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Friday, September 9, 2011

CATHOLIC NEWS WORLD: FRI. SEPT. 9, 2011







VATICAN: POPE: MEETS NEW BRITISH AMBASSADOR

AMERICA: USA: ARCHBISHOP GOMEZ: WHAT IS THE MASS?

EUROPE: GERMANY: TEDDY BEAR- BENEDICT XVI- MADE FOR VISIT

ASIA: PAKISTAN: CHRISTIAN KILLED ON MARIAN PILGRIMAGE

AFRICA: ZAMBIA: LIVING CONDITIONS LACKING FOR MOST OF POPULATION

AUSTRALIA: 4 COLLEGES UNITE TO RAISE $40,000 FOR POOR IN TIMOR LESTE

TODAY'S SAINT: SEPT. 9: ST. PETER CLAVER

TODAY'S GOSPEL: SEPT. 9: LUKE 6: 39-42


VATICAN: POPE: MEETS NEW BRITISH AMBASSADOR

LETTERS OF CREDENCE OF NEW UNITED KINGDOM AMBASSADOR

VATICAN CITY, 9 SEP 2011 (VIS) - Today in the Apostolic Palace of Castelgandolfo, the Holy Father received the Letters of Credence of Nigel Marcus Baker, the new British ambassador to the Holy See. (IMAGE SOURCE: RADIO VATICANA)

Addressing the diplomat in English, the Pope recalled his own visit to the United Kingdom last year for the beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman, and expressed the hope that a "fresh awareness" of the new blessed's writings would "bear new fruit among those searching for solutions to the political, economic and social questions of our age".

"The Holy See and the United Kingdom continue to share a common concern for peace among nations, the integral development of peoples throughout the world, ... and the spread of authentic human rights, especially through the rule of law and fair participative government, with a special care for the needy and those whose natural rights are denied", said the Holy Father.

He also mentioned the recent visit made by Queen Elizabeth II to the Republic ofIreland, describing it as "an important milestone in the process of reconciliation that is happily becoming ever more firmly established in Northern Ireland, despite the unrest that occurred there during this past summer. I take this opportunity once again to encourage all who would resort to violence to put aside their grievances, and to seek instead a dialogue with their neighbours for the peace and prosperity of the whole community".

The Holy Father pointed out that the British government "wishes to employ policies that are based on enduring values that cannot be simply expressed in legal terms. This is especially important in the light of events in England this summer. When policies do not presume or promote objective values, the resulting moral relativism ... tends instead to produce frustration, despair, selfishness and a disregard for the life and liberty of others. Policy makers are therefore right to look urgently for ways to uphold excellence in education, to promote social opportunity and economic mobility, and to examine ways to favour long-term employment".

"The sustainable development of the world's poorer peoples through well-targeted assistance remains a worthy goal", the Pope went on. "Such assistance should always aim to improve their lives and their economic prospects. As you know, development is also of benefit to donor countries, not only through the creation of economic markets, but also through the fostering of mutual respect, solidarity, and above all peace through prosperity for all the world's peoples".

Pope Benedict concluded his remarks by noting that the promotion of "models of development which employ modern knowledge to husband natural resources will also have the benefit of better protecting the environment for emerging and developed countries alike".

CD/ VIS 20110909 (460)

AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, 9 SEP 2011 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences:

- Archbishop Bruno Musaro, apostolic nuncio to Cuba.

- Bishop Vincenzo Paglia of Terni-Narni-Amelia, Italy, accompanied by Andrea Riccardi, founder of the Sant'Egidio Community.

AMERICA: USA: ARCHBISHOP GOMEZ: WHAT IS THE MASS?

We have a beautiful moment in these next few months to pray and reflect on this question, as we anticipate Advent, when we will start using a new translation of our Mass prayers. (BY: ARCHBISHOP GOMEZ/LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA)
The Mass is ever ancient and ever new. Many of the prayers we hear and say in the Mass were written before the ninth century. Many are taken almost word-for-word from the sacred Scriptures or adapted from the preaching of the early Church Fathers.

We should go to Mass every week aware that we are sharing in the spiritual worship that has nourished the family of God since the day of the Resurrection.

We know the story of that first Easter: how the risen Jesus met two disciples on the road to Emmaus.

The disciples didn’t recognize him. But as they walked, Jesus proclaimed the Scriptures to them. He explained how the Old Testament prophecies were fulfilled in his preaching of the Gospel.

The disciples’ hearts burned within them. And they responded with words of faith, urging Jesus: “Stay with us!”

We know what happened next. Jesus did the same thing he did at the Last Supper. Seated at table, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to his disciples.

And they came to know him, St. Luke said, “in the breaking of the bread.” This is the first name Christians used for what we now call the Eucharist or the Mass.

In every Mass, the risen Jesus comes again to walk with us and talk with us. He opens the Scriptures for us and challenges us to open our hearts to believe in him. He breaks the bread for us and gives himself to us in his Body and Blood.

Jesus taught the first Christians that when we gather on Sunday, the Lord’s Day, we aren’t gathering only with family and friends in our parish here on earth.

In a mysterious way, our Mass on earth unites us with all the angels and saints gathered around God’s throne in the eternal liturgy of heaven. Our worship in the Mass also makes us one Body with our fellow Catholics everywhere in the world — in every nation from the rising of the sun to its setting.

So we should approach every Mass with a spirit of reverence and awe.

Your experience of the Mass will change if you try to get there a little early, so you have time to settle your mind and prepare your heart. Try to enter the sanctuary slowly, reverently and without speaking. Spend a few minutes kneeling and talking to Jesus Christ with real intimacy in the silence of your heart.

When Mass begins and the priest processes to the altar, try to keep in mind that he is not only our friend and our pastor. Ordained by God, he will pray and offer the sacrifice of the Mass in the person of Jesus Christ — in persona Christi.

The priest calls us into God’s presence, greeting us with the salutation used by God’s angels in the Bible. When he says, “The Lord be with you,” we should have the same joy that the Blessed Virgin Mary had when God’s angel spoke those words to her.

The priest might instead use St. Paul’s apostolic greeting: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”

In our new Mass translation, the priest will pray that more precise word, “communion,” instead of “fellowship,” which we are used to hearing. The people will also respond with new words: “And with your spirit.” These words too are from St. Paul.

These small changes remind us that in the Mass, God is sharing himself with us in his Spirit of love, and in his Spirit of love he is drawing all of us into communion as one family of God.

“And with your spirit” reminds us that we are more than our material bodies. In Baptism, God has poured his love into our hearts through the gift of his Spirit, making each of us a child of God. What a beautiful gift!

Jesus said that God is Spirit, and he calls us to worship him in spirit and in truth. The Mass is our spiritual worship — as it has been for Christians since the beginning.

In our worship, we join ourselves to Christ’s great act of love on the cross. Through him, with him and in him, we offer our lives to God and to our brothers and sisters in love.

Let’s keep praying for one another. And let’s ask our Blessed Mother this week to help us to better live the Mass.

This is the second of a four-part series of columns that Archbishop Gomez intends to write on the translation of the Mass. To learn more, visit the U.S. bishops’ website: “Welcoming the Roman Missal, Third Edition” (www.usccb.org/romanmissal).
Follow Archbishop Gomez at: www.facebook.com/ArchbishopGomez
.

EUROPE: GERMANY: TEDDY BEAR- BENEDICT XVI- MADE FOR VISIT

CATHOLIC HERALD REPORT: Over 100 special edition teddy bears have been made in preparation for Benedict XVI’s visit to Germany later this month

By STAFF REPORTER on Friday, 9 September 2011

German company unveils Pope Benedict XVI teddy bear

Martin Hermann decorates the "Pope Benedict XVI Teddy bear" in a show room of the Hermann-Spielwaren GmbH, a manufacturer of fine German Teddy bears, in Coburg, yesterday. The special edition on the occasion of the second visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Gemany comes with growler and is limited to only 111 pieces worldwide. It is made out of blond mohair, filled with excelsior and is available at a price of €229. Pope Benedict XVI will visit the archdioceses of Berlin and Freiburg as well as the diocese of Erfurt from September 22 until September 25 (AP Photo/Jens Meyer)

ASIA: PAKISTAN: CHRISTIAN KILLED ON MARIAN PILGRIMAGE

ASIA NEWS REPORT: Sunil Masih, 25, left the group travelling to Mariamabad and never returned. The corpse showed signs of injury. Police deny possibility of his being run over by a truck. Identity of the perpetrators of the murder still unknown. The pain of the family, who lost their only son.

Mariamabad (AsiaNews) - Sunil Masih, a 25 year old Pakistani Christian, was kidnapped and killed as he walked on a pilgrimage to the shrine of the Virgin Mary in Mariamabad, the "city of Mary," in the province of Punjab. ThePakistan Christian Post (PCP) reports that during the journey the young man left the group for a few minutes, heading for the fields for physiological needs, and his body was found shortly after, with visible signs of injuries (see photo). The boy was run over by a truck, to make it appear an accident. However, police investigating the body and the dynamics of episode, strongly denyi the possibility of it being an accident.

Sunil Masih was an only child and sole source of income for the family, because his father suffers from serious kidney problems. At the news of the death of the young man, the mother fainted from the pain. Human rights activists and Pakistani Christians denounce repeated deaths, thefts and robberies perpetrated against the religious minority. They demand greater protection from police and government authorities.

For 60 years now, September 4 marks the beginning of the traditional pilgrimage to the Grotto of Our Lady, Daman E Mariam, located in one of the oldest Christian places of Pakistan, about 115 km from Lahore. The culmination of the festival coincides with September 8, the day the Church celebrates the Nativity of Mary, Mother of Jesus.

The faithful from around the country are travelling on country roads on foot or by bicycle. Some groups are moving by train, those who have them, by car. All embellish their means of transport with streamers or banners to signal that they are travelling to the village of Mary. Catholics are moving along with Christians of other confessions, but also Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs. Our Lady of Marialabad has many devotees and over the years has called to her a growing number of pilgrims.

The construction of the grotto dates back to 1927, built by a missionary, Fr Ostar. Years later, in 1949, Fr. Emmanuel Asi promoted the first pilgrimage over three days, starting then as now on September 4th, the faithful throughout the country make their journey to pay homage to the Virgin and ask for her intercession.

AUSTRALIA: 4 COLLEGES UNITE TO RAISE $40,000 FOR POOR IN TIMOR LESTE

ARCHDIOCESE OF MELBOURNE REPORT: Friday 9 September 2011

By Anthony Chapman

A perfect spring day? Check. Great line up of musical acts? Check. Five thousand students and staff of the four Catholic colleges in Geelong coming together to make poverty history? Check!

Triumph featival at GeelongThe 2011 Tri-umph Festival, held at St Joseph's College, Geelong on Friday 2 September, showcased the talents, the passion and the enthusiasm of our young people who organised the entire day, raising in excess of $40,000 to go to schools in Timor Leste.

Triumph featival at GeelongTwo years in the making, the students from St Joseph’s College, Clonard College, Sacred Heart College and St Ignatius put in countless hours of planning to ensure that the festival was not only a great day out for their school communities, but to also raise much needed funds for the schools in the towns of Railaco, Baccau and Vivueque in Timor Leste. The money raised will assist in educating the children of these communities to ensure a brighter future for the next generation of Timorese people, many of whom have endured poverty, war and violence in the struggle for independence.

New and emerging local talent, such as Sleep Decade, The Rusty’s, Perfect Fit, Sambrose Automobile and Kung Fu in Technicolour entertained the crowd throughout the day on the main stage, whilst the solar powered DJ tent was a hit with many students dancing the day away to the sounds of Your Ol’ Lady and Naysayer + Gilsun.

Oxfam, Young Vinnies and Headspace were on hand to provide information about youth services in the region as well as Triumph featival at Geelongencouraging students to get involved to help end poverty. Food and merchandise stalls were also doing a roaring trade as students dug deep to contribute to the cause.

Angus O’Callaghan from St Joseph’s College, and a driving member of the student committee, was ecstatic with the end result of all the planning.

"It’s great to see all the hard work come together. Tri-umph has pushed us all to achieve something big, whilst making a difference to the lives of the young people of Timor. We couldn’t be happier".

Anthony Chapman is Director of Mission, St Joseph's College Geelong.

Photos supplied by St Joseph's College Geelong

http://www.cam.org.au/parish-school-news/2011-tri-umph-festival.html

AFRICA: ZAMBIA: LIVING CONDITIONS LACKING FOR MOST OF POPULATION

Agenzia Fides report - The frequent flooding, poor drainage and lack of toilets in Kanyama, sprawling poor villages in Lusaka, force most residents to use plastic bags during the night rather than go to the toilet which are more than 200 meters from homes. The situation in Kanyama is a national problem. According to a 2008 study conducted by a local NGO, only 58% of Zambia's population has access to adequate sanitation, while 13% do not have any kind of toilet. The government has taken steps to improve water and sanitation systems in urban areas, leaving semiperipheral urban settlements with a high population density, as for example Kanyama, without spaces, with poor land, not suitable for the construction of latrines and with precarious road network which has contributed in seriously aggravating the problem concerning water drainage. The existing latrines not only are overcrowded, they attract worms, too and during the rainy season, the overflowing sewage pollute the wells, feeding diseases such as diarrhea, cholera and dysentery. The precarious drainage system in Kanyama has made the area particularly exposed to the proliferation of cholera. For the poor outskirts of the city, the government had promised a project, partially completed, which was abandoned in October 2010.
Mgr. Evans Chinyemba, Bishop of the Diocese of Mongu in the impoverished Western Province, said he was alarmed and said in a statement released by the IRIN agency that "we must pay close attention to water problems". "There are many rivers in the province, and I think that we have not exploited our resources in order to provide water to our people." The Bishop added that the government digs wells in some areas, without covering the whole province. Unfortunately there are no funds in the country and therefore diseases continue to spread favored by poor drainage and polluted water. Malaria and diarrhea are among the main diseases: according to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), malaria causes 50 000 deaths each year (23% of all deaths in the country) and diarrhea about 7% of all diseases reported. (AP)

TODAY'S SAINT: SEPT. 9: ST. PETER CLAVER

St. Peter Claver
PATRON SAINT OF SLAVES

Feast: September 9
Information: Feast Day: September 7

Born: June 26, 1580, Verdu, Catalonia, Kingdom of Spain

Died: September 8, 1654, Cartagena, Colombia
Canonized: January 15, 1888, Rome by Pope Leo XIII
Major Shrine: Church of Saint Peter Claver
Patron of: Slaves, Colombia, Race relations, and African Americans
The Blessed Peter Claver was born at Verdu in Catalonia in the year 1581, of parents eminent for piety and virtue, who instilled like qualities into his infant heart from the very cradle. In youth his piety and love of study won general admiration, and every preferment was open to him, but zeal for his neighbor's salvation led him to enter the Society of Jesus. His reputation was such that he was instantly admitted on his application in August, 1602. After a fervent noviceship, he was sent to the college of Majorca and there had the inexpressible happiness of enjoying the direction of the Blessed Alphonsus Rodriguez, then porter of the college, an eminent contemplative, from whom Claver derived much spiritual profit, and even a knowledge of his future career. Before completing his studies, he solicited the American mission, and was sent out in 1610. From that time he never asked about Spain, and seemed to have forgotten everything but the land of his labors. Completing his studies at Santa Fe de Bogota, he was ordained at Carthagena in 1615, and from that moment devoted himself to the care of the Negro slaves. No sooner did a slaver reach the port than he hastened on board with his interpreters, a basket of delicacies for the sick, and other necessaries. The sick were the first objects of his zeal. Gaining their good will by his kind and gentle manner, he instructed them in the doctrines of Christianity; and if there was danger, baptized them. He then began his regular instructions for those in health, which he continued from day to day, till they were prepared for baptism. Then, on an appointed day, he administered the sacrament to all, after a touching exhortation to persevere in virtue, The amount of his toil may be conceived, when we learn that at that time ten or twelve thousand slaves were annually landed at Carthagena. Nor did this include all, as many slavers, to avoid the custom-house duties, landed their cargo on the coast and pretended that they belonged to former licensed importations, and were already baptized. The zeal of the servant of God was more active than the interest of the government officers; he discovered most of these Negroes, instructed and baptized them. Not wearied with these labors, he visited the hospitals, and especially that of the Incurables and Lepers, whom he nursed with the greatest charity. The poor forsaken Negroes, too, in their hovels, were never too forlorn or too distant to escape him. So long did he breathe the pestiferous atmosphere of these abodes of misery, that his taste and smell were entirely lost. Besides all this, his austerities were frightful: his life was a miracle, as nothing but a miracle could have sustained it in such a climate, where a scratch is often fatal. Over the Negroes, he maintained a general direction; he had regular masses, instructions and devotions for them; he was their pastor, their father, their protector. In their behalf he frequently exercised the miraculous powers with which God, in a most eminent degree, invested him. Among the Spaniards he labored reluctantly, as they had clergy in abundance; but the poor could always have recourse to him, and for them, as for Moors, and heretics or unbelievers, he spared no toil.
During the season when slavers were not accustomed to arrive, he traversed the country, visiting plantation after plantation, to give spiritual consolation to the slaves. For a time, also, he was sent to labor among the Indians near the Isthmus, the field of the labors of St. Louis Bertrand, but, being seized with a fatal fever, he was carried back to Carthagena; there, partly recovering, he renewed his labors, but was again prostrated, and for the last four years of his life was scarcely able to move. Such was the poverty and wretchedness of the Jesuits, that he had no attendant but a Negro boy, and men were actually tearing down the house when he died, on the 8th of September, 1654, at the age of 72, a faithful imitator of the great Xavier. His canonization was immediately undertaken and almost brought to a close in 1747; but the suppression of his order and the troubles in Europe deferred the publication of the brief till the 29th of August, 1848, when he was solemnly beatified by Pope Pius IX.
http://www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/P/stpeterclaver.asp

TODAY'S GOSPEL: SEPT. 9: LUKE 6: 39-42

Luke 6: 39 - 42
39He also told them a parable: "Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit?
40A disciple is not above his teacher, but every one when he is fully taught will be like his teacher.
41Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?
42Or how can you say to your brother, `Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,' when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother's eye.