RADIO VATICANA REPORT:
“Light makes life possible. It makes encounter possible. It makes communication
possible. It makes knowledge, access to reality and to truth, possible.” Because
this is true, “The darkness enshrouding God and obscuring values is the real
threat to our existence and to the world in general.” These were just some of
the words Pope Benedict XVI addressed to the faithful in his homily during the
Easter Vigil Mass in St Peter’s Basilica, on the night separating Holy Saturday
and Easter Sunday, for which the light of Christ, risen from the dead, is a
central theme: beginning in silence and darkness, the paschal fire is lit, and
with it the Easter Candle, the light of which begins as a far-off flicker,
before spreading until it splits the night with the brilliance of a thousand
torches.
Below, please fin the full text of Pope Benedict XVI's homily at the Easter Vigil Mass
**********************************
“On Easter night, the night of the new creation, the Church presents the mystery of light using a unique and very humble symbol: the Paschal candle. This is a light that lives from sacrifice. The candle shines inasmuch as it is burnt up. It gives light, inasmuch as it gives itself. Thus the Church presents most beautifully the paschal mystery of Christ, who gives himself and so bestows the great light”, said Pope Benedict XVI Saturday evening as he led a congregation of thousands in the Great Easter Vigil, in St Peter’s Basilica.
Since early morning pilgrims had patiently queued for entrance to the basilica beneath foreboding skies, with many more following the liturgy on giant screens in the square. In his homily Pope Benedict drew on the first act of the Easter vigil; when a basilica shrouded in dark slowly flickers to life as the flame of the newly inscribed and blessed Pascal candle passes through the central nave, lighting the candles of the faithful, to the chant “Lumen Christi”. And then the singing of the Easter proclamation, the Exultet.
He said this ancient hymn reminds us that “in the candle, creation becomes a bearer of light”. But it also serves “as a summons to us to become involved in the community of the Church, whose raison d’être is to let the light of Christ shine upon the world”.
During the ceremony the Holy Father welcomed 8 adults into the Church from Italy, Germany, Slovakia, Albania, Cameron, Turkmenistan and the United States of America. He said “The Lord says to the newly-baptized: Fiat lux – let there be light. God’s new day – the day of indestructible life, comes also to us. Christ takes you by the hand. From now on you are held by him and walk with him into the light, into real life. For this reason the early Church called baptism photismos – illumination”.
“The darkness that poses a real threat to mankind, after all, is the fact that he can see and investigate tangible material things, but cannot see where the world is going or whence it comes, where our own life is going, what is good and what is evil. The darkness enshrouding God and obscuring values is the real threat to our existence and to the world in general. If God and moral values, the difference between good and evil, remain in darkness, then all other “lights”, that put such incredible technical feats within our reach, are not only progress but also dangers that put us and the world at risk. Today we can illuminate our cities so brightly that the stars of the sky are no longer visible. Is this not an image of the problems caused by our version of enlightenment? With regard to material things, our knowledge and our technical accomplishments are legion, but what reaches beyond, the things of God and the question of good, we can no longer identify. Faith, then, which reveals God’s light to us, is the true enlightenment, enabling God’s light to break into our world, opening our eyes to the true light”.
Homily of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI Easter Vigil Holy Saturday, 7 April 2012
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Easter is the feast of the new creation. Jesus is risen and dies no more. He has opened the door to a new life, one that no longer knows illness and death. He has taken mankind up into God himself. “Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God”, as Saint Paul says in the First Letter to the Corinthians (15:50). On the subject of Christ’s resurrection and our resurrection, the Church writer Tertullian in the third century was bold enough to write: “Rest assured, flesh and blood, through Christ you have gained your place in heaven and in the Kingdom of God” (CCL II, 994). A new dimension has opened up for mankind. Creation has become greater and broader. Easter Day ushers in a new creation, but that is precisely why the Church starts the liturgy on this day with the old creation, so that we can learn to understand the new one aright. At the beginning of the Liturgy of the Word on Easter night, then, comes the account of the creation of the world. Two things are particularly important here in connection with this liturgy. On the one hand, creation is presented as a whole that includes the phenomenon of time. The seven days are an image of completeness, unfolding in time. They are ordered towards the seventh day, the day of the freedom of all creatures for God and for one another. Creation is therefore directed towards the coming together of God and his creatures; it exists so as to open up a space for the response to God’s great glory, an encounter between love and freedom. On the other hand, what the Church hears on Easter night is above all the first element of the creation account: “God said, ‘let there be light!’” (Gen 1:3). The creation account begins symbolically with the creation of light. The sun and the moon are created only on the fourth day. The creation account calls them lights, set by God in the firmament of heaven. In this way he deliberately takes away the divine character that the great religions had assigned to them. No, they are not gods. They are shining bodies created by the one God. But they are preceded by the light through which God’s glory is reflected in the essence of the created being.
What is the creation account saying here? Light makes life possible. It makes encounter possible. It makes communication possible. It makes knowledge, access to reality and to truth, possible. And insofar as it makes knowledge possible, it makes freedom and progress possible. Evil hides. Light, then, is also an expression of the good that both is and creates brightness. It is daylight, which makes it possible for us to act. To say that God created light means that God created the world as a space for knowledge and truth, as a space for encounter and freedom, as a space for good and for love. Matter is fundamentally good, being itself is good. And evil does not come from God-made being, rather, it comes into existence through denial. It is a “no”.
At Easter, on the morning of the first day of the week, God said once again: “Let there be light”. The night on the Mount of Olives, the solar eclipse of Jesus’ passion and death, the night of the grave had all passed. Now it is the first day once again – creation is beginning anew. “Let there be light”, says God, “and there was light”: Jesus rises from the grave. Life is stronger than death. Good is stronger than evil. Love is stronger than hate. Truth is stronger than lies. The darkness of the previous days is driven away the moment Jesus rises from the grave and himself becomes God’s pure light. But this applies not only to him, not only to the darkness of those days. With the resurrection of Jesus, light itself is created anew. He draws all of us after him into the new light of the resurrection and he conquers all darkness. He is God’s new day, new for all of us.
But how is this to come about? How does all this affect us so that instead of remaining word it becomes a reality that draws us in? Through the sacrament of baptism and the profession of faith, the Lord has built a bridge across to us, through which the new day reaches us. The Lord says to the newly-baptized: Fiat lux – let there be light. God’s new day – the day of indestructible life, comes also to us. Christ takes you by the hand. From now on you are held by him and walk with him into the light, into real life. For this reason the early Church called baptism photismos – illumination.
Why was this? The darkness that poses a real threat to mankind, after all, is the fact that he can see and investigate tangible material things, but cannot see where the world is going or whence it comes, where our own life is going, what is good and what is evil. The darkness enshrouding God and obscuring values is the real threat to our existence and to the world in general. If God and moral values, the difference between good and evil, remain in darkness, then all other “lights”, that put such incredible technical feats within our reach, are not only progress but also dangers that put us and the world at risk. Today we can illuminate our cities so brightly that the stars of the sky are no longer visible. Is this not an image of the problems caused by our version of enlightenment? With regard to material things, our knowledge and our technical accomplishments are legion, but what reaches beyond, the things of God and the question of good, we can no longer identify. Faith, then, which reveals God’s light to us, is the true enlightenment, enabling God’s light to break into our world, opening our eyes to the true light.
Dear friends, as I conclude, I would like to add one more thought about light and illumination. On Easter night, the night of the new creation, the Church presents the mystery of light using a unique and very humble symbol: the Paschal candle. This is a light that lives from sacrifice. The candle shines inasmuch as it is burnt up. It gives light, inasmuch as it gives itself. Thus the Church presents most beautifully the paschal mystery of Christ, who gives himself and so bestows the great light. Secondly, we should remember that the light of the candle is a fire. Fire is the power that shapes the world, the force of transformation. And fire gives warmth. Here too the mystery of Christ is made newly visible. Christ, the light, is fire, flame, burning up evil and so reshaping both the world and ourselves. “Whoever is close to me is close to the fire,” as Jesus is reported by Origen to have said. And this fire is both heat and light: not a cold light, but one through which God’s warmth and goodness reach down to us.
The great hymn of the Exsultet, which the deacon sings at the beginning of the Easter liturgy, points us quite gently towards a further aspect. It reminds us that this object, the candle, has its origin in the work of bees. So the whole of creation plays its part. In the candle, creation becomes a bearer of light. But in the mind of the Fathers, the candle also in some sense contains a silent reference to the Church,. The cooperation of the living community of believers in the Church in some way resembles the activity of bees. It builds up the community of light. So the candle serves as a summons to us to become involved in the community of the Church, whose raison d’être is to let the light of Christ shine upon the world.
Let us pray to the Lord at this time that he may grant us to experience the joy of his light; let us pray that we ourselves may become bearers of his light, and that through the Church, Christ’s radiant face may enter our world (cf. LG 1). Amen.
SHARED FROM ; http://www.radiovaticana.org/en1/Articolo.asp?c=578347
Below, please fin the full text of Pope Benedict XVI's homily at the Easter Vigil Mass
**********************************
“On Easter night, the night of the new creation, the Church presents the mystery of light using a unique and very humble symbol: the Paschal candle. This is a light that lives from sacrifice. The candle shines inasmuch as it is burnt up. It gives light, inasmuch as it gives itself. Thus the Church presents most beautifully the paschal mystery of Christ, who gives himself and so bestows the great light”, said Pope Benedict XVI Saturday evening as he led a congregation of thousands in the Great Easter Vigil, in St Peter’s Basilica.
Since early morning pilgrims had patiently queued for entrance to the basilica beneath foreboding skies, with many more following the liturgy on giant screens in the square. In his homily Pope Benedict drew on the first act of the Easter vigil; when a basilica shrouded in dark slowly flickers to life as the flame of the newly inscribed and blessed Pascal candle passes through the central nave, lighting the candles of the faithful, to the chant “Lumen Christi”. And then the singing of the Easter proclamation, the Exultet.
He said this ancient hymn reminds us that “in the candle, creation becomes a bearer of light”. But it also serves “as a summons to us to become involved in the community of the Church, whose raison d’être is to let the light of Christ shine upon the world”.
During the ceremony the Holy Father welcomed 8 adults into the Church from Italy, Germany, Slovakia, Albania, Cameron, Turkmenistan and the United States of America. He said “The Lord says to the newly-baptized: Fiat lux – let there be light. God’s new day – the day of indestructible life, comes also to us. Christ takes you by the hand. From now on you are held by him and walk with him into the light, into real life. For this reason the early Church called baptism photismos – illumination”.
“The darkness that poses a real threat to mankind, after all, is the fact that he can see and investigate tangible material things, but cannot see where the world is going or whence it comes, where our own life is going, what is good and what is evil. The darkness enshrouding God and obscuring values is the real threat to our existence and to the world in general. If God and moral values, the difference between good and evil, remain in darkness, then all other “lights”, that put such incredible technical feats within our reach, are not only progress but also dangers that put us and the world at risk. Today we can illuminate our cities so brightly that the stars of the sky are no longer visible. Is this not an image of the problems caused by our version of enlightenment? With regard to material things, our knowledge and our technical accomplishments are legion, but what reaches beyond, the things of God and the question of good, we can no longer identify. Faith, then, which reveals God’s light to us, is the true enlightenment, enabling God’s light to break into our world, opening our eyes to the true light”.
Homily of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI Easter Vigil Holy Saturday, 7 April 2012
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Easter is the feast of the new creation. Jesus is risen and dies no more. He has opened the door to a new life, one that no longer knows illness and death. He has taken mankind up into God himself. “Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God”, as Saint Paul says in the First Letter to the Corinthians (15:50). On the subject of Christ’s resurrection and our resurrection, the Church writer Tertullian in the third century was bold enough to write: “Rest assured, flesh and blood, through Christ you have gained your place in heaven and in the Kingdom of God” (CCL II, 994). A new dimension has opened up for mankind. Creation has become greater and broader. Easter Day ushers in a new creation, but that is precisely why the Church starts the liturgy on this day with the old creation, so that we can learn to understand the new one aright. At the beginning of the Liturgy of the Word on Easter night, then, comes the account of the creation of the world. Two things are particularly important here in connection with this liturgy. On the one hand, creation is presented as a whole that includes the phenomenon of time. The seven days are an image of completeness, unfolding in time. They are ordered towards the seventh day, the day of the freedom of all creatures for God and for one another. Creation is therefore directed towards the coming together of God and his creatures; it exists so as to open up a space for the response to God’s great glory, an encounter between love and freedom. On the other hand, what the Church hears on Easter night is above all the first element of the creation account: “God said, ‘let there be light!’” (Gen 1:3). The creation account begins symbolically with the creation of light. The sun and the moon are created only on the fourth day. The creation account calls them lights, set by God in the firmament of heaven. In this way he deliberately takes away the divine character that the great religions had assigned to them. No, they are not gods. They are shining bodies created by the one God. But they are preceded by the light through which God’s glory is reflected in the essence of the created being.
What is the creation account saying here? Light makes life possible. It makes encounter possible. It makes communication possible. It makes knowledge, access to reality and to truth, possible. And insofar as it makes knowledge possible, it makes freedom and progress possible. Evil hides. Light, then, is also an expression of the good that both is and creates brightness. It is daylight, which makes it possible for us to act. To say that God created light means that God created the world as a space for knowledge and truth, as a space for encounter and freedom, as a space for good and for love. Matter is fundamentally good, being itself is good. And evil does not come from God-made being, rather, it comes into existence through denial. It is a “no”.
At Easter, on the morning of the first day of the week, God said once again: “Let there be light”. The night on the Mount of Olives, the solar eclipse of Jesus’ passion and death, the night of the grave had all passed. Now it is the first day once again – creation is beginning anew. “Let there be light”, says God, “and there was light”: Jesus rises from the grave. Life is stronger than death. Good is stronger than evil. Love is stronger than hate. Truth is stronger than lies. The darkness of the previous days is driven away the moment Jesus rises from the grave and himself becomes God’s pure light. But this applies not only to him, not only to the darkness of those days. With the resurrection of Jesus, light itself is created anew. He draws all of us after him into the new light of the resurrection and he conquers all darkness. He is God’s new day, new for all of us.
But how is this to come about? How does all this affect us so that instead of remaining word it becomes a reality that draws us in? Through the sacrament of baptism and the profession of faith, the Lord has built a bridge across to us, through which the new day reaches us. The Lord says to the newly-baptized: Fiat lux – let there be light. God’s new day – the day of indestructible life, comes also to us. Christ takes you by the hand. From now on you are held by him and walk with him into the light, into real life. For this reason the early Church called baptism photismos – illumination.
Why was this? The darkness that poses a real threat to mankind, after all, is the fact that he can see and investigate tangible material things, but cannot see where the world is going or whence it comes, where our own life is going, what is good and what is evil. The darkness enshrouding God and obscuring values is the real threat to our existence and to the world in general. If God and moral values, the difference between good and evil, remain in darkness, then all other “lights”, that put such incredible technical feats within our reach, are not only progress but also dangers that put us and the world at risk. Today we can illuminate our cities so brightly that the stars of the sky are no longer visible. Is this not an image of the problems caused by our version of enlightenment? With regard to material things, our knowledge and our technical accomplishments are legion, but what reaches beyond, the things of God and the question of good, we can no longer identify. Faith, then, which reveals God’s light to us, is the true enlightenment, enabling God’s light to break into our world, opening our eyes to the true light.
Dear friends, as I conclude, I would like to add one more thought about light and illumination. On Easter night, the night of the new creation, the Church presents the mystery of light using a unique and very humble symbol: the Paschal candle. This is a light that lives from sacrifice. The candle shines inasmuch as it is burnt up. It gives light, inasmuch as it gives itself. Thus the Church presents most beautifully the paschal mystery of Christ, who gives himself and so bestows the great light. Secondly, we should remember that the light of the candle is a fire. Fire is the power that shapes the world, the force of transformation. And fire gives warmth. Here too the mystery of Christ is made newly visible. Christ, the light, is fire, flame, burning up evil and so reshaping both the world and ourselves. “Whoever is close to me is close to the fire,” as Jesus is reported by Origen to have said. And this fire is both heat and light: not a cold light, but one through which God’s warmth and goodness reach down to us.
The great hymn of the Exsultet, which the deacon sings at the beginning of the Easter liturgy, points us quite gently towards a further aspect. It reminds us that this object, the candle, has its origin in the work of bees. So the whole of creation plays its part. In the candle, creation becomes a bearer of light. But in the mind of the Fathers, the candle also in some sense contains a silent reference to the Church,. The cooperation of the living community of believers in the Church in some way resembles the activity of bees. It builds up the community of light. So the candle serves as a summons to us to become involved in the community of the Church, whose raison d’être is to let the light of Christ shine upon the world.
Let us pray to the Lord at this time that he may grant us to experience the joy of his light; let us pray that we ourselves may become bearers of his light, and that through the Church, Christ’s radiant face may enter our world (cf. LG 1). Amen.
SHARED FROM ; http://www.radiovaticana.org/en1/Articolo.asp?c=578347
ASIA : HONG KONG - CHINA : 3500 BAPTISED AT EASTER
ASIA NEWS REPORT:
by Annie Lam*
There are 39 full-time catechists and 1500 volunteer catechists. Evangelization a pastoral priority for Card. Tong. The story of Janet, who will be baptized tonight, along with her younger brother.
Hong Kong (AsiaNews) - This Easter, 3,500adult catechumens in the Hong Kong diocese will receive the Sacrament of Christian Initiation (Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Communion) at various parishes at the Holy Saturday Vigil today, April 7.
In his Easter Pastoral Letter 2012, Cardinal John Tong of Hong Kong specially thanks priests, deacons, sisters and laypeople to offer their time and energy in teaching catechism. The catechists "not only carry out the mission of evangelization of the Church, but also strengthen their own faith," the 72-year-old bishop said.
According to the diocesan statistics of Aug. 31, 2011, there are 39 paid catechists and more than 1,500 voluntary catechists. Local Catholic population comprises 363,000 Chinese and 138,000 non-Chinese.
On March 3, Card.Tong stated evangelization as one of his pastoral concerns. "Certainly, the rise in the number of Catholics is gratifying, but the quality of their faith is equally essential," he said, hoping his faithful will progress both in the quantity and the quality of faith.
Card. Tong encouraged the new Catholics to grow in faith. He cited a middle-aged volunteer catechist who was baptized three years ago. The catechist was touched by the words of St. Augustine's words in the "Confessions": "Oh, too late have I loved thee,... too late have I loved thee." After baptism, the catechist lives a simple life, and he studied a course on catechetics and became a volunteer catechist. Now, he plans to study more to deepen his faith, the Easter message says.
Among the 3,500 catechumens, Janet Lo, together with her younger brother, are two of them. She told AsiaNews that she finds life, love and peace in the Catholic faith and is happy to promote faith to others.
Janet, who works in marketing field, said they have finished an 18-month catechism class and received anointment scrutiny liturgy (see photo) performed by Card. Tong and the visiting Bishop Franz-Josef Overbeck of Esssen during Lent.
"I especially like a phrase in the Prayer for the Year of Laity of the diocese that says: Love Life, The Gift of God," Janet said. Their search of faith was inspired by their mother's struggles with an illness some years ago. That experience brought her whole family closer to God. "My father, a Catholic, prayed hard with my mother in those difficult days. My mother got baptized and passed away peacefully."
"The experience inspired us to thank God and to respond to His call to become Catholics, like our parents," she said. She also thanked her alma mater, a Christian school that sowed the seed of faith in her heart during her schooldays.
* Annie Lam is a researcher at Holy Spirit Study Centre.
SOURCE http://www.asianews.it/news-en/3500-adults-receive-baptism-at-Easter-Vigil.-Card.-Tong-thanks-the-catechists-24450.html
by Annie Lam*
There are 39 full-time catechists and 1500 volunteer catechists. Evangelization a pastoral priority for Card. Tong. The story of Janet, who will be baptized tonight, along with her younger brother.
Hong Kong (AsiaNews) - This Easter, 3,500adult catechumens in the Hong Kong diocese will receive the Sacrament of Christian Initiation (Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Communion) at various parishes at the Holy Saturday Vigil today, April 7.
In his Easter Pastoral Letter 2012, Cardinal John Tong of Hong Kong specially thanks priests, deacons, sisters and laypeople to offer their time and energy in teaching catechism. The catechists "not only carry out the mission of evangelization of the Church, but also strengthen their own faith," the 72-year-old bishop said.
According to the diocesan statistics of Aug. 31, 2011, there are 39 paid catechists and more than 1,500 voluntary catechists. Local Catholic population comprises 363,000 Chinese and 138,000 non-Chinese.
On March 3, Card.Tong stated evangelization as one of his pastoral concerns. "Certainly, the rise in the number of Catholics is gratifying, but the quality of their faith is equally essential," he said, hoping his faithful will progress both in the quantity and the quality of faith.
Card. Tong encouraged the new Catholics to grow in faith. He cited a middle-aged volunteer catechist who was baptized three years ago. The catechist was touched by the words of St. Augustine's words in the "Confessions": "Oh, too late have I loved thee,... too late have I loved thee." After baptism, the catechist lives a simple life, and he studied a course on catechetics and became a volunteer catechist. Now, he plans to study more to deepen his faith, the Easter message says.
Among the 3,500 catechumens, Janet Lo, together with her younger brother, are two of them. She told AsiaNews that she finds life, love and peace in the Catholic faith and is happy to promote faith to others.
Janet, who works in marketing field, said they have finished an 18-month catechism class and received anointment scrutiny liturgy (see photo) performed by Card. Tong and the visiting Bishop Franz-Josef Overbeck of Esssen during Lent.
"I especially like a phrase in the Prayer for the Year of Laity of the diocese that says: Love Life, The Gift of God," Janet said. Their search of faith was inspired by their mother's struggles with an illness some years ago. That experience brought her whole family closer to God. "My father, a Catholic, prayed hard with my mother in those difficult days. My mother got baptized and passed away peacefully."
"The experience inspired us to thank God and to respond to His call to become Catholics, like our parents," she said. She also thanked her alma mater, a Christian school that sowed the seed of faith in her heart during her schooldays.
* Annie Lam is a researcher at Holy Spirit Study Centre.
SOURCE http://www.asianews.it/news-en/3500-adults-receive-baptism-at-Easter-Vigil.-Card.-Tong-thanks-the-catechists-24450.html
AUSTRALIA : EASTER MESSAGE BISHOP A. FISHER OF PARRAMATTA
 |
| The Bishop of Parramatta, Most Rev Anthony Fisher OP. |
Messages from the Bishop of Parramatta
Most Rev Anthony Fisher OP
To read one of Bishop Anthony's messages, click on the drop-down menu below.
Messages from the Bishop
EUROPE : CATHOLIC GROUP GIVES CHOCOLATES AND CROSS TO SEA FARERS
CATHOLIC HERALD REPORT:
Apostleship of the Sea try to make a difference to
lives of seafarers
By Staff
Reporter on Wednesday, 4 April 2012
A seafarer receives an Easter egg
far away from home (Photo: John Green)
Apostleship of the Sea port
chaplains and ship visitors are making a difference to the lives of lonely
merchant seafarers this Easter by giving them a chance to celebrate their faith
at such an important time in their spiritual year.
They are bringing them a sweet treat and a taste of joviality – Easter eggs – as a gesture of thanks from the British community for all they do for us.
Seafarers bring us 95 per cent of all the goods we use and consume.
But as we enjoy the fruits of their labour, merchant seafarers are trapped inside their ships in port or at sea, many miles from home – out of sight and out of mind.
Indeed, for seafarers any festive period is much like any other time of year – the only difference being that their separation from family and friends and from their faith can be even more difficult to bear than usual.
This is where the Apostleship of the Sea steps in, visiting merchant ships and providing seafarers with some Easter cheer in the form of Easter eggs donated by the local community and also a chance to attend Mass if they wish it.
Seafarers often turn to the Apostleship of the Sea at Easter for pastoral and practical help, even on Easter Sunday itself.
Recognising that seafarers are often unable to practise their faith fully while at sea, Apostleship of the Sea teams make every effort to take Catholic seafarers to Mass on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, or arrange to have Mass celebrated onboard, so that seafarers can experience Easter as the important religious festival it truly is.
The Apostleship of the Sea (AoS) is a registered charity and agency of the Catholic Bishops’ Conferences of England and Wales and Scotland. It is wholly reliant on voluntary donations and legacies to continue its work.
Ninety per cent of world trade is transported by ship, and more than 100,000 ships visit British ports each year. But the life of a modern seafarer can be dangerous and lonely.
They may spend up to a year at a time away from home, separated from their family and loved ones, often working in harsh conditions.
AoS chaplains and ship visitors welcome seafarers to our shores, regardless of their colour, race or creed, and provide them with pastoral and practical assistance. They recognise them as brothers with an intrinsic human dignity.
SOURCE: http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/catholiclife/2012/04/04/seafarers-to-receive-easter-eggs/
They are bringing them a sweet treat and a taste of joviality – Easter eggs – as a gesture of thanks from the British community for all they do for us.
Seafarers bring us 95 per cent of all the goods we use and consume.
But as we enjoy the fruits of their labour, merchant seafarers are trapped inside their ships in port or at sea, many miles from home – out of sight and out of mind.
Indeed, for seafarers any festive period is much like any other time of year – the only difference being that their separation from family and friends and from their faith can be even more difficult to bear than usual.
This is where the Apostleship of the Sea steps in, visiting merchant ships and providing seafarers with some Easter cheer in the form of Easter eggs donated by the local community and also a chance to attend Mass if they wish it.
Seafarers often turn to the Apostleship of the Sea at Easter for pastoral and practical help, even on Easter Sunday itself.
Recognising that seafarers are often unable to practise their faith fully while at sea, Apostleship of the Sea teams make every effort to take Catholic seafarers to Mass on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, or arrange to have Mass celebrated onboard, so that seafarers can experience Easter as the important religious festival it truly is.
The Apostleship of the Sea (AoS) is a registered charity and agency of the Catholic Bishops’ Conferences of England and Wales and Scotland. It is wholly reliant on voluntary donations and legacies to continue its work.
Ninety per cent of world trade is transported by ship, and more than 100,000 ships visit British ports each year. But the life of a modern seafarer can be dangerous and lonely.
They may spend up to a year at a time away from home, separated from their family and loved ones, often working in harsh conditions.
AoS chaplains and ship visitors welcome seafarers to our shores, regardless of their colour, race or creed, and provide them with pastoral and practical assistance. They recognise them as brothers with an intrinsic human dignity.
SOURCE: http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/catholiclife/2012/04/04/seafarers-to-receive-easter-eggs/
AMERICA : CANADA : RIP ARCHBISHOP OF WINNIPEG UKRANIAN CATHOLIC - AGE 81
|
CCCB RELEASE
|
|
(CCCB – Archbishop Bzdel was born on July 21, 1930, in
As Metropolitan, Archbishop Bzdel was one of the four ex officio members of the Permanent Council of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB). He also served on a number of CCCB Commissions and Committees, in particular the former Ad hoc Committee for Aid to the Church in Eastern and
Funeral services will be held in
SOURCE CATHOLIC BISHOPS CONFERENCE OF CANADA
AFRICA : ZAMBIA : LOVE AS JESUS TAUGHT AT EASTER
TIMES OF
ZAMBIA REPORT: (IMAGE SOURCE: GOOGLE.COM)
CHRISTIANS the world over are
commemorating an important part of their calendar, the Easter period, during
which they remember the death and resurrection of their Messiah, Jesus Christ,
who was crucified on the cross more than 2,000 years ago.It is a period of deep reflection and prayer by all believers as they remember Christ's crucifixion and the full import of that singular act which is re-incarnated by Christians around the globe in remembrance of the ultimate sacrifice endured by the Lord to save mankind.
Easter is preceded by Lent, a period which is devoted to fasting, abstinence and penitence in commemoration of the days Jesus Christ spent fasting in the wilderness. Devout Christians opt to fast during Lent and also offer tithe or appreciable amounts as church offering to their respective churches to assist the under-privileged persons in their communities.
Zambia's population is predominantly Christian and this fact, more than anything else, prompted the decision to declare the country a so-called 'Christian Nation' by second republican President Dr Frederick J.T. Chiluba. This declaration was subsequently incorporated in the preamble in the national Constitution.
But one question which begs an answer is: Do most Zambians truly reflect the values and spirit of Christianity in their day-to-day lives?The answer is a resounding NO! Sordid evidence abounds which proves beyond doubt that the bulk of so-called Christians have turned their backs on Biblical principles and scriptures and their lives are devoid of any values that could be construed as Christian.
The levels of corruption in our country have escalated, and many of the perpetrators of such acts are 'Christians,' and yet they have no scruples and do not have even a modicum of integrity.
Corrupt officials in Government ministries, departments, quasi-Government institutions and parastatals continue to exhibit unbridled greed and impunity which often lead them to commit grotesque crimes--stealing far in excess of what any person would need for their sustenance.
Many of them steal not because they are in want of basic needs such as food, clothing and shelter; they rob the State and the poor because of avarice; they steal because of their gargantuan appetites for luxuries, which is totally immoral.
It is also undeniable that many of the so-called Christians lead lives of debauchery totally bereft of Christian values. Many, for want of a better term, could be characterised as "Sunday Christians," those who congregate with fellow believers on Sunday and unashamedly return to their sinful ways immediately they leave church.
We are not advocating a level of righteousness which is beyond the capacity of a human being to attain; we are referring to incorrigible individuals whose sins are so repulsive and grotesque, and they make no effort to reform.
Witness the ever-rising statistics about child defilement and rape, indiscriminate killings of spouses, particularly wives, by their partners, bestiality and other unimaginable evils. Are we in the Sodom and Gomorrah era?
These are all matters of grave concern to Government, the Church and the community at large.
We need solutions to curb such crimes in our midst, but efforts made so far have not had the desired impact.
President Michael Sata echoed the sentiments of many in his Easter message yesterday when he implored all Christians to celebrate Easter responsibly and remember the plight of the less fortunate of our society.
He said: "As we celebrate Easter, we should do so responsibly and be mindful of those less fortunate than ourselves.
"Easter should be a time of goodwill and expression of unconditional love to one another. Let us love each other. This is the greatest teaching that Jesus left us."
Hatred, greed, corruption and other vices have the potential to destroy the nation, the President observed. We wish all our esteemed readers happy Easter and hope that the majority will celebrate with moderation and in a dignified manner.
SOURCE TIMES OF ZAMBIA AFRICAFRICA
TODAY'S MASS READINGS ONLINE : HOLY SATURDAY VIGIL APRIL 7, 2012
| Genesis
1: 1, 26 - 31
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| 1 | In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. |
| 26 | Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth." |
| 27 | So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. |
| 28 | And God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth." |
| 29 | And God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. |
| 30 | And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food." And it was so. |
| 31 | And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, a sixth day. |
| Psalms
104: 1 - 2, 5 - 6, 12 - 14, 24, 35
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| 1 | Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD my God, thou art very great! Thou art clothed with honor and majesty, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | who coverest thyself with light as with a garment, who hast stretched out the heavens like a tent, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Thou didst set the earth on its foundations, so that it should never be shaken. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Thou didst cover it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 12 | By them the birds of the air have their habitation; they sing among the branches. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 13 | From thy lofty abode thou waterest the mountains; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy work. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 14 | Thou dost cause the grass to grow for the cattle, and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 24 | O LORD, how manifold are thy works! In wisdom hast thou made them all; the earth is full of thy creatures. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 35 | Let sinners be consumed from
the earth, and let the wicked be no more! Bless the LORD, O my soul! Praise the
LORD! --
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