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Sunday, October 7, 2012

CATHOLIC NEWS WORLD : SUNDAY OCTOBER 7, 2012

2012
 
 
 
 
 
 
VATICAN : POPE : TEXT OPEN OF SYNOD - AND - REDISCOVER THE ROSARY
HOW TO PRAY THE ROSARY - INSTRUCTIONS - SHARE
ASIA : INDIA : TALLEST STATUE OF JESUS UNVEILED AT COLLEGE
EUROPE : IRELAND : DAY FOR LIFE - CHOOSE LIFE  
AFRICA : MOZAMBIQUE : 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF PEACE
AMERICA : COLOMBIA : DIALOGUE FOR PEACE WITH FARC  
AUSTRALIA : 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF DARAMALAN COLLEGE
TODAY'S MASS ONLINE : SUNDAY OCT. 7, 2012 - 27TH ORD. TIME - B
TODAY'S SAINT: OCT. 7: OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY
Vatican Radio REPORT – A host of cardinals, bishops, priests, religious and lay people drawn from throughout the Universal Church gathered around Pope Benedict XVI Sunday morning as he declared the Thirteenth Synod of Bishops on the New Evangelisation, officially open.
Green was the liturgical colour and the concelebrating Synod fathers took their places at the foot of the altar before the façade of St Peter’s Basilica, as Pope Benedict XVI outlined his vision and hopes for the important task ahead of them in the next three weeks: helping people to rediscover faith in Jesus Christ.

In his homily, he said “in every time and place, evangelization always has as its starting and finishing points Jesus Christ, the Son of God (cf. Mk 1:1); and the Crucifix is the supremely distinctive sign of him who announces the Gospel: a sign of love and peace, a call to conversion and reconciliation”.

This call, he continued, should take into account “those who do not yet know Jesus Christ and his message of salvation, and those who, though baptized, have drifted away from the Church”. Then – reflecting on the Sunday Gospel, Mark Chapter 10 - Pope Benedict singled out one area for particular attention: Marriage.

Looking out at the tens of thousands gathered in St Peter’s Square he said that marriage “is a Gospel in itself” and “Good News” for today’s dechristianized world. “The union of a man and a woman, their becoming “one flesh” in charity, in fruitful and indissoluble love, is a sign that speaks of God with a force and an eloquence which in our days has become greater because unfortunately, for various reasons, marriage, in precisely the oldest regions evangelized, is going through a profound crisis”.

Benedict XVI pointed to a link between the current crisis of faith and this crisis in marriage, because marriage is based on the grace of God that man of today no longer recognizes. To overcome this crisis, any crisis, we need to be newly reconciled with God.

Above the altar from the central balcony of St Peter’s basilica hung two giant tapestries depicting St John of Avila and St Hildegard of Bingen. Reciting the solemn formula in Latin Pope Benedict XVI declared them both Doctors of the Universal Church. He then reminded the men and women gathered to the Vatican for the Synod that “the saints are the true actors and pioneers in evangelization” and invoking their intercession, Pope Benedict concluded by entrusting the Synod’s work to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Star of the New Evangelization.

Below the full text of Pope Benedict XVI’s Homily, Sunday October 7th
, 2012:
With this solemn concelebration we open the thirteenth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the theme The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith. This theme reflects a programmatic direction for the life of the Church, its members, families, its communities and institutions. And this outline is reinforced by the fact that it coincides with the beginning of the Year of Faith, starting on 11 October, on the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council. I give a cordial and grateful welcome to you who have come to be part of the Synodal Assembly, in particular to the Secretary-General of the Synod of Bishops, and to his colleagues. I salute the fraternal delegates of the other churches and ecclesial communities as well as all present, inviting them to accompany in daily prayer the deliberations which will take place over the next three weeks.
The readings for this Sunday’s Liturgy of the Word propose to us two principal points of reflection: the first on matrimony, which I will touch shortly; and the second on Jesus Christ, which I will discuss now. We do not have time to comment upon the passage from the Letter to the Hebrews but, at the beginning of this Synodal Assembly, we ought to welcome the invitation to fix our gaze upon the Lord Jesus, “crowned with glory and honour, because of the suffering of death (2:9). The word of God places us before the glorious One who was crucified, so that our whole lives, and in particular the commitment of this Synodal session, will take place in the sight of him and in the light of his mystery. In every time and place, evangelization always has as its starting and finishing points Jesus Christ, the Son of God (cf. Mk 1:1); and the Crucifix is the supremely distinctive sign of him who announces the Gospel: a sign of love and peace, a call to conversion and reconciliation. My dear Brother Bishops, starting with ourselves, let us fix our gaze upon him and let us be purified by his grace.
I would now like briefly to examine the new evangelization, and its relation to ordinary evangelization and the mission ad Gentes. The Church exists to evangelize. Faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ’s command, his disciples went out to the whole world to announce the Good News, spreading Christian communities everywhere. With time, these became well-organized churches with many faithful. At various times in history, divine providence has given birth to a renewed dynamism in Church’s evangelizing activity. We need only think of the evangelization of the Anglo-Saxon peoples or the Slavs, or the transmission of the faith on the continent of America, or the missionary undertakings among the peoples of Africa, Asia and Oceania. It is against this dynamic background that I like to look at the two radiant figures that I have just proclaimed Doctors of the Church, Saint John of Avila and Saint Hildegard of Bingen. Even in our own times, the Holy Spirit has nurtured in the Church a new effort to announce the Good News, a pastoral and spiritual dynamism which found a more universal expression and its most authoritative impulse in the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council. Such renewed evangelical dynamism produces a beneficent influence on the two specific “branches” developed by it, that is, on the one hand the Missio ad Gentes or announcement of the Gospel to those who do not yet know Jesus Christ and his message of salvation, and on the other the New Evangelization, directed principally at those who, though baptized, have drifted away from the Church and live without reference to the Christian life. The Synodal Assembly which opens today is dedicated to this new evangelization, to help these people encounter the Lord, who alone who fills existence with deep meaning and peace; and to favour the rediscovery of the faith, that source of grace which brings joy and hope to personal, family and social life. Obviously, such a special focus must not diminish either missionary efforts in the strict sense or the ordinary activity of evangelization in our Christian communities, as these are three aspects of the one reality of evangelization which complement and enrich each other.
The theme of marriage, found in the Gospel and the first reading, deserves special attention. The message of the word of God may be summed up in the expression found in the Book of Genesis and taken up by Jesus himself: “Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh” (Gen 2:24; Mk 10:7-8). What does this word say to us today? It seems to me that it invites us to be more aware of a reality, already well known but not fully appreciated: that matrimony is a Gospel in itself, a Good News for the world of today, especially the dechristianized world. The union of a man and a woman, their becoming “one flesh” in charity, in fruitful and indissoluble love, is a sign that speaks of God with a force and an eloquence which in our days has become greater because unfortunately, for various reasons, marriage, in precisely the oldest regions evangelized, is going through a profound crisis. And it is not by chance. Marriage is linked to faith, but not in a general way. Marriage, as a union of faithful and indissoluble love, is based upon the grace that comes from the triune God, who in Christ loved us with a faithful love, even to the Cross. Today we ought to grasp the full truth of this statement, in contrast to the painful reality of many marriages which, unhappily, end badly. There is a clear link between the crisis in faith and the crisis in marriage. And, as the Church has said and witnessed for a long time now, marriage is called to be not only an object but a subject of the new evangelization. This is already being seen in the many experiences of communities and movements, but its realization is also growing in dioceses and parishes, as shown in the recent World Meeting of Families.
One of the important ideas of the renewed impulse that the Second Vatican Council gave to evangelization is that of the universal call to holiness, which in itself concerns all Christians (cf. Lumen Gentium, 39-42). The saints are the true actors in evangelization in all its expressions. In a special way they are even pioneers and bringers of the new evangelization: with their intercession and the example of lives attentive to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they show the beauty of the Gospel to those who are indifferent or even hostile, and they invite, as it were tepid believers, to live with the joy of faith, hope and charity, to rediscover the taste for the word of God and for the sacraments, especially for the bread of life, the Eucharist. Holy men and women bloom among the generous missionaries who announce the Good News to non-Christians, in the past in mission countries and now in any place where there are non-Christians. Holiness is not confined by cultural, social, political or religious barriers. Its language, that of love and truth, is understandable to all people of good will and it draws them to Jesus Christ, the inexhaustible source of new life.
At this point, let us pause for a moment to appreciate the two saints who today have been added to the elect number of Doctors of the Church. Saint John of Avila lived in the sixteenth century. A profound expert on the sacred Scriptures, he was gifted with an ardent missionary spirit. He knew how to penetrate in a uniquely profound way the mysteries of the redemption worked by Christ for humanity. A man of God, he united constant prayer to apostolic action. He dedicated himself to preaching and to the more frequent practice of the sacraments, concentrating his commitment on improving the formation of candidates for the priesthood, of religious and of lay people, with a view to a fruitful reform of the Church.
Saint Hildegard of Bingen, an important female figure of the twelfth century, offered her precious contribution to the growth of the Church of her time, employing the gifts received from God and showing herself to be a woman of brilliant intelligence, deep sensitivity and recognized spiritual authority. The Lord granted her a prophetic spirit and fervent capacity to discern the signs of the times. Hildegard nurtured an evident love of creation, and was learned in medicine, poetry and music. Above all, she maintained a great and faithful love for Christ and the Church.
This summary of the ideal in Christian life, expressed in the call to holiness, draws us to look with humility at the fragility, even sin, of many Christians, as individuals and communities, which is a great obstacle to evangelization and to recognizing the force of God that, in faith, meets human weakness. Thus, we cannot speak about the new evangelization without a sincere desire for conversion. The best path to the new evangelization is to let ourselves be reconciled with God and with each other (cf. 2 Cor 5:20). Solemnly purified, Christians can regain a legitimate pride in their dignity as children of God, created in his image and redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, and they can experience his joy in order to share it with everyone, both near and far.
Dear brothers and sisters, let us entrust the work of the Synod meeting to God, sustained by the communion of saints, invoking in particular the intercession of great evangelizers, among whom, with much affection, we ought to number Blessed John Paul II, whose long pontificate was an example of the new evangelization. Let us place ourselves under the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Star of the New Evangelization. With her let us invoke a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit, that from on high he may illumine the Synodal assembly and make it fruitful for the Church’s way ahead.

SHARED FROM RADIO VATICANA

POPE'S ANGELUS - REDISCOVER THE ROSARY
Vatican Radio REPORT - In his Angelus address, delivered at the close of Mass Sunday in St Peter’s square, Pope Benedict XVI invited faithful worldwide to rediscover the gift of the Holy Rosary, Mary’s school of prayer:

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

we now turn in prayer to Mary, whom we venerate today as Queen of the Holy Rosary. At this time, at the Shrine of Pompeii, the traditional "Supplication" is being elevated to which countless people throughout the world are joined. While we associate ourselves spiritually in this choral prayer, I would like to suggest to everyone to renew the prayer of the Rosary in the upcoming Year of Faith. With the Rosary, we allow ourselves to be guided by Mary, model of faith, in meditating on the mysteries of Christ, and day after day we are helped to assimilate the Gospel, so that it shapes all our lives. Therefore, in the wake of my predecessors, especially the Blessed John Paul II, who ten years ago gave us the Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae, I invite you to pray the Rosary personally, in the family and in the community, learning at the school of Mary, which leads us to Christ, the living centre of our faith.
I greet the English-speaking pilgrims here today! I ask all of you to pray for the work of the Synod on the New Evangelization, beginning today. Later this week, on the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council, the Year of Faith begins. May these events confirm us in the beauty and joy of our faith in Jesus Christ which comes to us through the Church! Entrusting these intentions to our Lady of the Rosary, I invoke upon all of you God’s abundant blessings!

SHARED FROM RADIO VATICANA

ASIA : INDIA : TALLEST STATUE OF JESUS UNVEILED AT COLLEGE

ASIA NEWS REPORT:
It measures 10 metres, weighs three tons and is located in a Christian Syro-Malankara college of Trivandrum, Kerala. Made of fiber, wax and resin, and covered with white marble, the figure has eyes that glow in the dark. The statue is in memory of a former student at the university, who died in a car accident.


Trivandrum (AsiaNews / Agencies) - At 10 meters, it is the tallest statue of Jesus ever made in India, and to see it you just have to visit Trivandrum (Kerala). The barefoot monument thus tops the charts beating a similar statue in Bangalore (Karnataka), "only" 9 meters high. Portrayed with outstretched arms, the statue of Christ rises over the Baselios College of Engineeering and Technology,, a leading Syro-Malankara Christian university. Moran Mor Baselios Cleemis Thottunkal, major archbishop of the community, presided over the unveiling ceremony on October 1 last.

Premachandran, the sculptor, carried out the work with a mixture of fibers, wax and resin, then covered it with white marble. The eyes of the statue glow in the dark, thanks to a special radio based color (a glow in the dark chemical element). It weighs three tons

As many as 35 people worked on it to complete it last month. Costing 1.5 million rupees (about 22,300 euro), the statue - which weighs three tons - was offered in memory of Midhun Markos, a former student of the college who died in a car accident, at the request of the parents.

SHARED FROM ASIA NEWS IT

EUROPE : IRELAND : DAY FOR LIFE - CHOOSE LIFE

BISHOPS CONFERENCE OF IRELAND RELEASE
03. Oct, 2012

Every human life is beautiful, Every human life is precious.
‘Choose Life!’ is the theme for this year’s Day for Life message in Ireland on 7 October. It promotes respect for human life from the moment of conception. For 2012, the Day for Life also marks the beginning of a special Month of Prayer dedicated to the theme ‘Choose Life!’ and which concludes on the Feast of All the Saints of Ireland.
Visit the dedicated Choose Life 2012 website
See below to download the Day for Life 2012 Pastoral Message, Choose Life!, in English, Irish and Polish and to download an A4 poster and a special Prayer for the Child in the Womb.
Life is precious
Amidst all the rich variety of life on earth, human life is cause for special wonder. We alone can contemplate the beauty around us. We alone can create art and music and literature to express this beauty. We alone can love one another.
Each human being has the capacity to experience and express this beauty and love in a unique way and, in doing so, to enrich others. We know that we did not create the beauty and the love around us. We know that we did not create ourselves.
When we say that human life is sacred we are recognising something that is sensed not only by religious people but by everyone who appreciates the wonder of human life. As human beings we depend on one another and so others have the right to expect something from us – it is the right to be recognised and respected and never to be treated as less than he or she is. That is true at every moment of our life – from its first beginnings to its natural end.
Our call to all: Choose life!
Our public representatives now face a critical decision. They can preserve current medical practice which guarantees necessary treatment for women in pregnancy while respecting the right to life of the baby. Or they can choose to introduce abortion to Ireland for the first time, with all the tragic consequences this will have.
Faced with this decision, we ask our public representatives to make a positive choice. Every human life is beautiful, every human life is precious and every human life is sacred: Choose life!
Summary of key points from Choose Life!
  • From the moment of conception, every human life is beautiful, every human life is precious and every human life is sacred.
  • Government does not have to provide for abortion in Ireland to comply with the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights.
  • Legislating for abortion denies the humanity and dignity of the child in the womb and violates the most basic human right of all – the right to life.
  • It is never necessary to target the life of the baby in the womb to save the life of the mother. Ireland, without abortion, is consistently one of the safest countries in the world in which to be pregnant.
  • Many women who have had abortions speak of their deep regret, and research also confirms the harm that abortion can cause women.
  • International experience shows that once abortion is legalised, even in apparently very limited situations, it becomes more widespread than was first intended.
Day for Life 2012 A4 poster
Day For Life Pastoral Message
Day For Life Pastoral Message in Irish
Day For Life Pastoral Message in Polish
Choose Life: Prayer for the Child in the Womb
SHARED FROM BISHOPS OF IRELAND

AUSTRALIA : 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF DARAMALAN COLLEGE


ARCHDIOCESE OF PERTH RELEASE
Daramalan College this month will hold events to celebrate its golden jubilee year.

On Saturday, 20 October, a reunion dinner for about 600 former students will be held at Rydges Lakeside. Next day, a jubilee Mass will be celebrated at 10.30am in McCowage Hall at the college. Main celebrant will be MSC Provincial Fr John Mulrooney. This will be followed by the blessing and opening of the Sharpe Extension, which will house new facilities for wood technology, fashion and textiles and graphics as well as a staff area. It forms Stage 1 in a program that will see the full replacement of the current design and technology facilities by the end of next year. Stage 2 will be a trade training centre funded substantially by the Federal Government to provide facilities for vocational courses in auto technology and metal technology. Building on this will begin in December.
From 1pm on Sunday, 21 October, in the college grounds there will be games of basketball, netball and rugby played against another MSC school Chevalier College, Bowral. In addition, fun activities for young children and food stalls will be available.
Two committees of past students and current staff have worked on the jubilee events and three past staff have written a book about Daramalan’s first 50 years which will be launched on the weekend. The college invites everyone to share in the celebrations.
SHARED FROM ARCHDIOCESE OF PERTH

AFRICA : MOZAMBIQUE : 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF PEACE

CISA REPORT
mozam
MAPUTO, October 5, 2012 (CISA) -Mozambique celebrated, October 4th, the 20th anniversary of the peace agreement that put an end to nearly two decades of civil war that erupted after the independence from Portugal.
The local Bishops, in a pastoral note sent to Fides Agency, entitled “Building democracy to preserve peace,” recall the contribution of the Church to keep the hope of the people alive, even in the darkest moments of the war, and efforts to reach agreement.
After emphasizing the progress made by Mozambique in the past 20 years of peace, the Bishops express their concerns about the state of democracy in the Country. It should be noted that the agreement signed in Rome 20 years ago states that local political parties have an internal democratic and transparent structure.
“However, we are faced with the paradox of parties that claim to be the defenders of democracy, but in practice, in their internal and ordinary conduct, are authoritarian,” said the note, which also observes how the persistence of the “tendency to absolutize political parties and the cult of its leaders personality, is not necessary to ensure peace in Mozambique.”
After 20 years since the peace agreement, the Bishops ask to strengthen democracy
The Bishops also claim that the so-called “Megaprojects” (economic development programs) should take into account the various environmental, social, economic, cultural and political problematics. “Mozambique is not, and cannot be transformed, in a supermarket” is stated in the note, which concludes with an appeal to overcome poverty, not only economic but also spiritual.
SHARED FROM CISA NEWS

AMERICA : COLOMBIA : DIALOGUE FOR PEACE WITH FARC

Agenzia Fides REPORT - The Archbishop of Tunja, former President of the Episcopal Conference of Colombia, His Exc. Mgr. Luis Augusto Castro Quiroga said that the Catholic hierarchy will contribute all that is needed to ensure progress of peace negotiations between the government and FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia). In the note sent to Fides Agency, Archbishop Castro Quiroga said, speaking to a local radio station, that: "The fact that the Church does not have a place at the negotiating table, does not mean that it is out, because the efforts of peace had and will have our collaboration as a religious institution."
The Archbishop added: "President Santos has chosen the people they need at the negotiating table and in accordance with the points at issue. But this does not mean that we were not present in this process. We have accompanied and did it with the utmost discretion, and will continue to support it all day. "
According to media reports, the representatives of the Church were the key collaborators in the exploratory talks that led the government and FARC to start peace talks. The government and FARC will open peace talks to end half a century of armed conflict, on October 15 in Oslo, Norway. This dialogue will continue then in Cuba, Chile and Venezuela as guests. (CE) (Agenzia Fides 05/10/2012)

TODAY'S MASS ONLINE : SUNDAY OCT. 7, 2012 - 27TH ORD. TIME - B

Genesis 2: 18 - 24


18 Then the LORD God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him."
19 So out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name.
20 The man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for the man there was not found a helper fit for him.
21 So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh;
22 and the rib which the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man.
23 Then the man said, "This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man."
24 Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh.
Psalms 128: 1 - 6


1 Blessed is every one who fears the LORD, who walks in his ways!
2 You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be happy, and it shall be well with you.
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table.
4 Lo, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the LORD.
5 The LORD bless you from Zion! May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life!
6 May you see your children's children! Peace be upon Israel!
Hebrews 2: 9 - 11


9 But we see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for every one.
10 For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through suffering.
11 For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified have all one origin. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brethren,
Mark 10: 2 - 16


2 And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?"
3 He answered them, "What did Moses command you?"
4 They said, "Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to put her away."
5 But Jesus said to them, "For your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment.
6 But from the beginning of creation, `God made them male and female.'
7 `For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife,
8 and the two shall become one flesh.' So they are no longer two but one flesh.
9 What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder."
10 And in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter.
11 And he said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another, commits adultery against her;
12 and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery."
13 And they were bringing children to him, that he might touch them; and the disciples rebuked them.
14 But when Jesus saw it he was indignant, and said to them, "Let the children come to me, do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God.
15 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it."
16 And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands upon them.

Oct 07, 2012 - 27th Sun Ordinary Time




TODAY'S SAINT: OCT. 7: OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY





Our Lady of the Rosary
Feast: October 7
Information:
Feast Day:
October 7

Apart from the signal defeat of the Albigensian heretics at the battle of Muret in 1213 which legend has attributed to the recitation of the Rosary by St. Dominic, it is believed that Heaven has on many occasions rewarded the faith of those who had recourse to this devotion in times of special danger. More particularly, the naval victory of Lepanto gained by Don John of Austria over the Turkish fleet on the first Sunday of October in 1571 responded wonderfully to the processions made at Rome on that same day by the members of the Rosary confraternity. St. Pius V thereupon ordered that a commemoration of the Rosary should be made upon that day, and at the request of the Dominican Order Gregory XIII in 1573 allowed this feast to be kept in all churches which possessed an altar dedicated to the Holy Rosary. In 1671 the observance of this festival was extended by Clement X to the whole of Spain, and somewhat later Clement XI after the important victory over the Turks gained by Prince Eugene on 6 August, 1716 (the feast of our Lady of the Snows), at Peterwardein in Hungary, commanded the feast of the Rosary to be celebrated by the universal Church. A set of "proper" lessons in the second nocturn were conceded by Benedict XIII. Leo XIII has since raised the feast to the rank of a double of the second class and has added to the Litany of Loreto the invocation "Queen of the Most Holy Rosary". On this feast, in every church in which the Rosary confraternity has been duly erected, a plenary indulgence toties quoties is granted upon certain conditions to all who visit therein the Rosary chapel or statue of Our Lady. This has been called the "Portiuncula" of the Rosary.