Sunday, November 24, 2013 - Litany Lane Blog:
Reverence, Psalms 122:1-5, Second Samuel 5:1-3 , Luke 23:35-43, Pope Francis Daily - Christ the King Angelus, Feast of Christ the King, Saint Cecilia, St Cecilia Abbey in Trastevere, Catholic Catechism Part Three: Life In Christ - Chapter 3: Gods Salvation Law and Grace - Article 3:2-3 The Precepts of the Church, Moral Life and Missionary Witness, In Brief
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: Last Sunday in Ordinary Time
Rosary - Glorious Mysteries
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Papam Franciscus
(Pope Francis)
Pope Francis November 24 Daily:
(2013-11-24 Vatican Radio)
Pope Francis celebrated Mass and prayed the Angelus on Sunday, to mark the Solemnity of Christ the King and the close of the Year of Faith, proclaimed by Pope emeritus Benedict XVI in the last year of his reign. Thousands of pilgrims braved the late November chill in the morning air to gather for the Mass in St Peter’s Square under an overcast, threatening sky.
A highlight of the celebration was the presentation, at the end of the Mass, of the Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii gaudium – The Joy of the Gospel – to a select group of faithful representing each state of life in the Church, and a broad array of vocations, including a bishop, a priest, a deacon, religious men and women, novices, a family, catechists, artists, journalists, young people, the elderly and the sick. The Exhortation is the concluding document of last year’s Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, which focused on ‘The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith’. The official presentation of the document is scheduled for this coming Tuesday, November 26th.
In his homily, Pope Francis focused on the centrality of Christ in creation, in history and in the life of every human person. He said, “To him we can bring the joys and the hopes, the sorrows and troubles which are part of our lives. When Jesus is the centre, light shines even amid the darkest times of our lives.” The Holy Father went on to say, “God’s grace is always greater than the prayer which sought it. The Lord always grants more than what he has been asked,” adding, “you ask him to remember you, and he brings you into his Kingdom!”
At the end of the Mass, the Holy Father led the faithful in the recitation of the Angelus, dedicating the traditional prayer of Marian devotion to all Christians suffering persecution because of their faith in Jesus. “With this prayer,” he said, “we invoke the protection of Mary, especially for our brothers and sisters who are persecuted because of their faith – and there are many of them.”
St Peter's Square was also the scene of a special concrete act of charity and solidarity: a special collection was taken on behalf of the victims of the recent typhoon, which killed thousands of people and devastated vast areas of the Philippines.
Pope Francis celebrated Mass and prayed the Angelus on Sunday, to mark the Solemnity of Christ the King and the close of the Year of Faith, proclaimed by Pope emeritus Benedict XVI in the last year of his reign. Thousands of pilgrims braved the late November chill in the morning air to gather for the Mass in St Peter’s Square under an overcast, threatening sky.
A highlight of the celebration was the presentation, at the end of the Mass, of the Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii gaudium – The Joy of the Gospel – to a select group of faithful representing each state of life in the Church, and a broad array of vocations, including a bishop, a priest, a deacon, religious men and women, novices, a family, catechists, artists, journalists, young people, the elderly and the sick. The Exhortation is the concluding document of last year’s Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, which focused on ‘The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith’. The official presentation of the document is scheduled for this coming Tuesday, November 26th.
In his homily, Pope Francis focused on the centrality of Christ in creation, in history and in the life of every human person. He said, “To him we can bring the joys and the hopes, the sorrows and troubles which are part of our lives. When Jesus is the centre, light shines even amid the darkest times of our lives.” The Holy Father went on to say, “God’s grace is always greater than the prayer which sought it. The Lord always grants more than what he has been asked,” adding, “you ask him to remember you, and he brings you into his Kingdom!”
At the end of the Mass, the Holy Father led the faithful in the recitation of the Angelus, dedicating the traditional prayer of Marian devotion to all Christians suffering persecution because of their faith in Jesus. “With this prayer,” he said, “we invoke the protection of Mary, especially for our brothers and sisters who are persecuted because of their faith – and there are many of them.”
St Peter's Square was also the scene of a special concrete act of charity and solidarity: a special collection was taken on behalf of the victims of the recent typhoon, which killed thousands of people and devastated vast areas of the Philippines.
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Liturgical Celebrations to be presided over by Pope: Winter
Vatican City, Winter 2013 (VIS)
Pope Francis delivered the homily at Mass on Sunday to mark the Solemnity of Christ the King and close the Year of Faith proclaimed by his predecessor, emeritus Pope Benedict XVI:
"Today’s solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, the crowning of the liturgical year, also marks the conclusion of the Year of Faith opened by Pope Benedict XVI, to whom our thoughts now turn with affection and gratitude. By this providential initiative, he gave us an opportunity to rediscover the beauty of the journey of faith begun on the day of our Baptism, which made us children of God and brothers and sisters in the Church. A journey which has as its ultimate end our full encounter with God, and throughout which the Holy Spirit purifies us, lifts us up and sanctifies us, so that we may enter into the happiness for which our hearts long.
I offer a cordial greeting to the Patriarchs and Major Archbishops of the Eastern Catholic Churches present. The exchange of peace which I will share with them is above all a sign of the appreciation of the Bishop of Rome for these communities which have confessed the name of Christ with exemplary faithfulness, often at a high price. With this gesture, through them, I would like to reach all those Christians living in the Holy Land, in Syria and in the entire East, and obtain for them the gift of peace and concord.
The Scripture readings proclaimed to us have as their common theme the centrality of Christ. Christ as the centre of creation, the centre of his people and the centre of history. 1. The apostle Paul, in the second reading, taken from the letter to the Colossians, offers us a profound vision of the centrality of Jesus. He presents Christ to us as the first-born of all creation: in him, through him and for him all things were created. He is the centre of all things, he is the beginning. God has given him the fullness, the totality, so that in him all things might be reconciled (cf. Col 1:12-20).
This image enables to see that Jesus is the centre of creation; and so the attitude demanded of us as true believers is that of recognizing and accepting in our lives the centrality of Jesus Christ, in our thoughts, in our words and in our works. When this centre is lost, when it is replaced by something else, only harm can result for everything around us and for ourselves. 2. Besides being the centre of creation, Christ is the centre of the people of God. We see this in the first reading which describes the time when the tribes of Israel came to look for David and anointed him king of Israel before the Lord (cf. 2 Sam 5:1-3). In searching for an ideal king, the people were seeking God himself: a God who would be close to them, who would accompany them on their journey, who would be a brother to them.
Christ, the descendant of King David, is the “brother” around whom God’s people come together. It is he who cares for his people, for all of us, even at the price of his life. In him we are all one; united with him, we share a single journey, a single destiny. 3. Finally, Christ is the centre of the history of the human race and of every man and woman. To him we can bring the joys and the hopes, the sorrows and troubles which are part of our lives. When Jesus is the centre, light shines even amid the darkest times of our lives; he gives us hope, as he does to the good thief in today’s Gospel.
While all the others treat Jesus with disdain – “If you are the Christ, the Messiah King, save yourself by coming down from the cross!” – the thief who went astray in his life but now repents, clinging to the crucified Jesus, begs him: “Remember me, when you come into your kingdom” (Lk 23:42). And Jesus promises him: “Today you will be with me in paradise” (v. 43). Jesus speaks only a word of forgiveness, not of condemnation; whenever anyone finds the courage to ask for this forgiveness, the Lord does not let such a petition go unheard. Jesus’ promise to the good thief gives us great hope: it tells us that God’s grace is always greater than the prayer which sought it. The Lord always grants more than what he has been asked: you ask him to remember you, and he brings you into his Kingdom!
Let us ask the Lord to remember us, in the certainty that by his mercy we will be able to share his glory in paradise. Amen!"
Pope Francis delivered the homily at Mass on Sunday to mark the Solemnity of Christ the King and close the Year of Faith proclaimed by his predecessor, emeritus Pope Benedict XVI:
"Today’s solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, the crowning of the liturgical year, also marks the conclusion of the Year of Faith opened by Pope Benedict XVI, to whom our thoughts now turn with affection and gratitude. By this providential initiative, he gave us an opportunity to rediscover the beauty of the journey of faith begun on the day of our Baptism, which made us children of God and brothers and sisters in the Church. A journey which has as its ultimate end our full encounter with God, and throughout which the Holy Spirit purifies us, lifts us up and sanctifies us, so that we may enter into the happiness for which our hearts long.
I offer a cordial greeting to the Patriarchs and Major Archbishops of the Eastern Catholic Churches present. The exchange of peace which I will share with them is above all a sign of the appreciation of the Bishop of Rome for these communities which have confessed the name of Christ with exemplary faithfulness, often at a high price. With this gesture, through them, I would like to reach all those Christians living in the Holy Land, in Syria and in the entire East, and obtain for them the gift of peace and concord.
The Scripture readings proclaimed to us have as their common theme the centrality of Christ. Christ as the centre of creation, the centre of his people and the centre of history. 1. The apostle Paul, in the second reading, taken from the letter to the Colossians, offers us a profound vision of the centrality of Jesus. He presents Christ to us as the first-born of all creation: in him, through him and for him all things were created. He is the centre of all things, he is the beginning. God has given him the fullness, the totality, so that in him all things might be reconciled (cf. Col 1:12-20).
This image enables to see that Jesus is the centre of creation; and so the attitude demanded of us as true believers is that of recognizing and accepting in our lives the centrality of Jesus Christ, in our thoughts, in our words and in our works. When this centre is lost, when it is replaced by something else, only harm can result for everything around us and for ourselves. 2. Besides being the centre of creation, Christ is the centre of the people of God. We see this in the first reading which describes the time when the tribes of Israel came to look for David and anointed him king of Israel before the Lord (cf. 2 Sam 5:1-3). In searching for an ideal king, the people were seeking God himself: a God who would be close to them, who would accompany them on their journey, who would be a brother to them.
Christ, the descendant of King David, is the “brother” around whom God’s people come together. It is he who cares for his people, for all of us, even at the price of his life. In him we are all one; united with him, we share a single journey, a single destiny. 3. Finally, Christ is the centre of the history of the human race and of every man and woman. To him we can bring the joys and the hopes, the sorrows and troubles which are part of our lives. When Jesus is the centre, light shines even amid the darkest times of our lives; he gives us hope, as he does to the good thief in today’s Gospel.
While all the others treat Jesus with disdain – “If you are the Christ, the Messiah King, save yourself by coming down from the cross!” – the thief who went astray in his life but now repents, clinging to the crucified Jesus, begs him: “Remember me, when you come into your kingdom” (Lk 23:42). And Jesus promises him: “Today you will be with me in paradise” (v. 43). Jesus speaks only a word of forgiveness, not of condemnation; whenever anyone finds the courage to ask for this forgiveness, the Lord does not let such a petition go unheard. Jesus’ promise to the good thief gives us great hope: it tells us that God’s grace is always greater than the prayer which sought it. The Lord always grants more than what he has been asked: you ask him to remember you, and he brings you into his Kingdom!
Let us ask the Lord to remember us, in the certainty that by his mercy we will be able to share his glory in paradise. Amen!"
Reference:
- Vatican News. From the Pope. © Copyright 2013 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Accessed 11/24/2013.
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November 2, 2013 Our Lady of Medjugorje Message to the World: "Dear children; Anew, in a motherly way, I am calling you to love; to
continually pray for the gift of love; to love the Heavenly Father above
everything. When you love Him you will love yourself and your neighbor.
This cannot be separated. The Heavenly Father is in each person. He
loves each person and calls each person by his name. Therefore, my
children, through prayer hearken to the will of the Heavenly Father.
Converse with Him. Have a personal relationship with the Father which
will deepen even more your relationship as a community of my children –
of my apostles. As a mother I desire that, through the love for the
Heavenly Father, you may be raised above earthly vanities and may help
others to gradually come to know and come closer to the Heavenly Father.
My children, pray, pray, pray for the gift of love because 'love' is my
Son. Pray for your shepherds that they may always have love for you as
my Son had and showed by giving His life for your salvation. Thank you."
October 25, 2013 Our Lady of Medjugorje Message to the World: “Dear children! Today I call you to open yourselves to prayer. Prayer works miracles in you and through you. Therefore, little children, in the simplicity of heart seek of the Most High to give you the strength to be God’s children and for Satan not to shake you like the wind shakes the branches. Little children, decide for God anew and seek only His will – and then you will find joy and peace in Him. Thank you for having responded to my call.”
October 2, 2013 Our Lady of Medjugorje Message to the World: "Dear children, I love you with a motherly love and with a motherly patience I wait for your love and unity. I pray that you may be a community of God’s children, of my children. I pray that as a community you may joyfully come back to life in the faith and in the love of my Son. My children, I am gathering you as my apostles and am teaching you how to bring others to come to know the love of my Son; how to bring to them the Good News, which is my Son. Give me your open, purified hearts and I will fill them with the love for my Son. His love will give meaning to your life and I will walk with you. I will be with you until the meeting with the Heavenly Father. My children, it is those who walk towards the Heavenly Father with love and faith who will be saved. Do not be afraid, I am with you. Put your trust in your shepherds as my Son trusted when he chose them, and pray that they may have the strength and the love to lead you. Thank you." - See more at: http://litanylane.blogspot.com/2013/11/tuesday-november-12-2013-litany-lane.html#sthash.1QAVruYo.bk3E9rXR.dpuf
October 25, 2013 Our Lady of Medjugorje Message to the World: “Dear children! Today I call you to open yourselves to prayer. Prayer works miracles in you and through you. Therefore, little children, in the simplicity of heart seek of the Most High to give you the strength to be God’s children and for Satan not to shake you like the wind shakes the branches. Little children, decide for God anew and seek only His will – and then you will find joy and peace in Him. Thank you for having responded to my call.”
October 2, 2013 Our Lady of Medjugorje Message to the World: "Dear children, I love you with a motherly love and with a motherly patience I wait for your love and unity. I pray that you may be a community of God’s children, of my children. I pray that as a community you may joyfully come back to life in the faith and in the love of my Son. My children, I am gathering you as my apostles and am teaching you how to bring others to come to know the love of my Son; how to bring to them the Good News, which is my Son. Give me your open, purified hearts and I will fill them with the love for my Son. His love will give meaning to your life and I will walk with you. I will be with you until the meeting with the Heavenly Father. My children, it is those who walk towards the Heavenly Father with love and faith who will be saved. Do not be afraid, I am with you. Put your trust in your shepherds as my Son trusted when he chose them, and pray that they may have the strength and the love to lead you. Thank you." - See more at: http://litanylane.blogspot.com/2013/11/tuesday-november-12-2013-litany-lane.html#sthash.1QAVruYo.bk3E9rXR.dpuf
November 2, 2013 Our Lady of Medjugorje Message to the World: "Dear children; Anew, in a motherly way, I am calling you to love; to
continually pray for the gift of love; to love the Heavenly Father above
everything. When you love Him you will love yourself and your neighbor.
This cannot be separated. The Heavenly Father is in each person. He
loves each person and calls each person by his name. Therefore, my
children, through prayer hearken to the will of the Heavenly Father.
Converse with Him. Have a personal relationship with the Father which
will deepen even more your relationship as a community of my children –
of my apostles. As a mother I desire that, through the love for the
Heavenly Father, you may be raised above earthly vanities and may help
others to gradually come to know and come closer to the Heavenly Father.
My children, pray, pray, pray for the gift of love because 'love' is my
Son. Pray for your shepherds that they may always have love for you as
my Son had and showed by giving His life for your salvation. Thank you."
October 25, 2013 Our Lady of Medjugorje Message to the World: “Dear children! Today I call you to open yourselves to prayer. Prayer works miracles in you and through you. Therefore, little children, in the simplicity of heart seek of the Most High to give you the strength to be God’s children and for Satan not to shake you like the wind shakes the branches. Little children, decide for God anew and seek only His will – and then you will find joy and peace in Him. Thank you for having responded to my call.”
October 2, 2013 Our Lady of Medjugorje Message to the World: "Dear children, I love you with a motherly love and with a motherly patience I wait for your love and unity. I pray that you may be a community of God’s children, of my children. I pray that as a community you may joyfully come back to life in the faith and in the love of my Son. My children, I am gathering you as my apostles and am teaching you how to bring others to come to know the love of my Son; how to bring to them the Good News, which is my Son. Give me your open, purified hearts and I will fill them with the love for my Son. His love will give meaning to your life and I will walk with you. I will be with you until the meeting with the Heavenly Father. My children, it is those who walk towards the Heavenly Father with love and faith who will be saved. Do not be afraid, I am with you. Put your trust in your shepherds as my Son trusted when he chose them, and pray that they may have the strength and the love to lead you. Thank you." - See more at: http://litanylane.blogspot.com/2013/11/tuesday-november-12-2013-litany-lane.html#sthash.1QAVruYo.bk3E9rXR.dpuf
October 25, 2013 Our Lady of Medjugorje Message to the World: “Dear children! Today I call you to open yourselves to prayer. Prayer works miracles in you and through you. Therefore, little children, in the simplicity of heart seek of the Most High to give you the strength to be God’s children and for Satan not to shake you like the wind shakes the branches. Little children, decide for God anew and seek only His will – and then you will find joy and peace in Him. Thank you for having responded to my call.”
October 2, 2013 Our Lady of Medjugorje Message to the World: "Dear children, I love you with a motherly love and with a motherly patience I wait for your love and unity. I pray that you may be a community of God’s children, of my children. I pray that as a community you may joyfully come back to life in the faith and in the love of my Son. My children, I am gathering you as my apostles and am teaching you how to bring others to come to know the love of my Son; how to bring to them the Good News, which is my Son. Give me your open, purified hearts and I will fill them with the love for my Son. His love will give meaning to your life and I will walk with you. I will be with you until the meeting with the Heavenly Father. My children, it is those who walk towards the Heavenly Father with love and faith who will be saved. Do not be afraid, I am with you. Put your trust in your shepherds as my Son trusted when he chose them, and pray that they may have the strength and the love to lead you. Thank you." - See more at: http://litanylane.blogspot.com/2013/11/tuesday-november-12-2013-litany-lane.html#sthash.1QAVruYo.bk3E9rXR.dpuf
November 2, 2013 Our Lady of Medjugorje Message to the World: "Dear children; Anew, in a motherly way, I am calling you to love; to
continually pray for the gift of love; to love the Heavenly Father above
everything. When you love Him you will love yourself and your neighbor.
This cannot be separated. The Heavenly Father is in each person. He
loves each person and calls each person by his name. Therefore, my
children, through prayer hearken to the will of the Heavenly Father.
Converse with Him. Have a personal relationship with the Father which
will deepen even more your relationship as a community of my children –
of my apostles. As a mother I desire that, through the love for the
Heavenly Father, you may be raised above earthly vanities and may help
others to gradually come to know and come closer to the Heavenly Father.
My children, pray, pray, pray for the gift of love because 'love' is my
Son. Pray for your shepherds that they may always have love for you as
my Son had and showed by giving His life for your salvation. Thank you."
October 25, 2013 Our Lady of Medjugorje Message to the World: “Dear children! Today I call you to open yourselves to prayer. Prayer works miracles in you and through you. Therefore, little children, in the simplicity of heart seek of the Most High to give you the strength to be God’s children and for Satan not to shake you like the wind shakes the branches. Little children, decide for God anew and seek only His will – and then you will find joy and peace in Him. Thank you for having responded to my call.”
October 2, 2013 Our Lady of Medjugorje Message to the World: "Dear children, I love you with a motherly love and with a motherly patience I wait for your love and unity. I pray that you may be a community of God’s children, of my children. I pray that as a community you may joyfully come back to life in the faith and in the love of my Son. My children, I am gathering you as my apostles and am teaching you how to bring others to come to know the love of my Son; how to bring to them the Good News, which is my Son. Give me your open, purified hearts and I will fill them with the love for my Son. His love will give meaning to your life and I will walk with you. I will be with you until the meeting with the Heavenly Father. My children, it is those who walk towards the Heavenly Father with love and faith who will be saved. Do not be afraid, I am with you. Put your trust in your shepherds as my Son trusted when he chose them, and pray that they may have the strength and the love to lead you. Thank you." - See more at: http://litanylane.blogspot.com/2013/11/tuesday-november-12-2013-litany-lane.html#sthash.1QAVruYo.bk3E9rXR.dpu
October 25, 2013 Our Lady of Medjugorje Message to the World: “Dear children! Today I call you to open yourselves to prayer. Prayer works miracles in you and through you. Therefore, little children, in the simplicity of heart seek of the Most High to give you the strength to be God’s children and for Satan not to shake you like the wind shakes the branches. Little children, decide for God anew and seek only His will – and then you will find joy and peace in Him. Thank you for having responded to my call.”
October 2, 2013 Our Lady of Medjugorje Message to the World: "Dear children, I love you with a motherly love and with a motherly patience I wait for your love and unity. I pray that you may be a community of God’s children, of my children. I pray that as a community you may joyfully come back to life in the faith and in the love of my Son. My children, I am gathering you as my apostles and am teaching you how to bring others to come to know the love of my Son; how to bring to them the Good News, which is my Son. Give me your open, purified hearts and I will fill them with the love for my Son. His love will give meaning to your life and I will walk with you. I will be with you until the meeting with the Heavenly Father. My children, it is those who walk towards the Heavenly Father with love and faith who will be saved. Do not be afraid, I am with you. Put your trust in your shepherds as my Son trusted when he chose them, and pray that they may have the strength and the love to lead you. Thank you." - See more at: http://litanylane.blogspot.com/2013/11/tuesday-november-12-2013-litany-lane.html#sthash.1QAVruYo.bk3E9rXR.dpu
Today's Word: reverence rev·er·ence [rev-er-uh
ns]
Origin: 1250–1300; Middle English < Latin reverentia respect, fear, awe. See revere1 , -ence
noun
1. a feeling or attitude of deep respect tinged with awe; veneration.
2. the outward manifestation of this feeling: to pay reverence.
3. a gesture indicative of deep respect; an obeisance, bow, or curtsy.
verb (used with object)
1. to regard or treat with reverence; venerate: One should reverence God and His laws.
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Today's Old Testament Reading - Psalms 122:1-5
1 [Song of Ascents Of David] I rejoiced that they said to me, 'Let us go to the house of Yahweh.'
2 At last our feet are standing at your gates, Jerusalem!
3 Jerusalem, built as a city, in one united whole,
4 there the tribes go up, the tribes of Yahweh, a sign for Israel to give thanks to the name of Yahweh.
5 For there are set the thrones of judgement, the thrones of the house of David.
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Today's Epistle - Second Samuel 5:1-3
1 All the tribes of Israel then came to David at Hebron and said, 'Look, we are your own flesh and bone.2 In days past when Saul was our king, it was you who led Israel on its campaigns, and to you it was that Yahweh promised, "You are to shepherd my people Israel and be leader of Israel." '
3 So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a pact with them in Yahweh's presence at Hebron, and they anointed David as king of Israel.
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Today's Gospel Reading - Luke 23: 35-43
Jesus the King of the Jews
A King different from the kings of the earth
Luke 23, 35-43
A King different from the kings of the earth
Luke 23, 35-43
Opening prayer
Shaddai, God of the mountain,
You who make of our fragile life
the rock of your dwelling place,
lead our mind
to strike the rock of the desert,
so that water may gush to quench our thirst.
May the poverty of our feelings
cover us as with a mantle in the darkness of the night
and may it open our heart to hear the echo of silence
until the dawn,
wrapping us with the light of the new morning,
may bring us,
with the spent embers of the fire of the shepherds of the Absolute
who have kept vigil for us close to the divine Master,
the flavour of the holy memory.
Shaddai, God of the mountain,
You who make of our fragile life
the rock of your dwelling place,
lead our mind
to strike the rock of the desert,
so that water may gush to quench our thirst.
May the poverty of our feelings
cover us as with a mantle in the darkness of the night
and may it open our heart to hear the echo of silence
until the dawn,
wrapping us with the light of the new morning,
may bring us,
with the spent embers of the fire of the shepherds of the Absolute
who have kept vigil for us close to the divine Master,
the flavour of the holy memory.
LECTIO
a) The text:
35 The people stayed
there watching. As for the leaders, they jeered at him with the words,
'He saved others, let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the
Chosen One.' 36 The soldiers mocked him too, coming up to him, offering
him vinegar, 37 and saying, 'If you are the king of the Jews, save
yourself.' 38 Above him there was an inscription: 'This is the King of
the Jews'. 39 One of the criminals hanging there abused him: 'Are you
not the Christ? Save yourself and us as well.' 40 But the other spoke up
and rebuked him. 'Have you no fear of God at all?' he said. 'You got
the same sentence as he did, 41 but in our case we deserved it: we are
paying for what we did. But this man has done nothing wrong.' 42 Then he
said, 'Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.' 43 He
answered him, 'In truth I tell you, today you will be with me in
paradise.'
b) A moment of silence:
Let us allow the voice of the Word to resonate within us.
MEDITATIO
a) Questions:
- The people stayed
there watching. Why do you never take a stand concerning the events?
Everything that you have lived, listened to, seen… you cannot just throw
it away only because an obstacle seems to make it difficult? Move, do
something!
- “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself”. How many attempts and threats with God in prayer. If you are God why do you not intervene? There are so many innocent people who suffer… If you love me, do what I tell you and I will believe you… When will you ever stop dealing with the Lord as if you knew more than He what is good and what is not?
- Jesus, remember me. When will you see in Christ the only TODAY who gives you life?
- “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself”. How many attempts and threats with God in prayer. If you are God why do you not intervene? There are so many innocent people who suffer… If you love me, do what I tell you and I will believe you… When will you ever stop dealing with the Lord as if you knew more than He what is good and what is not?
- Jesus, remember me. When will you see in Christ the only TODAY who gives you life?
b)Key for the reading:
Solemnity of Christ,
King of the Universe. We would expect a passage of the Gospel of those
which are more luminous, and instead we find ourselves before one of the
darkest passages… The amazement of the unexpected is the most suitable
sentiment to enter into the heart of today’s feast, the amazement of the
one who knows that he cannot understand the infinite mystery of the Son
of God.
v. 35. The people
stayed there watching, as for the leaders, they jeered at him with the
words: “He saved others, let him save himself if He is the Christ of
God, the Chosen One.” Around the Cross are gathered together all those
who have met Jesus during the three years of His public life. And, here,
before a Word nailed on the wood, are revealed the secrets of the
heart. The People who had listened to and followed the Rabbi of Galilee,
who had seen miracles and wonders, are there watching: the perplexity
on the faces, thousands of questions in the heart, the disillusionment
and the perception that everything ends like this!? The leaders go
through all that has happened while they say the truth concerning the
Person of Jesus: the Christ of God, the Chosen One. They ignore God’s
logic even if they are faithful observers of the Hebrew Law. That very
despicable invitation: Let him save himself… indicates the hidden
purpose of their actions: salvation is won by oneself by the observance
of the commandments of God.
vv .36-37. The
soldiers mocked him too, coming up to him, offering him vinegar, and
saying: “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself”. The soldiers
who have nothing to lose in the religious field, get fierce against him.
What do they have in common with that man? What have they received from
him? Nothing. The possibility to exercise, even if for a short time,
the power on someone cannot be allowed to fall! The power of possession
is intertwined of evil and they claim the right of derision. The other
one, defenceless, becomes the object of their enjoyment.
v. 38. Above him was
an inscription: This is the King of the Jews. Truly, a mockery the
tablet of their own guilt: Jesus is guilty for being the King of the
Jews. A guilt which in reality is no guilty. In spite that the leaders
had intended, in all ways, to crush the royalty of Christ, the truth is
written by itself: This is the King of the Jews! This one, not any
other! A royalty which goes across the centuries and asks those going by
to stop and fix their thought on the novelty of the Gospel. Man needs
someone to govern him, and this someone can be only a man crucified out
of love, capable to stand on the wood of condemnation so as to be found
alive at the dawn of the eighth day. A King without a sceptre, a King
capable of being considered by all a criminal but without rejecting his
love for man.
v. 39. One of the
criminals hanging there abused him: Are you not the Christ? Save
yourself and us as well!”. One can be on the cross for diverse reasons
as also, for diverse reasons one can be with Christ. Being near to the
cross divides or unites. One of the two who were near Christ insults,
provokes, ridicules or derides. The objective is always the same: Save
yourself and us as well! Salvation is invoked as a flight from the
cross. A sterile salvation, deprived of life, already dead in itself.
Jesus is nailed to the cross, this criminal is hung on the cross. Jesus
has become one same thing with the wood, because the cross is for him
the scroll of the book which unfolds to narrate the wonders of the
divine life which is surrendered, given without any conditions. The
other one is hung as a fruit, rotten by evil and ready to be thrown
away.
v. 40. But the other
spoke up and rebuked him: “Have you no fear of God at all? You got the
same sentence as he did. The other one, being close to Jesus, acquires
again the holy fear and makes a discernment. Can the one who lives next
to Jesus reproach one who is there, two steps away from life and does
not see it, and continues to waste it to the end?. Every thing has a
limit, and in this case the limit is not fixed by Christ who is there,
but by his companion. Christ does not respond, the other one responds in
his place, recognizing his responsibility and helping the other one to
read the present moment as an opportunity of salvation.
v. 41. “In our case,
we deserve it, we are paying for what we did. But this man has done
nothing wrong”. Evil leads to the cross, the serpent had guided to the
forbidden fruit hanging on the tree. But which cross? The cross of one’s
own “reward” or the cross of the good fruit. Christ is the fruit which
every man or woman can get from the tree of life which is in the middle
of the garden of the world, the just one who has never done any evil
except love until ad finem.
v. 42. And then he
said: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom”. It is a life
which is fulfilled and is enclosed in an invocation incredibly dense in
significance. A man, a sinner, conscious of his own sin and of the just
condemnation, accepts the mystery of the cross. At the feet of that
throne of glory he asks to be remembered in the Kingdom of Christ. He
sees an innocent who is crucified and he recognizes and sees beyond what
appears exteriorly, the life of the eternal Kingdom. What an
acknowledgement! The eyes of the one who has known, in one instant, to
get the life which was passing by and which was proclaiming a message of
salvation even if in a shocking way. That culprit, criminal deserving
death, insulted and ridiculed by all those who had had the possibility
of knowing him closely and for a long time, receives his first subject,
the first one he wins over. The Scripture says, damned is the one
hanging on the wood. The damned innocent becomes blessing for the one
who deserved condemnation. A political and earthly tribunal, that of
Pilate, a divine tribunal, that of the cross, where the one condemned is
saved in virtue of the consuming love of the innocent Lamb.
v. 43. He answered
him: “In truth I tell you, today you will be with me in
paradise”. Today. The only word which bursts into the new life of the
Gospel. Today. Salvation has been accomplished, it is no longer
necessary to wait for any Messiah to save the people from their sins.
Today. Salvation is here, on the cross. Christ does not enter into his
Kingdom alone, he takes with him the first one who has been saved. The
same humanity, the same judgment, the same luck, the same victory. Jesus
is not jealous of his filial prerogatives, immediately he has pulled
away from the distance separating him from the Father and from the death
which could not escape nor had a way out. Wonderful the kingdom which
was inaugurated on Golgotha.. .. Someone has said that the good thief
committed the last robbery of his life, he robbed salvation… And it is.
For those who move with the things of God! How much truth, instead, in
contemplating the gift which Christ gives to his companion of the cross.
No robbery, no theft! All is a gift: the presence of God is not
bargained or traded! Much less being always with him. Faith is what
opens the door of the Kingdom to the good thief. Good because he knew
how to name justly that which his existence had been and saw the Saviour
in Christ. Was the other one evil? Neither more nor less than the other
one perhaps, but he remained beyond faith: he was looking for the
strong and powerful God, the powerful God in battle, a God who places
things in their place and he did not know how to recognize him in the
eyes of Christ, he stopped at his powerlessness.
Reflection
Christ dies on the
Cross. He is not alone. He is surrounded by the people, by the strangest
persons, the hostile ones who throw on him their responsibility of lack
of understanding, the indifferent ones who do not get involved except
for personal interest, those who do not understand as yet but who,
perhaps, are better disposed to allow themselves to be questioned, since
they think they have nothing to lose, like one of the two criminals. If
death is to fall into nothingness, then human time becomes anguish. If,
instead, it is to wait for the light, then human time becomes hope, and
the space of the finite opens a passage to tomorrow, to the new dawn of
the Resurrection. I am the way, the truth and the life. .. how true are
these days, the words of Jesus, words which enlighten the darkness of
death. The way does not stop, the truth is not turned off, life does not
die. In those words “I am” is enclosed the royalty of Christ. We
journey toward a goal, and to attain it cannot mean to lose it… I am the
way… We live from truth, and truth is not an object, but something
which exists: “Truth is the splendour of reality – says Simon Well – and
to desire truth is to desire a direct contact with reality in order to
love it”. “I am the truth… Nobody wants to die, we feel deprived of
something which belongs to us: life, and then, if life does not form
part of us, it can not hold us to itself… I am the life… Jesus has said
it: “He who wants to save his life, will lose it, but the one who loses
his life for me, will find it”. Is there some contradiction in the terms
or rather secrets hidden to be revealed? Do we remove the veil from
what we see in order to enjoy what we do not see? Christ on the cross is
the object of everybody’s attention. Many think of him or are even at
his side. But this is not sufficient. The closeness which saves is not
that of those who are there to deride or to mock, the closeness which
saves is that of the one who humbly asks to be remembered not in the
fleeing time but in the eternal Kingdom.
CONTEMPLATIO
Lord, it sounds
strange to call you King. One does not get close to a King easily… And,
instead, today I find you sitting beside me, in the ditch of sin, here,
where I would never have thought to find you. Kings are in palaces, far
from the difficulties of the poor people. You, instead, live your
Lordship wearing the worn out clothes of our poverty. What a great feast
for me to see you here where I went to hide myself so as not to feel
the indiscreet looks of human judgment. On the edge of my failures whom
have I found if not you? The only one who could reproach me for my
incoherence comes to look for me to sustain me in my anguish and in my
humiliation! What great illusion when we think that we should come to
you only when we have attained perfection… I would want to think, that
you do not like what I am, but perhaps, it is not exactly like that: I
do not like what I am, but for you, I am alright, because your love is
something special which respects everything in me and makes of every
instant of my life a space of encounter and of gift. Lord, teach me not
to get down from the cross with the absurd pretension of saving myself!
Grant that I may know how to wait, at your side, the TODAY of your
Kingdom in my life.
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: Saint Cecilia
Feast Day: November 22
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| Saint Cecilia with angel |
Cecilia is one of the most famous of the Roman martyrs, even if the familiar stories about her are apparently not founded on authentic material.[2] According to Kirsch, while it is a pious romance, like so many others compiled in the fifth and sixth century, the existence of the martyrs, however, is a historical fact. The relation between St. Cecilia and Valerianus, Tiburtius, and Maximus, mentioned in the Acts, has perhaps some historical foundation. Her feast has been celebrated since about the fourth century.[3]
It was long supposed that she was a noble lady of Rome who, with her husband Valerian, his brother Tiburtius, and a Roman soldier Maximus, suffered martyrdom in about 230, under the Emperor Alexander Severus.[4] The research of Giovanni Battista de Rossi[5] agrees with the statement of Venantius Fortunatus, Bishop of Poitiers (d. 600), that she perished in Sicily under Emperor Marcus Aurelius between 176 and 180.
According to the story, when the time came for her marriage to be consummated, Cecilia told Valerian that she had an angel of the Lord watching over her who would punish him if he dared to violate her virginity but who would love him if he could respect her maidenhood. When Valerian asked to see the angel, Cecilia replied that he would see the angel if he would go to the third milestone on the Via Appia (the Appian Way) and be baptized by Pope Urbanus.
The martyrdom of Cecilia is said to have followed that of Valerian and his brother by the prefect Turcius Almachius.[6] The legend about Cecilia’s death says that after being struck three times on the neck with a sword, she lived for three days, and asked the pope to convert her home into a church.[2]
There is no mention of this saint in the Depositio Martyrum, but there is a record of an early Roman Christian church founded by a lady of this name.[7] The Church of St. Cecilia in Trastevere is reputedly built on the site of the house in which she lived. The original church was constructed in the fourth century; her remains were placed there in the ninth century and the church was rebuilt in 1599.[8]
Meaning of the Name
The name "Cecilia" was shared by all women of the Roman gens known as the Caecilii, whose name may be related to the root of 'caecus', blind. Legends and hagiographies, mistaking it for a personal name, suggest fanciful etymologies. Among those cited by Chaucer in The Second Nun's Tale are: lily of heaven; the way for the blind; contemplation of heaven and the active life; as if lacking in blindness; a heaven for people to gaze upon.[9]Patroness of musicians
The first record of a music festival in her honor was held at Évreux in Normandy in 1570.[8]The National Academy of Santa Cecilia is one of the oldest musical institutions in the world. It was founded by the papal bull, Ratione congruit, issued by Sixtus V in 1585, which invoked two saints prominent in Western musical history: Gregory the Great, for whom the Gregorian chant is named, and Saint Cecilia, the patron saint of music.
Her feast day became an occasion for musical concerts and festivals that occasioned well-known poems by John Dryden and Alexander Pope,[10] and music by Henry Purcell (Ode to St. Cecilia), several oratorios by Marc-Antoine Charpentier (In honorem Caeciliae, Valeriani et Tiburtij canticum, and several versions of Caecilia virgo et martyr, to libretti probably written by Philippe Goibaut), George Frideric Handel (Ode for St. Cecilia's Day, Alexander's Feast), Charles Gounod (Messe Solennelle de Sainte Cecile), as well as Benjamin Britten, (who was born on her feast day). Herbert Howells' A Hymn to Saint Cecilia has words by Ursula Vaughan Williams, Gerald Finzi's "For Saint Cecilia", Op. 30, was set to verses written by Edmund Blunden, and Frederik Magle's Cantata to Saint Cecilia is based on the history of Cecilia.[11]
Legacy
Cecilia has become a symbol of the conviction that good music is an integral part of liturgy.[2]The Sisters of Saint Cecilia are a group of women consecrated religious sisters. They are the ones who shear the lambs' wool used to make the palliums of new metropolitan archbishops. The lambs are raised by the Cistercian Trappist Fathers of the Tre Fontane (Three Fountains) Abbey in Rome. The lambs are blessed by the Pope every January 21, the Feast of the martyr Saint Agnes. The pallia are given by the Pope to the new metropolitan archbishops on the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, June 29.
Located on the Isle of Wight, St. Cecilia's Abbey was founded in 1882. The nuns live a traditional monastic life of prayer, work and study in accordance with the ancient Rule of St Benedict.[12]
Cecilia's body was discovered incorrupt in 1599. She is known to be the first saint to be incorrupt.
Iconography
Cecilia is frequently depicted playing a viola, a small organ, or other musical instrument,[2] evidently to express what was often attributed to her viz., that while the musicians played at her nuptials she sang in her heart to God.[3]Use in contemporary music
The New York post-hardcore band Polar Bear Club refer to St. Cecilia in their song "Song to Persona". David Byrne and Brian Eno's song, The River, on the album, Everything that Happens Will Happen Today, also refers to St. Cecilia's Day. Paul Simon, of Simon and Garfunkel fame, wrote the song "The Coast" which references her when a family of musicians taking refuge in the Church of St. Cecilia.[13] There is also evidence that another of Paul Simon's songs was also in her honor, as "Cecilia" can be interpreted to refer to her and the frustration of song writing.[14] English lyrics were written for a Swedish popular song "Min soldat" and released as "The Shrine of Saint Cecilia". It was recorded by a number of American close harmony and doo-wop groups during the 20th century like Willie Winfield and the Harp-Tones. Others were the Bon Aires and The Andrews Sisters. The song was first released in the U.S. in 1941. Stalk-Forrest group (an early incarnation of Blue Öyster Cult) recorded a song called "St. Cecilia" on their album that was scrapped by Elektra Records. The album finally saw a limited release in 2003 through Rhino Handmade under the title St. Cecilia: The Elektra Recordings. Then in 2007 Radioactive Records released the album (on CD and vinyl) as St. Cecilia: The California Album – Remastered. In 2013, the Chicago band TURNT refers to St. Cecilia in their song "Girls": Saint Cecilia shows her psalms; And makes me laugh till I feel dumb; Before I realize it's wrong; The record needle lifts and she's gone."[15]Use in Contemporary Poetry
The poem "Moschus Moschiferus", by Australian poet A. D. Hope (1907–2000), is sub-titled A Song for St Cecilia's Day. The poem is of 12 stanzas and was written in the 1960sReferences
- ^ St Cecilia by RENI, Guido
- ^ a b c d Foley O.F.M., Leonard. Saint of the Day, (revised by Pat McCloskey O.F.M.), Franciscan Media, ISBN 978-86716-887-7
- ^ a b Kirsch, Johann Peter. "St. Cecilia." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 3. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908. 24 Apr. 2013
- ^ Fuller, Osgood Eaton: Brave Men and Women. BiblioBazaar, LLC, 2008, page 272. ISBN 0-554-34122-0
- ^ Rom. sott. ii. 147.
- ^ The Life of Saint Cecilia – Golden Legend article
- ^ "Saint Cecilia", "Lives of the Saints", John J. Crawley & Co.Inc.
- ^ a b "Who was St. Cecilia?", St. Cecilia Academy, London
- ^ Chaucer, Canterbury Tales, The Second Nun's Tale, prologue, 85–119. As the rubric to these lines declare, the nun draws her etymologies from the Legenda Aurea of Jacobus de Voragine (Jacobus Januensis - James of Genoa - in the rubric).
- ^ Ode on St. Cecilia's Day (composed 1711) at, for example, www.PoemHunter.com
- ^ "En bemærkelsesværdig cd" (in Danish). Udfordringen. 29 January 2004. Retrieved 17 May 2012.
- ^ St. Cecilia's Abbey, Benedictine nuns
- ^ Lyrics of "The Coast"
- ^ Cecilia will put song in your heart, Ideally Speaking (Jerry Johnston), Deseret News, 14 November 2009, p. E1. Johnston writes: " . . If you're a composer who needs a melody, talk to Cecilia. She'll put a song in your heart."
- ^ http://turnt.bandcamp.com Lyrics for the song "Girls"
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Today's Snippet I: Saint Cecilia Abbey, Trastevere
The first church on this site was founded probably in the 3rd century, by Pope Urban I; it was devoted to the Roman martyr Cecilia, martyred it is said under Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander, by the late fifth century, for in the synod of 499 of Pope Symmachus, the church is indicated with the Titulus Ceciliae. Tradition holds that the church was built over the house of the saint.[1] The baptistery associated with this church, together with the remains of a Roman house of the early Empire, was found during some excavations under the Chapel of the Relics. On 22 November 545, Pope Vigilius was celebrating the saint in the church, when the emissary of Empress Theodora, Antemi Scribone, captured him.
Pope Paschal I rebuilt the church in 822, and moved here the relics of St Cecilia from the catacombs of St Calixtus. More restorations followed in the 18th century.
With the death of Carlo Maria Martini in 2012 there is currently no Cardinal priest assigned to the Titulus S. Caeciliae. Among the previous titulars are Pope Stephen III, Adam Easton (1383), Thomas Wolsey (1515), Michele Mazzarino (1647), and Giuseppe Doria Pamphili (1785).
Art and architecture
Among the artifacts remaining from the 13th century edifice are a mural painting depicting the Final judgment (1289-93) by Pietro Cavallini in the choir of the monks, and the ciborium (1293) in the presbytery by Arnolfo di Cambio. The Gothic ciborium is surrounded by four marble columns white and black, decorated with statuettes of angels, saints, prophets, and evangelists. The apse has remains of 9th century mosaics depicting the Redeemer with Saints Paul, Cecilia, Paschal I, Peter, Valerian, and Agatha.
The ceiling of Cappella dei Ponziani was decorated God the Father with evangelists (1470) by Antonio del Massaro (Antonio da Viterbo or il Pastura). The Cappella delle Reliquie was frescoed and provided with an altarpiece by Luigi Vanvitelli. The nave is frescoed with the Apotheosis of Santa Cecilia (1727) by Sebastiano Conca. The church contains two altarpieces by Guido Reni: Saints Valerian and Cecilia and a Decapitation of Saint Cecilia (1603).[2]
Works of Art
The crypt is also noteworthy, decorated with cosmatesque styles, containing the relics of St. Cecilia and her husband St. Valerian.
References
- Beneath, in the remains of Roman construction, are cylindrical well-like granaries in opus spicatum (illustration).
- Romecity entry on Santa Cecilia
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Today's Snippet II: Feast of Christ the King
The Feast of Christ the King (in the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church, properly the Solemnity of Christ the King) is a relatively recent addition to the western liturgical calendar, having been instituted in 1925 by Pope Pius XI. In 1970, its observance was moved to the last Sunday of Ordinary Time and adopted by Anglicans, Lutherans, and many other Protestants along with the new Revised Common Lectionary, as well as by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.[1]
Origin and history in the Catholic Church
Pope Pius XI instituted the Feast of Christ the King in his 1925 encyclical letter Quas Primas, in response to growing nationalism and secularism[2] and in the context of the unresolved Roman Question.
The title of the feast was "D. N. Jesu Christi Regis" (Our Lord Jesus
Christ the King), and the date was "the last Sunday of the month of
October - the Sunday, that is, which immediately precedes the Feast of All Saints".[3] In Pope John XXIII's 1960 revision
of the Calendar, the date and title remained the same and, in the new
simpler ranking of feasts, it was classified as a feast of the first
class.
In his 1969 motu proprio Mysterii Paschalis, Pope Paul VI
gave the celebration a new title: "D. N. Iesu Christi universorum
Regis" (Our Lord Jesus Christ King of the Universe). He also gave it a
new date: the last Sunday in the liturgical year, before a new year
begins with the First Sunday in Advent, the earliest date for which is 24 November. Through this choice of date "the eschatological importance of this Sunday is made clearer".[4] He assigned to it the highest rank, that of "Solemnity".[5]
As happens with all Sundays whose liturgies are replaced by those of important feasts,[6] the prayers of the Sunday on which the celebration of Christ the King falls are used on the ferias (weekdays) of the following week. The Sunday liturgy is thus not totally omitted.
In 2013, this feast day falls on November 24.[7] The liturgical vestments for the day are colored white or gold, in keeping with other joyous feasts honoring Christ.
References
- Fraternity of St. Gregory the Great calendar
- Encyclical Quas Primas, 28
- Calendarium Romanum (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1969), p. 63
- motu proprio Mysterii Paschalis
- Examples are Pentecost and Trinity Sunday. Indeed before the reform of Pope Pius X most Sundays gave way to any feast that had the rank of Double, and these were the majority (Missale Romanum, published by Pustet, 1862)
- "Liturgical Calendar for the Dioceses of the United States of America". United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. 2013.
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Catechism of the Catholic Church
Part Three: Life in Christ
SECTION ONE: Man's Vocation Life in the Spirit
CHAPTER THREE : GODS SALVATION LAW AND GRACE
Article 3:2-3 The Precepts of the Church, Moral Life, In Brief
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 THREE
GOD'S SALVATION: LAW AND GRACE
1949
Called to beatitude but wounded by sin, man stands in need of salvation from
God. Divine help comes to him in Christ through the law that guides him and the
grace that sustains him:
Work out your own salvation
with fear and trembling; for God is at work in you, both to will and to work
for his good pleasure.Phil 2:12-13
Article 3
THE CHURCH, MOTHER AND TEACHER
2030
It is in the Church, in communion with all the baptized, that the Christian fulfills
his vocation. From the Church he receives the Word of God containing the
teachings of "the law of Christ." From the Church he
receives the grace of the sacraments that sustains him on the "way."
From the Church he learns the example of holiness and recognizes its model and
source in the all-holy Virgin Mary; he discerns it in the authentic witness of
those who live it; he discovers it in the spiritual tradition and long history
of the saints who have gone before him and whom the liturgy celebrates in the
rhythms of the sanctoral cycle.
2031
The moral life is spiritual worship. We "present (our) bodies as a living
sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God,"Rom 12:1 within the Body of
Christ that we form and in communion with the offering of his Eucharist. In the
liturgy and the celebration of the sacraments, prayer and teaching are
conjoined with the grace of Christ to enlighten and nourish Christian activity.
As does the whole of the Christian life, the moral life finds its source and
summit in the Eucharistic sacrifice.
II. The Precepts of the Church
2041
The precepts of the Church are set in the context of a moral life bound to and
nourished by liturgical life. the obligatory character of these positive laws
decreed by the pastoral authorities is meant to guarantee to the faithful the
indispensable minimum in the spirit of prayer and moral effort, in the growth
in love of God and neighbor:
2042
The first precept (“You shall attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of
obligation.") requires the faithful to participate in the Eucharistic
celebration when the Christian community gathers together on the day
commemorating the Resurrection of the Lord.Cf. ⇒ CIC, cann. 1246-1248; CCEO,
can. 881 # 1, # 2, # 4
The second precept (“You shall
confess your sins at least once a year.") ensures preparation for the
Eucharist by the reception of the sacrament of reconciliation, which continues
Baptism's work of conversion and forgiveness.Cf. ⇒ CIC, can. 989; CCEO, can. 719
The third precept (“You shall
humbly receive your Creator in Holy Communion at least during the Easter
season.") guarantees as a minimum the reception of the Lord's Body and
Blood in connection with the Paschal feasts, the origin and center of the
Christian liturgy.Cf. ⇒ CIC, can. 920; CCEO, cann. 708;
881 # 3
2043
The
fourth precept (“You shall keep holy the holy days of obligation.")
completes the Sunday observance by participation in the principal liturgical
feasts which honor the mysteries of the Lord, the Virgin Mary, and the
saints.
The fifth precept (“You shall observe the prescribed days of fasting and
abstinence.") ensures the times of ascesis and penance which prepare us
for the liturgical feasts; they help us acquire mastery over our instincts and
freedom of heart.Cf. ⇒ CIC, cann. 1249-1251; CCEO,
can. 882
The faithful also have the duty of providing for the material needs of
the Church, each according to his abilities.Cf. ⇒ CIC, can. 222
III. Moral Life and Missionary Witness
2044
The fidelity of the baptized is a primordial condition for the proclamation of
the Gospel and for the Church's mission in the world. In order that the message
of salvation can show the power of its truth and radiance before men, it must
be authenticated by the witness of the life of Christians. "The witness of
a Christian life and good works done in a supernatural spirit have great power
to draw men to the faith and to God."AA 6 # 2
2045
Because they are members of the Body whose Head is Christ,Cf. ⇒ Eph 1:22 Christians
contribute to building up the Church by the constancy of their convictions and
their moral lives. the Church increases, grows, and develops through the
holiness of her faithful, until "we all attain to the unity of the faith
and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of
the stature of the fullness of Christ."Eph 4:13; cf. LG 39
2046
By living with the mind of Christ, Christians hasten the coming of the Reign of
God, "a kingdom of justice, love, and peace."Roman Missal, Preface of Christ the King They do not,
for all that, abandon their earthly tasks; faithful to their master, they
fulfill them with uprightness, patience, and love.
IN BRIEF
2047 The moral life is a
spiritual worship. Christian activity finds its nourishment in the liturgy and
the celebration of the sacraments.
2048 The precepts of the
Church concern the moral and Christian life united with the liturgy and
nourished by it.
2049 The Magisterium of the
Pastors of the Church in moral matters is ordinarily exercised in catechesis
and preaching, on the basis of the Decalogue which states the principles of
moral life valid for every man.
2050 The Roman Pontiff and
the bishops, as authentic teachers, preach to the People of God the faith which
is to be believed and applied in moral life. It is also encumbent on them to
pronounce on moral questions that fall within the natural law and reason.
2051 The infallibility of the
Magisterium of the Pastors extends to all the elements of doctrine, including
moral doctrine, without which the saving truths
of the faith cannot be preserved, expounded, or observed.
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