know that you
have sent me."Jn 17:21; cf.
⇒ Heb 7:25 The desire to recover the unity of all
Christians is a gift of Christ and a call of the Holy Spirit.Cf. UR 1
821
Certain
things are required in order to respond adequately to this call:
- a permanent renewal of the Church in greater fidelity to her vocation; such renewal is the driving-force of the movement toward unity;Cf. UR 6
- conversion of heart as the faithful "try to live holier lives according to the Gospel";UR 7 # 3 for it is the unfaithfulness of the members to Christ's gift which causes divisions;
- prayer in common, because "change of heart and holiness of life, along with public and private prayer for the unity of Christians, should be regarded as the soul of the whole ecumenical movement, and merits the name 'spiritual ecumenism;"'UR 8 # 1
-fraternal knowledge of each other;Cf. UR 9
- ecumenical formation of the faithful and especially of priests;Cf. UR 10
- dialogue among theologians and meetings among Christians of the different churches and communities;Cf. UR 4; 9; 11
- collaboration among Christians in various areas of service to mankind.Cf. UR 12 "Human service" is the idiomatic phrase.
- a permanent renewal of the Church in greater fidelity to her vocation; such renewal is the driving-force of the movement toward unity;Cf. UR 6
- conversion of heart as the faithful "try to live holier lives according to the Gospel";UR 7 # 3 for it is the unfaithfulness of the members to Christ's gift which causes divisions;
- prayer in common, because "change of heart and holiness of life, along with public and private prayer for the unity of Christians, should be regarded as the soul of the whole ecumenical movement, and merits the name 'spiritual ecumenism;"'UR 8 # 1
-fraternal knowledge of each other;Cf. UR 9
- ecumenical formation of the faithful and especially of priests;Cf. UR 10
- dialogue among theologians and meetings among Christians of the different churches and communities;Cf. UR 4; 9; 11
- collaboration among Christians in various areas of service to mankind.Cf. UR 12 "Human service" is the idiomatic phrase.
822
Concern for achieving unity "involves the whole Church, faithful and
clergy alike."UR 5 But we must realize "that this holy
objective - the reconciliation of all Christians in the unity of the one and
only Church of Christ - transcends human powers and gifts." That is why we
place all our hope "in the prayer of Christ for the Church, in the love of
the Father for us, and in the power of the Holy Spirit."UR 24 # 2
II. THE
CHURCH IS HOLY
823
"The Church . . . is held, as a matter of faith, to be unfailingly holy.
This is because Christ, the Son of God, who with the Father and the Spirit is
hailed as 'alone holy,' loved the Church as his Bride, giving himself up for
her so as to sanctify her; he joined her to himself as his body and endowed her
with the gift of the Holy Spirit for the glory of God."LG 39; Cf. ⇒ Eph 5 25-26 The
Church, then, is "the holy People of God,"LG 12 and her members
are called "saints."Acts 913;
1 Cor 61; ⇒ 16
1
824
United with Christ, the Church is sanctified by him; through him and with him
she becomes sanctifying. "All the activities of the Church are directed,
as toward their end, to the sanctification of men in Christ and the
glorification of God."SC 10 It is in the Church that "the
fullness of the means of salvation"UR 3 # 5 has been deposited. It is
in her that "by the grace of God we acquire holiness."LG 48
825
"The Church on earth is endowed already with a sanctity that is real
though imperfect."LG 48 # 3 In her members perfect holiness is something
yet to be acquired: "Strengthened by so many and such great means of
salvation, all the faithful, whatever their condition or state - though each in
his own way - are called by the Lord to that perfection of sanctity by which
the Father himself is perfect."LG 11 # 3
826
Charity is the soul of the holiness to which all are called: it "governs,
shapes, and perfects all the means of sanctification."LG 42
If the Church was a body
composed of different members, it couldn't lack the noblest of all; it must
have a Heart, and a Heart BURNING WITH LOVE.
and I realized that this love alone was the true motive force which enabled the other members of the Church to act; if it ceased to function, the Apostles would forget to preach the gospel, the Martyrs would refuse to shed their blood.
LOVE, IN FACT, IS THE VOCATION WHICH INCLUDES ALL OTHERS; IT'S A UNIVERSE OF ITS OWN, COMPRISING ALL TIME AND SPACE - IT'S ETERNAL!St. Therese of Lisieux, Autobiography of a Saint, tr. Ronald Knox
(London: Harvill, 1958) 235
and I realized that this love alone was the true motive force which enabled the other members of the Church to act; if it ceased to function, the Apostles would forget to preach the gospel, the Martyrs would refuse to shed their blood.
LOVE, IN FACT, IS THE VOCATION WHICH INCLUDES ALL OTHERS; IT'S A UNIVERSE OF ITS OWN, COMPRISING ALL TIME AND SPACE - IT'S ETERNAL!St. Therese of Lisieux, Autobiography of a Saint, tr. Ronald Knox
(London: Harvill, 1958) 235
827
"Christ, 'holy, innocent, and undefiled,' knew nothing of sin, but came
only to expiate the sins of the people. the Church, however, clasping sinners
to her bosom, at once holy and always in need of purification, follows
constantly the path of penance and renewal."LG 8 # 3; Cf. UR 3; 6; ⇒ Heb 2:17; 726;
⇒ 2 Cor 5:21 All members of the
Church, including her ministers, must acknowledge that they are
sinners.Cf. 1 ⇒ Jn 1:8-10 In everyone, the weeds of sin will still be mixed with the
good wheat of the Gospel until the end of time.Mt
13:24-30 Hence the Church
gathers sinners already caught up in Christ's salvation but still on the way to
holiness:
The Church is therefore holy,
though having sinners in her midst, because she herself has no other life but
the life of grace. If they live her life, her members are sanctified; if they
move away from her life, they fall into sins and disorders that prevent the
radiation of her sanctity. This is why she suffers and does penance for those
offenses, of which she has the power to free her children through the blood of
Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit.Paul VI, CPG #
19
828
By canonizing some of the faithful, i.e., by solemnly pro claiming that they
practiced heroic virtue and lived in fidelity to God's grace, the Church
recognizes the power of the Spirit of holiness within her and sustains the hope
of believers by proposing the saints to them as models and
intercessors.Cf. LG 40; 48-51 "The saints have always been the source and
origin of renewal in the most difficult moments in the Church's
history." John Paul II, CL 16, 3 Indeed, "holiness is the hidden source and
infallible measure of her apostolic activity and missionary
zeal." CL 17, 3
829
"But while in the most Blessed Virgin the Church has already reached that
perfection whereby she exists without spot or wrinkle, the faithful still
strive to conquer sin and increase in holiness. and so they turn their eyes to
Mary":Eph 5:26-27 in her, the Church is already the "all-holy."
III. THE
CHURCH IS CATHOLIC
What does
"catholic" mean?
830
The word "catholic" means "universal," in the sense of
"according to the totality" or "in keeping with the whole."
the Church is catholic in a double sense: First, the Church is catholic because
Christ is present in her. "Where there is Christ Jesus, there is the Catholic
Church."St.
Ignatius of Antioch, Ad Smyrn. 8, 2: Apostolic Fathers, II/2, 311 In her subsists the fullness of Christ's body united
with its head; this implies that she receives from him "the fullness of
the means of salvation" UR 3; AG 6;
⇒ Eph 1:22-23 which he has willed: correct and
complete confession of faith, full sacramental life, and ordained ministry in
apostolic succession. the Church was, in this fundamental sense, catholic on
the day of PentecostCf. AG 4 and will always be so until the day of the
Parousia.
831
Secondly, the Church is catholic because she has been sent out by Christ on a
mission to the whole of the human race:Mt 28:19
All men are called to belong
to the new People of God. This People, therefore, while remaining one and only
one, is to be spread throughout the whole world and to all ages in order that the
design of God's will may be fulfilled: he made human nature one in the
beginning and has decreed that all his children who were scattered should be
finally gathered together as one.... the character of universality which adorns
the People of God is a gift from the Lord himself whereby the Catholic Church
ceaselessly and efficaciously seeks for the return of all humanity and all its
goods, under Christ the Head in the unity of his Spirit.LG 13 ## 1-2; cf. ⇒ Jn 11:52
Each
particular Church is "catholic"
832
"The Church of Christ is really present in all legitimately organized
local groups of the faithful, which, in so far as they are united to their
pastors, are also quite appropriately called Churches in the New Testament....
In them the faithful are gathered together through the preaching of the Gospel
of Christ, and the mystery of the Lord's Supper is celebrated.... In these
communities, though they may often be small and poor, or existing in the
diaspora, Christ is present, through whose power and influence the One, Holy,
Catholic, and Apostolic Church is constituted."LG 26
833
The phrase "particular church," which is the diocese (or eparchy),
refers to a community of the Christian faithful in communion of faith and
sacraments with their bishop ordained in apostolic succession.Cf. CD 11; ⇒ CIC, cann. 368-369 These
particular Churches "are constituted after the model of the universal
Church; it is in these and formed out of them that the one and unique Catholic
Church exists."LG 23
834
Particular Churches are fully catholic through their communion with one of
them, the Church of Rome "which presides in charity."St. Ignatius of Antioch, Ad Rom. 1, 1: Apostolic Fathers, II/2,
192;
cf. LG 13 "For with this church, by reason of its pre-eminence, the whole Church, that is the faithful everywhere, must necessarily be in accord."St. Irenaeus, Adv. haeres. 3, 3, 2: PG 7/1, 849; Cf. Vatican Council I
DS 3057 Indeed, "from the incarnate Word's descent to us, all Christian churches everywhere have held and hold the great Church that is here [at Rome] to be their only basis and foundation since, according to the Savior's promise, the gates of hell have never prevailed against her."St. Maximus the Confessor, Opuscula theo.: PG 91 137-140
cf. LG 13 "For with this church, by reason of its pre-eminence, the whole Church, that is the faithful everywhere, must necessarily be in accord."St. Irenaeus, Adv. haeres. 3, 3, 2: PG 7/1, 849; Cf. Vatican Council I
DS 3057 Indeed, "from the incarnate Word's descent to us, all Christian churches everywhere have held and hold the great Church that is here [at Rome] to be their only basis and foundation since, according to the Savior's promise, the gates of hell have never prevailed against her."St. Maximus the Confessor, Opuscula theo.: PG 91 137-140
835
"Let
us be very careful not to conceive of the universal Church as the simple sum,
or . . . the more or less anomalous federation of essentially different particular
churches. In the mind of the Lord the Church is universal by vocation and
mission, but when she pub down her roots in a variety of cultural, social, and
human terrains, she takes on different external expressions and appearances in
each part of the world."Paul VI, EN 62 The rich variety of ecclesiastical
disciplines, liturgical rites, and theological and spiritual heritages proper
to the local churches "unified in a common effort, shows all the more
resplendently the catholicity of the undivided Church."LG 23
Who belongs
to the Catholic Church?
836
"All men are called to this catholic unity of the People of God.... and to
it, in different ways, belong or are ordered: the Catholic faithful, others who
believe in Christ, and finally all mankind, called by God's grace to
salvation."LG 13
837
"Fully incorporated into the society of the Church are those who,
possessing the Spirit of Christ, accept all the means of salvation given to the
Church together with her entire organization, and who - by the bonds
constituted by the profession of faith, the sacraments, ecclesiastical
government, and communion - are joined in the visible structure of the Church
of Christ, who rules her through the Supreme Pontiff and the bishops. Even
though incorporated into the Church, one who does not however persevere in
charity is not saved. He remains indeed in the bosom of the Church, but 'in
body' not 'in heart.'" LG 14
838
"The Church knows that she is joined in many ways to the baptized who are
honored by the name of Christian, but do not profess the Catholic faith in its
entirety or have not preserved unity or communion under the successor of
Peter."LG 15 Those "who believe in Christ and have been
properly baptized are put in a certain, although imperfect, communion with the
Catholic Church."UR 3 With the Orthodox Churches, this communion is
so profound "that it lacks little to attain the fullness that would permit
a common celebration of the Lord's Eucharist."Paul VI, Discourse, December 14, 1975; cf. UR 13-18
The Church
and non-Christians
839
"Those who have not yet received the Gospel are related to the People of
God in various ways."LG 16
The relationship of the Church with the Jewish People. When she delves into her own mystery, the Church, the People of God in the New Covenant, discovers her link with the Jewish People,Cf. NA 4 "the first to hear the Word of God."Roman Missal, Good Friday 13: General Intercessions, VI The Jewish faith, unlike other non-Christian religions, is already a response to God's revelation in the Old Covenant. To the Jews "belong the sonship, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and of their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ",Rom 9:4-5 "for the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable."Rom 11:29
The relationship of the Church with the Jewish People. When she delves into her own mystery, the Church, the People of God in the New Covenant, discovers her link with the Jewish People,Cf. NA 4 "the first to hear the Word of God."Roman Missal, Good Friday 13: General Intercessions, VI The Jewish faith, unlike other non-Christian religions, is already a response to God's revelation in the Old Covenant. To the Jews "belong the sonship, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and of their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ",Rom 9:4-5 "for the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable."Rom 11:29
840
and when one considers the future, God's People of the Old Covenant and the new
People of God tend towards similar goals: expectation of the coming (or the
return) of the Messiah. But one awaits the return of the Messiah who died and
rose from the dead and is recognized as Lord and Son of God; the other awaits
the coming of a Messiah, whose features remain hidden till the end of time; and
the latter waiting is accompanied by the drama of not knowing or of
misunderstanding Christ Jesus.
841
The Church's relationship with the Muslims. "The plan of salvation also
includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are
the Muslims; these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us
they adore the one, merciful God, mankind's judge on the last
day."LG 16; cf. NA
3
842
The Church's bond with non-Christian religions is in the first place the common
origin and end of the human race:
All nations form but one community. This is so because all stem from the
one stock which God created to people the entire earth, and also because all
share a common destiny, namely God. His providence, evident goodness, and
saving designs extend to all against the day when the elect are gathered
together in the holy city. . .NA 1
843
The Catholic Church recognizes in other religions that search, among shadows
and images, for the God who is unknown yet near since he gives life and breath
and all things and wants all men to be saved. Thus, the Church considers all
goodness and truth found in these religions as "a preparation for the
Gospel and given by him who enlightens all men that they may at length have
life."LG 16; cf. NA 2; EN 53
844
In their religious behavior, however, men also display the limits and errors
that disfigure the image of God in them:
Very often, deceived by the
Evil One, men have become vain in their reasonings, and have exchanged the
truth of God for a lie, and served the creature rather than the Creator. Or
else, living and dying in this world without God, they are exposed to ultimate
despair. LG 16; cf. ⇒ Rom 1:21,
⇒ 25
845
To reunite all his children, scattered and led astray by sin, the Father willed
to call the whole of humanity together into his Son's Church. the Church is the
place where humanity must rediscover its unity and salvation. the Church is
"the world reconciled." She is that bark which "in the full sail
of the Lord's cross, by the breath of the Holy Spirit, navigates safely in this
world." According to another image dear to the Church Fathers, she is
prefigured by Noah's ark, which alone saves from the flood.St.
Augustine, Serm. 96, 7, 9: PL 38, 588; St. Ambrose, De virg. 18, 118: PL 16,
297B; cf. already ⇒ 1 Pet 3:20-21
"Outside
the Church there is no salvation"
846
How are we to understand this affirmation, often repeated by the Church
Fathers?Cf. Cyprian,
Ep. 73.21: PL 3, 1169; De unit.: PL 4, 509-536 Re-formulated positively, it means that all salvation comes
from Christ the Head through the Church which is his Body:
Basing itself on Scripture and
Tradition, the Council teaches that the Church, a pilgrim now on earth, is
necessary for salvation: the one Christ is the mediator and the way of
salvation; he is present to us in his body which is the Church. He himself
explicitly asserted the necessity of faith and Baptism, and thereby affirmed at
the same time the necessity of the Church which men enter through Baptism as
through a door. Hence they could not be saved who, knowing that the Catholic
Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to
enter it or to remain in it.LG 14; cf. ⇒ Mk 16:16;
⇒ Jn 3:5
847
This affirmation is not aimed at those who, through no fault of their own, do
not know Christ and his Church:
Those who, through no fault of
their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless
seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do
his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience - those too
may achieve eternal salvation.LG 16; cf. DS
3866-3872
848
"Although in ways known to himself God can lead those who, through no
fault of their own, are ignorant of the Gospel, to that faith without which it
is impossible to please him, the Church still has the obligation and also the sacred
right to evangelize all men."AG 7; cf. ⇒ Heb
11:6; ⇒ 1 Cor 9:16
Mission - a
requirement of the Church's catholicity
849
The missionary mandate. "Having been divinely sent to the nations that she
might be 'the universal sacrament of salvation,' the Church, in obedience to
the command of her founder and because it is demanded by her own essential
universality, strives to preach the Gospel to all men":AG 1; cf.
⇒ Mt 16:15
"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to
observe all that I have commanded you; and Lo, I am with you always, until the
close of the age."Mt 28:19-20
850
The origin and purpose of mission. the Lord's missionary mandate is ultimately
grounded in the eternal love of the Most Holy Trinity: "The Church on
earth is by her nature missionary since, according to the plan of the Father,
she has as her origin the mission of the Son and the Holy
Spirit."AG 2 The ultimate purpose of mission is none other than to
make men share in the communion between the Father and the Son in their Spirit
of love.Cf. John Paul II, RMiss 23
851
Missionary motivation. It is from God's love for all men that the Church in
every age receives both the obligation and the vigor of her missionary
dynamism, "for the love of Christ urges us on."2 Cor 5:14; cf. AA 6; RMiss
11 Indeed,
God "desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the
truth";1 Tim 2:4 that is, God wills the salvation of everyone through
the knowledge of the truth. Salvation is found in the truth. Those who obey the
prompting of the Spirit of truth are already on the way of salvation. But the
Church, to whom this truth has been entrusted, must go out to meet their
desire, so as to bring them the truth. Because she believes in God's universal
plan of salvation, the Church must be missionary.
852
Missionary paths. the Holy Spirit is the protagonist, "the principal agent
of the whole of the Church's mission."John Paul II, RMiss 21 It is he who leads the
Church on her missionary paths. "This mission continues and, in the course
of history, unfolds the mission of Christ, who was sent to evangelize the poor;
so the Church, urged on by the Spirit of Christ, must walk the road Christ
himself walked, a way of poverty and obedience, of service and self-sacrifice
even to death, a death from which he emerged victorious by his
resurrection."AG 5 So it is that "the blood of martyrs is the
seed of Christians."Tertullian, Apol. 50, 13: PL 1, 603
853
On her
pilgrimage, the Church has also experienced the "discrepancy existing
between the message she proclaims and the human weakness of those to whom the
Gospel has been entrusted."GS 43 # 6 Only by taking the "way of
penance and renewal," the "narrow way of the cross," can the
People of God extend Christ's reign.LG 8 # 3; 15; AG 1 # 3; cf. RMiss 12-20 For "just as Christ
carried out the work of redemption in poverty and oppression, so the Church is
called to follow the same path if she is to communicate the fruits of salvation
to men."LG 8 # 3
854
By her
very mission, "the Church . . . travels the same journey as all humanity
and shares the same earthly lot with the world: she is to be a leaven and, as
it were, the soul of human society in its renewal by Christ and transformation
into the family of God."GS 40 # 2 Missionary endeavor requires patience.
It begins with the proclamation of the Gospel to peoples and groups who do not
yet believe in Christ,Cf. RMiss 42 47 continues with the establishment of Christian
communities that are "a sign of God's presence in the
world,"AG 15 # 1 and leads to the foundation of local
churches.Cf. RMiss 48-49 It must involve a process of inculturation if the Gospel
is to take flesh in each people's culture.Cf. RMiss 52-54 There will be times of
defeat. "With regard to individuals, groups, and peoples it is only by
degrees that [the Church] touches and penetrates them and so receives them into
a fullness which is Catholic."AG 6 # 2
855
The
Church's mission stimulates efforts towards Christian unity.Cf. RMiss 50 Indeed,
"divisions among Christians prevent the Church from realizing in practice
the fullness of catholicity proper to her in those of her sons who, though
joined to her by Baptism, are yet separated from full communion with her.
Furthermore, the Church herself finds it more difficult to express in actual
life her full catholicity in all its aspects."UR 4 # 8
856
The
missionary task implies a respectful dialogue with those who do not yet accept
the Gospel.Cf. RMiss 55 Believers can profit from this dialogue by learning to
appreciate better "those elements of truth and grace which are found among
peoples, and which are, as it were, a secret presence of God."AG 9
They proclaim the Good News to those who do not know it, in order to
consolidate, complete, and raise up the truth and the goodness that God has
distributed among men and nations, and to purify them from error and evil
"for the glory of God, the confusion of the demon, and the happiness of man."AG 9
IV. THE
CHURCH IS APOSTOLIC
857
The Church is apostolic because she is founded on the apostles, in three ways:
- she was and remains built on "the foundation of the Apostles,"Eph 2:20 The witnesses chosen and sent on mission by Christ himself;Mt 28:16-20
- with the help of the Spirit dwelling in her, the Church keeps and hands on the teaching,Acts 2:42 The "good deposit," the salutary words she has heard from the apostles;2 Tim 1:13-14
- she continues to be taught, sanctified, and guided by the apostles until Christ's return, through their successors in pastoral office: the college of bishops, "assisted by priests, in union with the successor of Peter, the Church's supreme pastor":AG 5
- she was and remains built on "the foundation of the Apostles,"Eph 2:20 The witnesses chosen and sent on mission by Christ himself;Mt 28:16-20
- with the help of the Spirit dwelling in her, the Church keeps and hands on the teaching,Acts 2:42 The "good deposit," the salutary words she has heard from the apostles;2 Tim 1:13-14
- she continues to be taught, sanctified, and guided by the apostles until Christ's return, through their successors in pastoral office: the college of bishops, "assisted by priests, in union with the successor of Peter, the Church's supreme pastor":AG 5
You are the eternal Shepherd
who never leaves his flock
untended.
Through the apostles you watch
over us and protect us always.
You made them shepherds of the
flock
to share in the work of your
Son....Roman Missal, Preface of the Apostles I
The Apostles' mission
858
Jesus is the Father's Emissary. From the beginning of his ministry, he
"called to him those whom he desired; .... and he appointed twelve, whom
also he named apostles, to be with him, and to be sent out to
preach."Mk 3:13-14 From then on, they would also be his "emissaries"
(Greek apostoloi). In them, Christ continues his own mission: "As the
Father has sent me, even so I send you." Jn 20:21 The apostles' ministry
is the continuation of his mission; Jesus said to the Twelve: "he who
receives you receives me."Mt 10:40
859
Jesus unites them to the mission he received from the Father. As "the Son
can do nothing of his own accord," but receives everything from the Father
who sent him, so those whom Jesus sends can do nothing apart from
him,Jn 5:19 from whom they received both the mandate for their mission and
the power to carry it out. Christ's apostles knew that they were called by God
as "ministers of a new covenant," "servants of God,"
"ambassadors for Christ," "servants of Christ and stewards of
the mysteries of God."2 Cor 3:6
860
In the office of the apostles there is one aspect that cannot be transmitted:
to be the chosen witnesses of the Lord's Resurrection and so the foundation
stones of the Church. But their office also has a permanent aspect. Christ
promised to remain with them always. the divine mission entrusted by Jesus to
them "will continue to the end of time, since the Gospel they handed on is
the lasting source of all life for the Church. Therefore, . . . the apostles
took care to appoint successors."LG 20
The bishops
- successors of the apostles
861
"In order that the mission entrusted to them might be continued after
their death, [the apostles] consigned, by will and testament, as it were, to
their immediate collaborators the duty of completing and consolidating the work
they had begun, urging them to tend to the whole flock, in which the Holy
Spirit had appointed them to shepherd the Church of God. They accordingly
designated such men and then made the ruling that likewise on their death other
proven men should take over their ministry."LG 20
862
"Just as the office which the Lord confided to Peter alone, as first of
the apostles, destined to be transmitted to his successors, is a permanent one,
so also endures the office, which the apostles received, of shepherding the
Church, a charge destined to be exercised without interruption by the sacred
order of bishops."LG 20 Hence the Church teaches that "the
bishops have by divine institution taken the place of the apostles as pastors
of the Church, in such wise that whoever listens to them is listening to Christ
and whoever despises them despises Christ and him who sent
Christ."LG 20
The
apostolate
863
The whole Church is apostolic, in that she remains, through the successors of
St. Peter and the other apostles, in communion of faith and life with her
origin: and in that she is "sent out" into the whole world. All
members of the Church share in this mission, though in various ways. "The
Christian vocation is, of its nature, a vocation to the apostolate as
well." Indeed, we call an apostolate "every activity of the Mystical
Body" that aims "to spread the Kingdom of Christ over all the earth."AA 2
864
"Christ, sent by the Father, is the source of the Church's whole
apostolate"; thus the fruitfulness of apostolate for ordained ministers as
well as for lay people clearly depends on their vital union with
Christ.AA 4 In keeping with their vocations, the demands of the times
and the various gifts of the Holy Spirit, the apostolate assumes the most
varied forms. But charity, drawn from the Eucharist above all, is always
"as it were, the soul of the whole apostolate."AA 3
865
The Church is ultimately one, holy, catholic, and apostolic in her deepest and
ultimate identity, because it is in her that "the Kingdom of heaven,"
the "Reign of God,"Rev 19:6 already exists and will be fulfilled
at the end of time. the kingdom has come in the person of Christ and grows
mysteriously in the hearts of those incorporated into him, until its full
eschatological manifestation. Then all those he has redeemed and made "holy and blameless before him in love,"Eph
1:4 will be gathered
together as the one People of God, the "Bride of the Lamb,"Rev 21:9 "the holy city Jerusalem coming
down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God."Rev 21:10-11 For
"the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them the twelve names
of the twelve apostles of the Lamb."Rev 21:14
IN BRIEF
866 The Church is one: she
acknowledges one Lord, confesses one faith, is born of one Baptism, forms only
one Body, is given life by the one Spirit, for the sake of one hope (cf ⇒ Eph
4:3-5), at whose fulfillment all divisions will be overcome.
867 The Church is holy: the
Most Holy God is her author; Christ, her bridegroom, gave himself up to make
her holy; the Spirit of holiness gives her life. Since she still includes
sinners, she is "the sinless one made up of sinners." Her holiness
shines in the saints; in Mary she is already all-holy.
868 The Church is catholic:
she proclaims the fullness of the faith. She bears in herself and administers
the totality of the means of salvation. She is sent out to all peoples. She
speaks to all men. She encompasses all times. She is "missionary of her
very nature" (AG 2).
869 The Church is apostolic.
She is built on a lasting foundation: "the twelve apostles of the
Lamb" (⇒ Rev 21:14). She is indestructible (cf
⇒ Mt 16:18). She is upheld infallibly in the
truth: Christ governs her through Peter and the other apostles, who are present
in their successors, the Pope and the college of bishops.
870 "The sole Church of
Christ which in the Creed we profess to be one, holy, catholic, and apostolic,
. . . subsists in the Catholic Church, which is governed by the successor of
Peter and by the bishops in communion with him. Nevertheless, many elements of
sanctification and of truth are found outside its visible confines"(LG 8).
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The Election of a Catholic Pontiff (Pope)
Code of Canon Law
SECTION I. THE SUPREME AUTHORITY OF THE CHURCH (Cann. 330 - 367)
CHAPTER I. THE ROMAN PONTIFF AND THE COLLEGE OF BISHOPS
Can. 330 Just as by the Lord’s decision Saint Peter and the other Apostles constitute one college, so in a like manner the Roman Pontiff, the successor of Peter, and the bishops, the successors of the Apostles, are united among themselves.
CHAPTER II. THE SYNOD OF BISHOPS
Can. 342 The synod
of bishops is a group of bishops who have been chosen from different regions of
the world and meet together at fixed times to foster closer unity between the
Roman Pontiff and bishops, to assist the Roman Pontiff with their counsel in
the preservation and growth of faith and morals and in the observance and
strengthening of ecclesiastical discipline, and to consider questions
pertaining to the activity of the Church in the world.
Can. 343 It is
for the synod of bishops to discuss the questions for consideration and express
its wishes but not to resolve them or issue decrees about them unless in
certain cases the Roman Pontiff has endowed it with deliberative power, in
which case he ratifies the decisions of the synod.
Can.
344 The synod of bishops is directly subject to the authority of the Roman
Pontiff who:
1/ convokes a synod as often as it seems opportune
to him and designates the place where its sessions are to be held;
2/ radios the election of members who must be
elected according to the norm of special law and designates and appoints other
members;
3/ determines at an appropriate time before the
celebration of a synod the contents of the questions to be treated, according
to the norm of special law;
4/ defines the agenda;
5/ presides at the synod personally or through
others;
6/ concludes, transfers, suspends, and dissolves the
synod.
Can. 345 The
synod of bishops can be assembled in a general session, that is, one which
treats matters that directly pertain to the good of the universal Church; such
a session is either ordinary or extraordinary. It can also be assembled in a
special session, namely, one which considers affairs that directly pertain to a
determinate region or regions.
Can.
346 §1. A synod of bishops assembled in an ordinary general session consists of
members of whom the greater part are bishops elected for each session by the
conferences of bishops according to the method determined by the special law of
the synod; others are designated by virtue of the same law; others are
appointed directly by the Roman Pontiff; to these are added some members of
clerical religious institutes elected according to the norm of the same special
law.
§2. A synod of bishops gathered in an extraordinary
general session to treat affairs which require a speedy solution consists of
members of whom the greater part are bishops designated by the special law of
the synod by reason of the office which they hold; others are appointed
directly by the Roman Pontiff; to these are added some members of clerical
religious institutes elected according to the norm of the same law.
§3. A synod of bishops gathered in a special session
consists of members especially selected from those regions for which it was
called, according to the norm of the special law which governs the synod.
Can.
347 §1. When the Roman Pontiff concludes a session of the synod of bishops, the
function entrusted in it to the bishops and other members ceases.
§2. If the Apostolic See becomes vacant after a
synod is convoked or during its celebration, the session of the synod and the
function entrusted to its members are suspended by the law itself until the new
Pontiff has decided to dissolve or continue the session.
Can.
348 §1. The synod of bishops has a permanent general secretariat presided offer
by a general secretary who is appointed by the Roman Pontiff and assisted by
the council of the secretariat. This council consists of bishops, some of whom
are elected by the synod of bishops itself according to the norm of special law
while others are appointed by the Roman Pontiff. The function of all these
ceases when a new general session begins.
§2. Furthermore, for each session of the synod of
bishops one or more special secretaries are constituted who are appointed by
the Roman Pontiff and remain in the office entrusted to them only until the
session of the synod has been completed.
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