Thursday, July 4, 2013 - Litany Lane Blog:
Reconcile, Psalms 115:1-9, Genesis 22:1-19, Matthew 9:1-8, Pope Francis Daily Homily - Children of God, Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, Jesus Trail, Catholic Catechism Part Three: Life In Christ Section 2 The Human Communion Article 3:1 Social Justice - Respect for the Human Person
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, reason and free will,
make the most of these gifts. Life on earth is a stepping stone to our eternal home in
Heaven. The Seven Gifts of
the Holy Spirit: wisdom, understanding, wonder and awe (fear of the
Lord) , counsel, knowledge, fortitude, and piety (reverence) and shun
the seven Deadly sins: wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and
gluttony...Its your choice whether to embrace the Gifts of the Holy Spirit rising towards eternal light or succumb to the Seven deadly sins and 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 the Darkness, Purgatory or Heaven is our Soul...it's God's perpetual
gift to us...Embrace it, treasure it, nurture it, protect it...~ Zarya Parx 2013
"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: Thursday in Ordinary Time
Rosary - Luminous Mysteries
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Papam Franciscus
(Pope Francis)
Pope Francis July 4 General Audience Address :
Children of God
(2013-07-04 Vatican Radio)
We are sons of God thanks to Jesus: no one can take away this “identity card.” That was Pope Francis’ message during Mass on Thursday at the Casa Santa Marta.
The Pope’s homily centred on the Gospel of the healing of a paralytic. In the beginning of the day’s Gospel, Jesus says to him: “Courage, child, your sins are forgiven.” Perhaps, the Pope Francis said, this person remained “unsettled” because he wanted to be physically healed. Then, faced with the criticism of the scribes – who among themselves had accused him of blasphemy, “because only God can forgive sins” – Jesus healed his physical condition. In reality, the Pope explained, the healings, the teaching, the strong words against hypocrisy were “only a sign, a sign of something more that Jesus was doing,” namely, the forgiveness of sins: In Jesus the world is reconciled with God. This is “the most profound miracle”:
“This reconciliation is the re-creation of the world: this is the most profound mission of Jesus. The redemption of all of us sinners; and Jesus does this not with words, not with gestures, not walking along the street. No! He does it with His flesh! It is He Himself, God who became one of us, a human, to heal us from within, [He came] to us sinners.”
Jesus frees us from sin by making Himself “sin,” taking upon Himself “all the sin” and this, the Pope said, “is the new creation.” Jesus “comes down from glory, humbles Himself, even unto death, death on the Cross,” even to the point of crying out: “Father, why have you abandoned me?” This “is His glory, and this is our salvation”:
“This is the greatest miracle. And what does Jesus accomplish with this? He make us children, with the liberty of children. Because of what Jesus has done, we can say ‘Father.’ [If He had not done so] we would never have been able to say this: ‘Father!’ And to say ‘Father’ with so good and so beautiful an attitude, with liberty! This is the great miracle of Jesus. We, who were slaves of sin – He has made us all free, He has healed us at the very core of our existence. We would do well to think about this, and to think how beautiful it is to be children, and how beautiful this ‘liberty of children’ is, because the child is in the house, and Jesus has opened the doors of the house to us . . . Now we are in the house!”
Now, the Pope concluded, we can understand when Jesus said “Courage, child, your sins are forgiven”:
That is the root of our courage: I am free, I am a child . . . The Father loves me, and I love the Father! Let us ask the Lord for the grace to truly understand this work of His, what God has done in Him: God has reconciled the world to Himself in Christ, entrusting to us the word of reconciliation and the grace of bearing this word of reconciliation onward, forcefully, with the liberty of children. We are saved in Jesus Christ! And no one can take from us this ‘identity card.’ This is how I identify myself: as a child of God! What a beautiful identity! Civil status: we are free! Amen.
We are sons of God thanks to Jesus: no one can take away this “identity card.” That was Pope Francis’ message during Mass on Thursday at the Casa Santa Marta.
The Pope’s homily centred on the Gospel of the healing of a paralytic. In the beginning of the day’s Gospel, Jesus says to him: “Courage, child, your sins are forgiven.” Perhaps, the Pope Francis said, this person remained “unsettled” because he wanted to be physically healed. Then, faced with the criticism of the scribes – who among themselves had accused him of blasphemy, “because only God can forgive sins” – Jesus healed his physical condition. In reality, the Pope explained, the healings, the teaching, the strong words against hypocrisy were “only a sign, a sign of something more that Jesus was doing,” namely, the forgiveness of sins: In Jesus the world is reconciled with God. This is “the most profound miracle”:
“This reconciliation is the re-creation of the world: this is the most profound mission of Jesus. The redemption of all of us sinners; and Jesus does this not with words, not with gestures, not walking along the street. No! He does it with His flesh! It is He Himself, God who became one of us, a human, to heal us from within, [He came] to us sinners.”
Jesus frees us from sin by making Himself “sin,” taking upon Himself “all the sin” and this, the Pope said, “is the new creation.” Jesus “comes down from glory, humbles Himself, even unto death, death on the Cross,” even to the point of crying out: “Father, why have you abandoned me?” This “is His glory, and this is our salvation”:
“This is the greatest miracle. And what does Jesus accomplish with this? He make us children, with the liberty of children. Because of what Jesus has done, we can say ‘Father.’ [If He had not done so] we would never have been able to say this: ‘Father!’ And to say ‘Father’ with so good and so beautiful an attitude, with liberty! This is the great miracle of Jesus. We, who were slaves of sin – He has made us all free, He has healed us at the very core of our existence. We would do well to think about this, and to think how beautiful it is to be children, and how beautiful this ‘liberty of children’ is, because the child is in the house, and Jesus has opened the doors of the house to us . . . Now we are in the house!”
Now, the Pope concluded, we can understand when Jesus said “Courage, child, your sins are forgiven”:
That is the root of our courage: I am free, I am a child . . . The Father loves me, and I love the Father! Let us ask the Lord for the grace to truly understand this work of His, what God has done in Him: God has reconciled the world to Himself in Christ, entrusting to us the word of reconciliation and the grace of bearing this word of reconciliation onward, forcefully, with the liberty of children. We are saved in Jesus Christ! And no one can take from us this ‘identity card.’ This is how I identify myself: as a child of God! What a beautiful identity! Civil status: we are free! Amen.
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Liturgical Celebrations to be presided over by Pope: Summer
Vatican City, Summer2013 (VIS)
Following is the calendar of celebrations scheduled to be presided over by the Holy Father for the Summer of 2013:
JULY
July 2, 2013 Our Lady of Medjugorje Message to the World: "Dear children, with a motherly love I am imploring you to give me the gift of your hearts, so I can present them to my Son and free you – free you from all the evil enslaving and distancing you all the more from the only Good – my Son – from everything which is leading you on the wrong way and is taking peace away from you. I desire to lead you to the freedom of the promise of my Son, because I desire for God's will to be fulfilled completely here; and that through reconciliation with the Heavenly Father, through fasting and prayer, apostles of God's love may be born – apostles who will freely, and with love, spread the love of God to all my children – apostles who will spread the love of the trust in the Heavenly Father and who will keep opening the gates of Heaven. Dear children, extend the joy of love and support to your shepherds, just as my Son has asked them to extend it to you. Thank you."
June 25, 2013 Our Lady of Medjugorje Message to the World on the 32nd Anniversary of the apparitions: “Dear children! With joy in the heart I love you all and call you to draw closer to my Immaculate Heart so I can draw you still closer to my Son Jesus, and that He can give you His peace and love, which are nourishment for each one of you. Open yourselves, little children, to prayer – open yourselves to my love. I am your mother and cannot leave you alone in wandering and sin. You are called, little children, to be my children, my beloved children, so I can present you all to my Son. Thank you for having responded to my call.”
June 2, 2013 Our Lady of Medjugorje Message to the World: "Dear children, in this restless time, anew I am calling you to set out after my Son - to follow Him. I know of the pain, suffering and difficulties, but in my Son you will find rest; in Him you will find peace and salvation. My children, do not forget that my Son redeemed you by His Cross and enabled you, anew, to be children of God; to be able to, anew, call the Heavenly Father, "Father". To be worthy of the Father, love and forgive, because your Father is love and forgiveness. Pray and fast, because that is the way to your purification, it is the way of coming to know and becoming cognizant of the Heavenly Father. When you become cognizant of the Father, you will comprehend that He is all you need. I, as a mother, desire my children to be in a community of one single people where the Word of God is listened to and carried out.* Therefore, my children, set out after my Son. Be one with Him. Be God's children. Love your shepherds as my Son loved them when He called them to serve you. Thank you." *Our Lady said this resolutely and with emphasis.
Following is the calendar of celebrations scheduled to be presided over by the Holy Father for the Summer of 2013:
JULY
The Prefecture of the Papal Household has released Pope Francis' agenda
for the summer period, from July through to the end of August. Briefing
journalists, Holy See Press Office director, Fr. Federico Lombardi
confirmed that the Pope will remain 'based ' at the Casa Santa Marta
residence in Vatican City State for the duration of the summer.
As per tradition, all private and special audiences are suspended for the duration of the summer. The Holy Father's private Masses with employees will end July 7 and resume in September. The Wednesday general audiences are suspended for the month of July to resume August 7 at the Vatican.
7 July, 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time: 9:30am, Mass with seminarians and novices in the Vatican Basilica.
14 July Sunday , Pope Francis will lead the Angelus prayer from the Apostolic Palace of Castel Gandolfo.
Pope Francis will travel to Brazil for the 28th World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro from Monday July 22 to Monday July 29.
As per tradition, all private and special audiences are suspended for the duration of the summer. The Holy Father's private Masses with employees will end July 7 and resume in September. The Wednesday general audiences are suspended for the month of July to resume August 7 at the Vatican.
7 July, 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time: 9:30am, Mass with seminarians and novices in the Vatican Basilica.
14 July Sunday , Pope Francis will lead the Angelus prayer from the Apostolic Palace of Castel Gandolfo.
Pope Francis will travel to Brazil for the 28th World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro from Monday July 22 to Monday July 29.
Reference:
- Vatican News. From the Pope. © Copyright 2013 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Accessed 07/04/2013.
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July 2, 2013 Our Lady of Medjugorje Message to the World: "Dear children, with a motherly love I am imploring you to give me the gift of your hearts, so I can present them to my Son and free you – free you from all the evil enslaving and distancing you all the more from the only Good – my Son – from everything which is leading you on the wrong way and is taking peace away from you. I desire to lead you to the freedom of the promise of my Son, because I desire for God's will to be fulfilled completely here; and that through reconciliation with the Heavenly Father, through fasting and prayer, apostles of God's love may be born – apostles who will freely, and with love, spread the love of God to all my children – apostles who will spread the love of the trust in the Heavenly Father and who will keep opening the gates of Heaven. Dear children, extend the joy of love and support to your shepherds, just as my Son has asked them to extend it to you. Thank you."
June 25, 2013 Our Lady of Medjugorje Message to the World on the 32nd Anniversary of the apparitions: “Dear children! With joy in the heart I love you all and call you to draw closer to my Immaculate Heart so I can draw you still closer to my Son Jesus, and that He can give you His peace and love, which are nourishment for each one of you. Open yourselves, little children, to prayer – open yourselves to my love. I am your mother and cannot leave you alone in wandering and sin. You are called, little children, to be my children, my beloved children, so I can present you all to my Son. Thank you for having responded to my call.”
June 2, 2013 Our Lady of Medjugorje Message to the World: "Dear children, in this restless time, anew I am calling you to set out after my Son - to follow Him. I know of the pain, suffering and difficulties, but in my Son you will find rest; in Him you will find peace and salvation. My children, do not forget that my Son redeemed you by His Cross and enabled you, anew, to be children of God; to be able to, anew, call the Heavenly Father, "Father". To be worthy of the Father, love and forgive, because your Father is love and forgiveness. Pray and fast, because that is the way to your purification, it is the way of coming to know and becoming cognizant of the Heavenly Father. When you become cognizant of the Father, you will comprehend that He is all you need. I, as a mother, desire my children to be in a community of one single people where the Word of God is listened to and carried out.* Therefore, my children, set out after my Son. Be one with Him. Be God's children. Love your shepherds as my Son loved them when He called them to serve you. Thank you." *Our Lady said this resolutely and with emphasis.
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Today's Word: reconcile rec·on·cile [rek-uhn-sahyl]
Origin: 1175–1225; alteration (with i < Latin ) of Middle English vertu < Anglo-French, Old French < Latin virtūt- (stem of virtūs ) maleness, worth, virtue, equivalent to vir man (see virile) + -tūt- abstract noun suffix
verb (used with object)
1. to cause (a person) to accept or be resigned to something not desired: He was reconciled to his fate.
2. to win over to friendliness; cause to become amicable: to reconcile hostile persons.
3. to compose or settle (a quarrel, dispute, etc.).
4. to bring into agreement or harmony; make compatible or consistent: to reconcile differing statements; to reconcile accounts.
5. to reconsecrate (a desecrated church, cemetery, etc.).
6. to restore (an excommunicate or penitent) to communion in a church.
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Today's Old Testament Reading - Psalms 115:1-9
1 Not to us, Yahweh, not to us, but to your name give the glory, for your faithful love and your constancy!
2 Why should the nations ask, 'Where is their God?'
3 Our God is in heaven, he creates whatever he chooses.
4 They have idols of silver and gold, made by human hands.
5 These have mouths but say nothing, have eyes but see nothing,
6 have ears but hear nothing, have noses but smell nothing.
8 Their makers will end up like them, and all who rely on them.
9 House of Israel, rely on Yahweh; he is their help and their shield.
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Today's Epistle - Genesis 22:1-19
1 It happened some time later that God put Abraham to the test. 'Abraham, Abraham!' he called. 'Here I am,' he replied.
2 God said, 'Take your son, your only
son, your beloved Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, where you are to
offer him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains which I shall
point out to you.'
3 Early next morning Abraham
saddled his donkey and took with him two of his servants and his son
Isaac. He chopped wood for the burnt offering and started on his journey
to the place which God had indicated to him.
4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.
5 Then Abraham
said to his servants, 'Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I are
going over there; we shall worship and then come back to you.'
6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt
offering, loaded it on Isaac, and carried in his own hands the fire and
the knife. Then the two of them set out together.
7 Isaac spoke to his father Abraham.
'Father?' he said. 'Yes, my son,' he replied. 'Look,' he said, 'here are
the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?'
8 Abraham replied, 'My son, God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering.' And the two of them went on together.
9 When they arrived at the place which God had indicated to him, Abraham built an altar there, and arranged the wood. Then he bound his son and put him on the altar on top of the wood.
10 Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to kill his son.
11 But the angel of Yahweh called to him from heaven. 'Abraham, Abraham!' he said. 'Here I am,' he replied.
12 'Do not raise your hand against the boy,' the angel said. 'Do not harm him, for now I know you fear God. You have not refused me your own beloved son.'
13 Then looking up, Abraham saw a ram caught by its horns in a bush. Abraham took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son.
14 Abraham called this place 'Yahweh provides', and hence the saying today: 'On the mountain Yahweh provides.'
15 The angel of Yahweh called Abraham a second time from heaven.
16 'I swear by my own self, Yahweh declares, that because you have done this, because you have not refused me your own beloved son,
17 I will shower blessings on you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven and the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will gain possession of the gates of their enemies.
18 All nations on earth will bless themselves by your descendants, because you have obeyed my command.'
19 Abraham went back to his servants, and together they set out for Beersheba, and Abraham settled in Beersheba.
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Today's Gospel Reading - Matthew 9:1-8
Jesus
got back in the boat, crossed the water and came to his home town. And
suddenly some people brought him a paralytic stretched out on a bed.
Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, 'Take comfort, my
child, your sins are forgiven.' And now some scribes said to
themselves, 'This man is being blasphemous.' Knowing what was in their
minds Jesus said, 'Why do you have such wicked thoughts in your hearts?
Now, which of these is easier: to say, "Your sins are forgiven," or to
say, "Get up and walk"? But to prove to you that the Son of man has
authority on earth to forgive sins,' -- then he said to the
paralytic-'get up, pick up your bed and go off home.' And the man got
up and went home. A feeling of awe came over the crowd when they saw
this, and they praised God for having given such authority to human
beings.
Reflection•
The extraordinary authority of Jesus. To the reader, Jesus appears as a
person invested with extraordinary authority, by means of the words and
actions (Mt 9, 6.8). The authoritative word of Jesus strikes evil at its
root: in the case of the paralytic man on sin that affects the man in
his liberty and blocks him in his living forces: “Your sins are
forgiven” (v. 5); “”Get up pick up your bed and go off home” (v.6).
Truly all the forms of paralysis of the heart and the mind to which we
are subject are cancelled by the authority of Jesus (9, 6), because
during his life on earth he met all these forms. The authoritative and
effective word of Jesus awakens the paralyzed humanity (9, 5-7) and
gives it the gift of walking (9, 6) in a renewed faith
• The encounter with the paralytic. After the storm and a visit in the country of the Gadarenes, Jesus returns to Capernaum, his city. And as he was on his way, he met the paralytic. The healing did not take place in a house, but along the road. Therefore, along the road that leads to Capernaum they brought him a paralytic man. Jesus addresses him calling him “my son”, a gesture of attention that soon becomes a gesture of salvation: “your sins are forgiven you” (v. 2) The forgiveness of sins which Jesus pronounces on the part of God on the paralytic refers to the bond between sickness, failure and sin. This is the first time that the evangelist attributes this particular divine power to Jesus, in an explicit way. For the Jews the sickness of a man was considered a punishment because of sins committed; The physical illness was considered always as a consequence of one’s own moral evil or due to parents (Jn 9, 2). Jesus restores to man the condition of salvation freeing him from illness as well as from sin.
• For some of those who were present, for the Scribes, the words of Jesus which announce forgiveness of sins is a true and proper blasphemy. According to them Jesus is arrogant because God alone can forgive sins. They do not manifest openly such a judgment of Jesus but express it by murmuring among themselves. Jesus who penetrates their hearts sees their considerations and reproves them because of their unbelief. The expression of Jesus “To prove to you that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins...” (v. 6) he is going to indicate that not only God can forgive sins, but with Jesus, also man (Gnilka).
• The crowd, differently from the Scribes, is seized by fear before the cure of the paralytic and glorifies God. The crowd is struck by the power to forgive sins manifested in the healing. People exult because God has granted such a power to the Son of man. Is it possible to attribute this to the ecclesial community where forgiveness of sins was granted on the order of Jesus? Matthew has presented this episode on forgiveness of sins with the intention of applying it to fraternal relationships within the ecclesial community. In it the practice to forgive sins, by delegation of Jesus, was already in force; a practice which was not shared in the Synagogue. The theme of forgiveness of sins is repeated also in Mt 18 and at the end of the Gospel it is affirmed that this is rooted in the death of Jesus on the Cross (26, 28). But in our context the forgiveness of sins is linked with the demand of mercy present in the episode which follows, the vocation of Matthew: «…mercy is what pleases me, not sacrifice. And indeed, I came to call not the upright but sinners” (Mt 9, 13). Such words of Jesus intend to say that He has made visible the forgiveness of God; above all, in his relationships with the Publicans or tax collectors and sinners, in sitting at table with them.
• This account that takes up again the problem of sin and reminds of the bond with the misery of man is something to be practiced in the forgiveness which should be given, but it is a story that should occupy a privileged place in the preaching of our ecclesial communities.
Personal questions•
Are you convinced that Jesus, called the friend of sinners, does not
despise your weaknesses and your resistance, but he understands and
offers you the necessary help to live a life in harmony with God and
with the brothers and sisters?
• When you make the experience of betraying or refusing friendship with God do you have recourse to the Sacrament of reconciliation that reconciles you with the Father and with the Church and makes you a new creature by the force of the Holy Spirit?
• When you make the experience of betraying or refusing friendship with God do you have recourse to the Sacrament of reconciliation that reconciles you with the Father and with the Church and makes you a new creature by the force of the Holy Spirit?
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: Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati
Feast Day: July 4
Patron Saint: Frassati Academy in Chicago and Frassati High School in Houston
Attributes: n/a
The Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, T.O.S.D., was an Italian Catholic social activist, who was a member of the Third Order of St. Dominic. He has been beatified by the Roman Catholic Church.
At an early age, Pier Giorgio joined the Marian Sodality and the Apostleship of Prayer, and obtained permission to receive daily Communion (which was rare at that time).
He developed a deep spiritual life which he never hesitated to share with his friends The Holy Eucharist and the Blessed Virgin were the two poles of his world of prayer. At the age of 17, in 1918, he joined the St. Vincent de Paul Society and dedicated much of his spare time to serving the sick and the needy, caring for orphans, and assisting the demobilized servicemen returning from World War I.
He decided to become a mining engineer, studying at the Royal Polytechnic University of Turin, so he could “serve Christ better among the miners," as he told a friend.
Although he considered his studies his first duty, they did not keep him from social and political activism. In 1919, he joined the Catholic Student Foundation and the organization known as Catholic Action. He became a very active member of the People’s Party, which promoted the Catholic Church’s social teaching based on the principles of Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical letter, Rerum Novarum.
What little he did have, Pier Giorgio gave to help the poor, even using his bus fare for charity and then running home to be on time for meals. The poor and the suffering were his masters, and he was literally their servant, which he considered a privilege. His charity did not simply involve giving something to others, but giving completely of himself. This was fed by daily communion with Christ in the Holy Eucharist and by frequent nocturnal adoration, by meditation on St. Paul’s “Hymn of Charity” (I Corinthians 13), and by the writings of St. Catherine of Siena. He often sacrificed vacations at the Frassati summer home in Pollone (near Turin) because, as he said, “If everybody leaves Turin, who will take care of the poor?”
In 1921, he was a central figure in Ravenna, enthusiastically helping to organize the first convention of Pax Romana, an association which had as its purpose the unification of all Catholic students throughout the world for the purpose of working together for universal peace.
Mountain climbing was one of his favorite sports. Outings in the mountains, which he organized with his friends, also served as opportunities for his apostolic work. He never lost the chance to lead his friends to Mass, to the reading of Scripture, and to pray the rosary.
He often went to the theater, to the opera, and to museums. He loved art and music, and could quote whole passages of the poet Dante.
Fondness for the epistles of St. Paul sparked his zeal for fraternal charity, and the fiery sermons of the Renaissance preacher and reformer Girolamo Savonarola and the writings of St. Catherine impelled him in 1922 to join the Lay Dominicans (Third Order of St. Dominic). He chose the name Girolamo, not after St. Jerome the Bible scholar but rather after his personal hero, Savonarola. “I am a fervent admirer of this friar, who died as a saint at the stake," he wrote to a friend.
Like his father, he was strongly anti-Fascist and did nothing to hide his political views. He physically defended the faith at times involved in fights, first with anticlerical Communists and later with Fascists. Participating in a Church-organized demonstration in Rome on one occasion, he stood up to police violence and rallied the other young people by grabbing the group’s banner, which the royal guards had knocked out of another student’s hands. Pier Giorgio held it even higher, while using the banner’s pole to fend off the blows of the guards.
Just before receiving his university degree, Pier Giorgio contracted poliomyelitis, which doctors later speculated he caught from the sick whom he tended. Neglecting his own health because his grandmother was dying, after six days of terrible suffering Pier Giorgio died at the age of 24 on July 4, 1925.
His last preoccupation was for the poor. On the eve of his death, with a paralyzed hand he scribbled a message to a friend, asking him to take the medicine needed for injections to be given to Converso, a poor sick man he had been visiting.
Pier Giorgio’s funeral was a triumph. The streets of the city were lined with a multitude of mourners who were unknown to his family. The poor and the needy whom he had served so unselfishly for seven years. Many of these people, in turn, were surprised to learn that the saintly young man they knew had actually been the heir of the influential Frassati family.
Although many miracles may perhaps be attributed to the intercession of Pier Giorgio, the Church officially recognized the healing of Domenico Sellan in 1933. At the time, Domenico was 40 years old and suffering from a tubercular disease of the spine, paralyzed and nearing death. A priest visited him on December 28, 1933, and brought him a small prayer card of Pier Giorgio. Domenico was miraculously cured and lived another 35 years.
It wasn't until 1989 that the documentation of this miracle received final approval. Pier Giorgio was beatified the following year on May 20, 1990. Blessed Pier Giorgio...pray for us!
Pope John Paul II, after visiting his original tomb in the family plot in Pollone, said in 1989: “I wanted to pay homage to a young man who was able to witness to Christ with singular effectiveness in this century of ours. When I was a young man, I, too, felt the beneficial influence of his example and, as a student, I was impressed by the force of his testimony."
On May 20, 1990, in St. Peter’s Square which was filled with thousands of people, the Pope beatified Pier Giorgio Frassati, calling him the “Man of the Eight Beatitudes”.
His mortal remains, found completely intact and incorrupt upon their exhumation on March 31, 1981, were transferred from the family tomb in Pollone to the cathedral in Turin. Many pilgrims, especially students and the young, come to the tomb of Blessed Pier Giorgio to seek favors and the courage to follow his example.
Frassati's feast day is celebrated on 4 July by the Dominican Order.
Frassati is the namesake and patron of Frassati Catholic Academy in Wauconda, IL, a middle school founded in the Archdiocese of Chicago in 2010, [3] and also Frassati Catholic High School, which is scheduled to open in August 2013 in Houston, Texas, in the United States.[4]
Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati Catholic School will be opening as part of the Toronto Catholic District School Board on 3 September 2013 in the Scarborough area of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.[5]
Bishop McGuinness High School in Oklahoma, the United States, awards the "Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati Award" to its students who have performed an extraordinary level of service to others.[6]
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| Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, |
Biography
Pier Giorgio Frassati was born in Turin, Italy on April 6, 1901. His mother, Adelaide Ametis, was a painter. His father Alfredo, was the founder and director of the newspaper, “La Stampa," and was influential in Italian politics, holding positions as an Italian Senator and Ambassador to Germany.At an early age, Pier Giorgio joined the Marian Sodality and the Apostleship of Prayer, and obtained permission to receive daily Communion (which was rare at that time).
He developed a deep spiritual life which he never hesitated to share with his friends The Holy Eucharist and the Blessed Virgin were the two poles of his world of prayer. At the age of 17, in 1918, he joined the St. Vincent de Paul Society and dedicated much of his spare time to serving the sick and the needy, caring for orphans, and assisting the demobilized servicemen returning from World War I.
He decided to become a mining engineer, studying at the Royal Polytechnic University of Turin, so he could “serve Christ better among the miners," as he told a friend.
Although he considered his studies his first duty, they did not keep him from social and political activism. In 1919, he joined the Catholic Student Foundation and the organization known as Catholic Action. He became a very active member of the People’s Party, which promoted the Catholic Church’s social teaching based on the principles of Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical letter, Rerum Novarum.
What little he did have, Pier Giorgio gave to help the poor, even using his bus fare for charity and then running home to be on time for meals. The poor and the suffering were his masters, and he was literally their servant, which he considered a privilege. His charity did not simply involve giving something to others, but giving completely of himself. This was fed by daily communion with Christ in the Holy Eucharist and by frequent nocturnal adoration, by meditation on St. Paul’s “Hymn of Charity” (I Corinthians 13), and by the writings of St. Catherine of Siena. He often sacrificed vacations at the Frassati summer home in Pollone (near Turin) because, as he said, “If everybody leaves Turin, who will take care of the poor?”
In 1921, he was a central figure in Ravenna, enthusiastically helping to organize the first convention of Pax Romana, an association which had as its purpose the unification of all Catholic students throughout the world for the purpose of working together for universal peace.
Mountain climbing was one of his favorite sports. Outings in the mountains, which he organized with his friends, also served as opportunities for his apostolic work. He never lost the chance to lead his friends to Mass, to the reading of Scripture, and to pray the rosary.
He often went to the theater, to the opera, and to museums. He loved art and music, and could quote whole passages of the poet Dante.
Fondness for the epistles of St. Paul sparked his zeal for fraternal charity, and the fiery sermons of the Renaissance preacher and reformer Girolamo Savonarola and the writings of St. Catherine impelled him in 1922 to join the Lay Dominicans (Third Order of St. Dominic). He chose the name Girolamo, not after St. Jerome the Bible scholar but rather after his personal hero, Savonarola. “I am a fervent admirer of this friar, who died as a saint at the stake," he wrote to a friend.
Like his father, he was strongly anti-Fascist and did nothing to hide his political views. He physically defended the faith at times involved in fights, first with anticlerical Communists and later with Fascists. Participating in a Church-organized demonstration in Rome on one occasion, he stood up to police violence and rallied the other young people by grabbing the group’s banner, which the royal guards had knocked out of another student’s hands. Pier Giorgio held it even higher, while using the banner’s pole to fend off the blows of the guards.
Just before receiving his university degree, Pier Giorgio contracted poliomyelitis, which doctors later speculated he caught from the sick whom he tended. Neglecting his own health because his grandmother was dying, after six days of terrible suffering Pier Giorgio died at the age of 24 on July 4, 1925.
His last preoccupation was for the poor. On the eve of his death, with a paralyzed hand he scribbled a message to a friend, asking him to take the medicine needed for injections to be given to Converso, a poor sick man he had been visiting.
Pier Giorgio’s funeral was a triumph. The streets of the city were lined with a multitude of mourners who were unknown to his family. The poor and the needy whom he had served so unselfishly for seven years. Many of these people, in turn, were surprised to learn that the saintly young man they knew had actually been the heir of the influential Frassati family.
Veneration
The poor of the city began to petition the Archbishop of Turin to begin the cause for Frassati's canonization. The process was opened in 1932 and a thorough examination of his life began. After this, Frassati's body was transferred from the family crypt for re-interment in the Cathedral of Turin, where it is available for the veneration of the public.[2]Although many miracles may perhaps be attributed to the intercession of Pier Giorgio, the Church officially recognized the healing of Domenico Sellan in 1933. At the time, Domenico was 40 years old and suffering from a tubercular disease of the spine, paralyzed and nearing death. A priest visited him on December 28, 1933, and brought him a small prayer card of Pier Giorgio. Domenico was miraculously cured and lived another 35 years.
It wasn't until 1989 that the documentation of this miracle received final approval. Pier Giorgio was beatified the following year on May 20, 1990. Blessed Pier Giorgio...pray for us!
Pope John Paul II, after visiting his original tomb in the family plot in Pollone, said in 1989: “I wanted to pay homage to a young man who was able to witness to Christ with singular effectiveness in this century of ours. When I was a young man, I, too, felt the beneficial influence of his example and, as a student, I was impressed by the force of his testimony."
On May 20, 1990, in St. Peter’s Square which was filled with thousands of people, the Pope beatified Pier Giorgio Frassati, calling him the “Man of the Eight Beatitudes”.
His mortal remains, found completely intact and incorrupt upon their exhumation on March 31, 1981, were transferred from the family tomb in Pollone to the cathedral in Turin. Many pilgrims, especially students and the young, come to the tomb of Blessed Pier Giorgio to seek favors and the courage to follow his example.
Frassati is the namesake and patron of Frassati Catholic Academy in Wauconda, IL, a middle school founded in the Archdiocese of Chicago in 2010, [3] and also Frassati Catholic High School, which is scheduled to open in August 2013 in Houston, Texas, in the United States.[4]
Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati Catholic School will be opening as part of the Toronto Catholic District School Board on 3 September 2013 in the Scarborough area of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.[5]
Bishop McGuinness High School in Oklahoma, the United States, awards the "Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati Award" to its students who have performed an extraordinary level of service to others.[6]
References
- Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati website. http://www.frassatiusa.org
- Pope John Paul II - Homily From the Beatification Mass of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati - 20 May 1990. http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/pope02640z.htm
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Today's Snippet I: The Jesus Trail
The main part of the trail begins in Nazareth and passes through Tzippori, Cana (Kafr Kanna), the Horns of Hattin, Mount Arbel Cliffs, the Sea of Galilee, Capernaum, Tabgha, and the Mount of Beatitudes.[1] An alternate return route passes by Tiberias, the Jordan River, Mount Tabor, and Mount Precipice.[2]
The trail was founded in 2007 by two hiking enthusiasts, Maoz Inon, a Jewish Israeli entrepreneur who has established hostels and guesthouses in Israel,[3] and David Landis, a Christian American hiking specialist.[4] The actual marking of the trail took place in 2008.[1] It is currently managed and promoted largely by the work of volunteers, and is a non-profit project.[5]
The trail is public and free for anyone who wants to hike and camp along its course. The Jesus Trail is marked with a blaze of three stripes painted on rocks along the way (white, orange, and white). When portions of the Jesus Trail combine with other trails (such as the Israel National Trail), an additional orange circle is added to the previous trail marker. All marking of the trail was completed by the public Israel Trails Committee (ITC) which works in conjunction with the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI).[6] Trail maintenance and cleaning up has been a combined effort of international, national, and local organizations including JNF-KKL (The Jewish National Fund), the Fauzi Azar Inn in Nazareth, village schools, and international volunteers.[7]
The biblical reference for the Jesus Trail is based on a verse from the New Testament Gospel of Matthew wherein at the start of Jesus' public ministry he is described as moving from his home-town of Nazareth, located in the hills of the Galilee, down to Capernaum which was a lakeside fishing village on the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus is described as gathering his first disciples. The account is also related in the two other synoptic gospels of Mark and Luke. The reference in the Gospel of Matthew reads: "Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum which was by the lake." (Matthew 4:13).
According to the Gospels, Capernaum became the home base for Jesus' ministry: "And getting into a boat he crossed over and came to his own city [referring to Capernaum]." (Matthew 9:1); also: "And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home." (Mark 2:1).
On the official Jesus Trail Homepage Maoz Inon and David Landis explain the Jesus Trail philosophy: "We hope that travelers of diverse religious and ethnic backgrounds will gain a new understanding of the life of Jesus through the people and land that shaped his historical context along the Jesus Trail. Today, encounters on the trail still serve as opportunities to extend and receive hospitality with diverse groups of people. Modern travelers can practice living simply and traveling light, gaining wisdom from the spirit of Jesus’ words from Mark 6:8-9: "Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. Wear sandals but not an extra tunic."[8]
The Jesus Trail was designed in the tradition of pilgrimage hiking trails around the world, such as the Camino de Santiago de Compostela (the Way of Saint James) in northern Spain and the Saint Paul Trail in Turkey. The medieval practice of religious pilgrimage has seen a resurgence in recent years, with almost 200,000 hikers per year on the Camino de Santiago in the first decade of the 21st century.[9]
Target group
The trail is geared for Christians who seek a pilgrimage route that allows for a more personal experience of the Galilee and sites from the life of Jesus, but integrates historical sites from different eras, sites sacred to other religions, nature sites, breathtaking panoramas and hiking for those who seek a physical challenge.[10] The Gospel Trail is a similar hiking path that opened in November 2011 to attract Christian tourism to Israel, which accounts for two-thirds of all incoming tourism.[10]Sections of the trail
- Day 1: Nazareth to Cana via Sepphoris – The trail starts in center of Nazareth at the Church of the Annunciation, goes through the Old City of Nazareth and then ascends via steep stairways to the ridge overlooking the city. From there the trail goes out into agricultural fields towards the extensively excavated ancient city of Tsippori (Sepphoris). After passing through the Arab village of Mash'had the trail arrives at Kafr Kanna, the traditional site of the New Testament account of Jesus turning water into wine.
- Day 2: Cana to Kibbutz Lavi – After leaving Cana, the trail goes almost entirely along forests and through natural and cultivated fields to end at the outskirts of the modern Jewish agricultural commune (Hebrew: kibbutz) of Lavi, which is located near the hill of the Horns of Hattin.
- Day 3: Kibbutz Lavi to Moshav Arbel – This hike goes from hilltop to hilltop, from the panoramic view at the Horns of Hattin, past the Druze shrine of Nabi Shu'ayb in the small Arbel Valley, through striking scenery of a historically dense landscape, to end near the Jewish agricultural cooperative (Hebrew: moshav) of Arbel.
- Day 4: Moshav Arbel to Capernaum via Mount of Beatitudes – After ascending Mount Arbel there is a climb down the cliff to come out on a small fertile agricultural plain adjacent to the lake known as the Sea of Galilee (Kinneret). Then the trail arrives at the northern shore of the lake to the church at Tabgha which commemorates the New Testament account of Jesus feeding the multitudes, then to the church and gardens at the Mount of Beatitudes, which commemorates the Sermon on the Mount, and then finally arriving at the ancient lakeside fishing village of Capernaum with its extensive ruins and modern church.
Reference
- ^ Hiking Through Biblical Backcountry, New York Times
- ^ Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (2010). 1:50,000 topographical map #3, "Lower Galilee" (Hebrew language map)
- ^ "Walking with Jesus in the Galilee". BBC. Retrieved 2013-05-22.
- ^ "CNS STORY: In northern Israel, walking from village to village, like Jesus". Catholicnews.com. Retrieved 2012-02-03.
- ^ Vered, Ronit (2011-09-09). "Five Stops in the Galilee - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News". Haaretz.com. Retrieved 2012-02-03.
- ^ "Israel's New Jesus Trail Takes Visitors Into Countryside". Washingtonpost.com. 2009-06-07. Retrieved 2012-02-03.
- ^ Nov 5, 2009 17:15 (2009-11-05). "Monday 9th November KKL-JNF Israel will mark International | People & The Environment | Jerusalem Post". Fr.jpost.com. Retrieved 2012-02-03. Text " Updated Nov 5, 2009 17:22 " ignored (help)
- ^ "Our Philosophy | Galilee, Israel". Jesus Trail. 2010-12-22. Retrieved 2012-02-03.
- ^ "Distribucion De Los Peregrinos". Archicompostela.org. Retrieved 2012-02-03.
- ^ Niemann, Julia (2011-09-09). "Trekking along the Jesus Trail in northern Israel - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News". Haaretz.com. Retrieved 2012-02-03.
Further reading
- Dintaman, Anna; Landis, David (2013). Hiking the Jesus Trail and Other Biblical Walks in the Galilee. Second Edition, Village to Village Press.
- Lewin, Dennis (2012). "The Jesus Trail: Hiking from Nazareth to the Sea of Galilee". Backpacker Magazine.
- Saar, Jacob (2011). Jesus Trail and Jerusalem, Eshkol Publishing.
- Korb, Scott. (2010). Life in Year One: What the World was Like in First-Century Palestine. Riverhead Books.
- Reed, Jonathan L. (2002). Archaeology and the Galilean Jesus: A Re-examination of the Evidence. Trinity Press International.
- Wright, N. T. (1999). The Way of the Lord: Christian Pilgrimage Today. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
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Catechism of the Catholic Church
Part Three: Life in Christ
Section One: Man's Vocation Life in The Spirit
CHAPTER TWO : THE HUMAN COMMUNION
Article 3:1 Social Justice - Respect for the Human Person
SECTION ONE
ONE MAN'S VOCATION LIFE IN THE SPIRIT
1699 Life in the Holy Spirit fulfills the vocation of man (chapter one). This life is made up of divine charity and human solidarity (chapter two). It is graciously offered as salvation (chapter three).
1699 Life in the Holy Spirit fulfills the vocation of man (chapter one). This life is made up of divine charity and human solidarity (chapter two). It is graciously offered as salvation (chapter three).
CHAPTER TWO
THE HUMAN COMMUNION
1877
The vocation of humanity is to show forth the image of God and to be
transformed into the image of the Father's only Son. This vocation takes a
personal form since each of us is called to enter into the divine beatitude; it
also concerns the human community as a whole.
Article 3
SOCIAL JUSTICE
1928
Society ensures social justice when it provides the conditions that allow
associations or individuals to obtain what is their due, according to their
nature and their vocation. Social justice is linked to the common good and the
exercise of authority.
I. Respect For the Human Person
1929
Social justice can be obtained only in respecting the transcendent dignity of
man. the person represents the ultimate end of society, which is ordered to
him:
What is at stake is the
dignity of the human person, whose defense and promotion have been entrusted to
us by the Creator, and to whom the men and women at every moment of history are
strictly and responsibly in debt.John Paul II, SRS 47
1930
Respect for the human person entails respect for the rights that flow from his
dignity as a creature. These rights are prior to society and must be recognized
by it. They are the basis of the moral legitimacy of every authority: by
flouting them, or refusing to recognize them in its positive legislation, a
society undermines its own moral legitimacy.John
XXIII, PT 65 If it does not respect
them, authority can rely only on force or violence to obtain obedience from its
subjects. It is the Church's role to remind men of good will of these rights
and to distinguish them from unwarranted or false claims.
1931
Respect for the human person proceeds by way of respect for the principle that
"everyone should look upon his neighbor (without any exception) as
'another self,' above all bearing in mind his life and the means necessary for
living it with dignity."GS 27 # 1 No legislation could by itself do away
with the fears, prejudices, and attitudes of pride and selfishness which
obstruct the establishment of truly fraternal societies. Such behavior will
cease only through the charity that finds in every man a "neighbor,"
a brother.
1932
The duty of making oneself a neighbor to others and actively serving them
becomes even more urgent when it involves the disadvantaged, in whatever area
this may be. "As you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you
did it to me."Mt 25:40
1933
This same duty extends to those who think or act differently from us. the
teaching of Christ goes so far as to require the forgiveness of offenses. He
extends the commandment of love, which is that of the New Law, to all
enemies.Mt 5:43-44 Liberation in the spirit of the Gospel is incompatible with
hatred of one's enemy as a person, but not with hatred of the evil that he does
as an enemy.
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