CATHOLIC WORLD NEWS: WED. MAY 5, 2010: HEADLINES-
VATICAN: POPE: SUPPORT PRIESTS, ESPECIALLY IN MOMENTS OF DIFFICULTY-
AFRICA: TANZANIA: FR KIMARYO APPOINTED BISHOP-
EUROPE: PORTUGAL: PODCASTS WITH PRAYER RECORDINGS TO PREPARE FOR VISIT-
ASIA: INDONESIA: CHURCH GROUPS TRYING TO IMPROVE WORK CONDITIONS-
AMERICA: CANADA: STUDENTS ON MARCH FOR LIFE-
AUSTRALIA: DIFFERENT APPROACH TO HEALING MASS CAUSES PROBLEMS-
VATICAN
POPE: SUPPORT PRIESTS, ESPECIALLY IN MOMENTS OF DIFFICULTY
VATICAN CITY, 5 MAY 2010 (VIS REPORT) - In today's general audience, which was celebrated in St. Peter's Square, the Pope focused his remarks on the priest's mission to sanctify humankind.
"Sanctifying a person means putting that person in contact with God", said the Pope, noting how "an essential part of a priest's grace is his gift, his task to establish such contact. This comes about through the announcement of the Word of God, ... and particularly intensely in the Sacraments".
"Over recent decades", he went on, "various schools of thought have tried to make the aspect of announcement prevail in the priest's mission and identity, separating it from sanctification. It has often been affirmed that there is a need to go beyond merely sacramental pastoral care".
"Ordained ministers", the Pope explained, "represent Christ, God's envoy, they ... continue His mission through the 'Word' and the 'Sacrament', which are the two main pillars of priestly service". In this context he identified the need "to reflect whether, in certain cases, having undervalued the faithful exercise of 'munus sanctificandi' has not perhaps led to a weakening of faith in the salvific effectiveness of the Sacraments and, in the final analysis, in the real action of Christ and His Spirit, through the Church, in the world".
"It is, therefore, important to promote appropriate catechesis in order to help the faithful understand the value of the Sacraments. But it is equally necessary, following the example of the saintly 'Cure of Ars', to be willing, generous and attentive in giving the faithful the treasures of grace that God has placed in our hands, treasures of which we are not masters but custodians and administrators. Especially in our own time - in which on the one hand, the faith seems to be weakening and, on the other, there is a profound need and widespread search for spirituality - it is necessary for each priest to remember that ... missionary announcement and worship are never separate, and that he must promote a healthy sacramental pastoral care in order to form the People of God and help them to fully experience the liturgy ... and the Sacraments as gratuitous gifts of God, free and effective aspects of His action of salvation".
The Pope went on to highlight how "each priest knows he is a tool necessary for God's salvific action, but nonetheless just a tool. This awareness must make him humble and generous in administering the Sacraments, respecting the canonical norms but also profoundly convinced that his mission is to ensure that mankind, united to Christ, can offer itself to God as a living and holy sacrifice acceptable to Him".
Addressing himself directly to priests the Holy Father encouraged them "to practice liturgy and worship with joy and love". He also renewed his call "to return to the confessional, as a place in which to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation, but also as a place in which 'to dwell' more frequently, that the faithful may find mercy, counsel and comfort, feel themselves to be loved and understood by God, and experience the presence of Divine Mercy alongside the real presence in the Eucharist".
"I would also like to invite each priest to celebrate and to live the Eucharist intensely", said Benedict XVI. Priests "are called to be ministers of this great Mystery, in the Sacrament and in life".
Likewise, "it is indispensable to strive after the moral perfection which must dwell in each authentically priestly heart", because "there is an example of faith and a witness of sanctity that the People of God expect from their pastors".
Pope Benedict concluded by calling on the faithful "to be aware of the great gift that priests represent for the Church and the world. Through their ministry the Lord continues to save mankind, to make Himself present, to sanctify. Give thanks to God and above all remain close to your priests with prayer and support, especially in moments of difficulty, that they may increasingly become pastors in keeping with God's heart".
AG/ VIS 20100505 (680)
APPEAL FOR NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, PRAISE OF MARRIAGE
VATICAN CITY, 5 MAY 2010 (VIS) - At the end of today's general audience the Holy Father reminded those present that the eighth Review Conference on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty began work in New York on 3 May.
"Progress towards combined and secure nuclear disarmament is closely connected to the full and rapid fulfilment of the relative international commitments", said the Pope. "Peace, in fact, rests on trust and on respect for promises made, not only on the balance of power. In this spirit I encourage the initiatives that seek progressive disarmament and areas free of nuclear weapons, with a view to their complete elimination from the planet.
"Finally, I exhort all those participating in the New York meeting to overcome historical conditioning and patiently to weave a political and economic web of peace in order to help integral human development and peoples' authentic aspirations".
Benedict also greeted a group of people who are due to participate in a congress on the family in Jonkoping, Sweden, later this month.
"Your message to the world is truly a message of joy, because God's gift to us of marriage and family life enables us to experience something of the infinite love that unites the three divine persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit", Pope Benedict told them speaking English. "Human beings, made in the image and likeness of God, are made for love; indeed at the core of our being, we long to love and to be loved in return".
"Marriage is truly an instrument of salvation, not only for married people but for the whole of society. Like any truly worthwhile goal, it places demands upon us, it challenges us, it calls us to be prepared to sacrifice our own interests for the good of the other. It requires us to exercise tolerance and to offer forgiveness. It invites us to nurture and protect the gift of new life. ... I encourage all of you in your efforts to promote a proper understanding and appreciation of the inestimable good that marriage and family life offer to human society". AG/ VIS 20100505 (360)
CARITAS IN VERITATE GUIDES ACADEMY FOR SOCIAL SCIENCES
VATICAN CITY, 5 MAY 2010 (VIS) - Today in the Holy See Press Office Mary Ann Glendon, president of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, presented a summary of the academy's sixteenth plenary assembly which took place in the Vatican's Casina Pio IV from 30 April to 4 May on the theme: "Crisis in a Global Economy. Re-planning the Journey".
Ms. Glendon pointed out that this was the first gathering of the academy since the publication of Benedict XVI's Encyclical "Caritas in veritate", and that the deliberations took account of the guidelines contained in that document. She also observed that, as the plenary assembly had coincided with the crisis in Greece, it "was marked by an analysis of recent events in a manner more immediate than is customary in the rhythms of academic life".
The three main themes on which the participants focused were: Financialisation of the Economy and of Common Life; The Consequences of the Crisis on the Poor, and Governance of Economic Activity.On the first of these subjects, the participants highlighted how "the fragility of the economic system was partly a consequence of over-reliance on speculative financial activities separated from productive activity in the real economy". Examining the consequences of the crisis on the poor, the academy noted that, "for the first time, our world will soon have one billion malnourished people".
"If one compares the relative cost of the financial bailouts to the amounts needed for basic nutrition, for example, one cannot avoid the conclusion that this crisis has distracted greatly from urgent questions of development", said Ms Glendon.
Finally, the president of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences reaffirmed that "the principles laid out in 'Caritas in veritate' about the need for stronger regulation of international finance were discussed with various concrete measures suggested in order to ensure greater transparency in financial instruments and to avoid the moral hazard problems arising from bailouts". ACAD-SS/ VIS 20100505 (330)
CARDINAL HUMMES, SPECIAL ENVOY TO EUCHARISTIC CONGRESS
VATICAN CITY, 5 MAY 2010 (VIS) - Made public today was a Letter in which the Holy Father appoints Cardinal Claudio Hummes O.F.M., prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, as his special envoy to the sixteenth Eucharistic Congress of Brazil, due to take place in the country's capital city of Brasilia from 13 to 16 May.
In the Letter, written in Latin and dated 19 April, the Pope expresses the hope that the event will prove fruitful and he entrusts the participants to Our Lady of Aparecida. BXVI-LETTER/ VIS 20100505 (100)
AUDIENCES
VATICAN CITY, 5 MAY 2010 (VIS) - The Holy Father yesterday received in audience Cardinal Joachim Meisner, archbishop of Cologne, Germany.AP/ VIS 20100505 (30)
OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
VATICAN CITY, 5 MAY 2010 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Fr. Jose Valdeci Santos Mendes of the clergy of the diocese Coroata, Brazil, pastor of the parish of "Nossa Senhora de Graca" at Arari, rector of the propedeutic seminary and co-ordinator for pastoral care in his diocese, as bishop of Brejo (area 23,340, population 475,000, Catholics 444,500, priests 25, religious 16), Brazil. The bishop-elect was born in Coroata in 1961 and ordained a priest in 1994. He succeeds Bishop Valter Carrijo S.D.S., whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.
AFRICA
TANZANIA: FR KIMARYO APPOINTED BISHOP
All Africa report. The Holy Father has appointed Fr Rogath Kimaryo of the Holy Ghost fathers as the new Bishop for Same diocese. The bishop elect has been the Pontifical administrator since of the diocese of Same since last year.
Fr. Kimaryo was born on October 30th 1956 in Rombo Parish in Moshi where he baptised. He attended Ubaa primary and Maua seminary in Moshi and later Mzumbe in Morogoro district.
He took his vows on September 30, 1983 in Nairobi, Kenya.
He studied philosophy in Kibosho seminary, Moshi and theology in Thomas Aquinas Major Seminary, Nairobi.
He was ordained priest in May 30, 1987 in Moshi.
He graduated from the Gregorian University, Rome, Italy
The newly appointed bishop has worked in various educational institutions including Tangaza college, a constituent of Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA), he was Rector of Sacred Heart seminary in Arusha, as well as teacher of Canon law at Segerea major Seminary.
Meanwhile, Monsignor Novatus Rugambwa of Tanzania has been appointed by Rome as the new nuncio to Angola, Sao Tome and Principe, replacing Don Angelo Becciu who ended his mission in Angola in September last year.
The New nuncio has had an illustrious life of service in the Church. Born in Bukoba, Northern Tanzania on 8th October 1957, he was ordained to the priesthood in July 1986.
He began working for the Diplomatic mission of the Holy See in 1991. He has since served in Panama, Republic of Congo, Pakistan, New Zealand and Indonesia. He has also worked as the undersecretary for the Pontifical Council for Pastoral care of migrants and itinerant people in the Vatican.
Archbishop Rugambwa, who is also the Titular bishop of Tagaria, is a gifted person who speaks several languages including English, French, Spanish, German, and Kiswahili among others. He therefore brings with him a wealth of experience and service to the Church of Angola, Sao Tome and Principe.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201005050144.html
EUROPE
PORTUGAL: PODCASTS WITH PRAYER RECORDINGS TO PREPARE FOR VISIT
Cath News report. Pope Benedict has made podcasts with prayer recordings in Portuguese for web-savvy Catholics in Portugal in the lead up to his visit there this month.
The first module will be available to download Tuesday from a website set up for the pope's four-day visit, http://www.passo-a-rezar.net/ , which means "Let's Get Praying", said an AFP report in the Sydney Morning Herald.
The "pioneer project" will feature prayers read by the pope and by leading Portuguese Roman Catholics, the country's bishops' conference said in a statement this week. http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=21115
ASIA
INDONESIA: CHURCH GROUPS TRYING TO IMPROVE WORK CONDITIONS
UCAN report — Concern over the hardships faced by many domestic workers, has prompted several Church groups in Jakarta archdiocese to offer programs aimed at raising political awareness and improving working conditions.
The Communion of Domestic Workers (Paperta), which was established by the archdiocese in 2006, now has more than 200 members. “We hope more domestic workers will join this communion,” Paperta coordinator Maria Gorethi told UCA News on May 4.
Improving domestic workers’ rights is the main purpose of Paperta. We also take them on outings or pilgrimages, and organize them to stage rallies urging the government to draft legislation for their protection.
“Through these programs, we also give advice and support to domestic workers working for Catholic families as well as those working in parish Churches and monasteries,” the Catholic laywoman said.
She said a typical maid is often required to do many chores such as cooking, laundry work, cleaning the house, and taking care of children. They are often required to work 12 hours a day, she added.
“This is too much, and as a result, many maids do not have time to socialize,” Gorethi added, expressing hope that Catholic families will not treat their domestic workers like that.
Maria Yoanita from the Mitra Imago Dei (partnership of the image of God), an organization dealing with domestic worker issues, said her group organizes regular meetings to make them aware of their rights. It also offers maids cookery classes and how to do laundry properly.
Yoanita said her group, “represents a form of Church contribution and support to domestic workers.” She also expressed her gratitude to the Church for paying serious attention to domestic worker issues.
Roosvita Gunawan, a member of the archdiocese’s Catholic Women of the Republic of Indonesia (WKRI), told UCA News that her group worked together with Paperta and Mitra Imago Dei in organizing a special gathering for domestic workers on May 2 in Sawangan, West Java province.
More than 150 Catholic, Muslim and Protestant domestic workers working for Catholic families, monasteries and parishes attended the event.
“The gathering was aimed at lifting their spirits and to encourage them to have self-confidence. It was also an opportunity where they could share their experiences with one another,” said Gunawan, who chaired the program.
She said her group will organize a similar program next year. “Domestic workers at the recent program were very enthusiastic and asked me to hold similar programs regularly,” she noted.
http://www.ucanews.com/2010/05/05/church-groups-lift-domestic-workers%e2%80%99-spirits
AMERICA
CANADA: STUDENTS ON MARCH FOR LIFE
Pope John Paul II, as part of what he called the New Evangelization, made an impassioned plea for Catholics, especially the young, to promote the dignity and the sanctity of all life. In response to the Holy Father’s call Michael and Jonathan will be walking across Canada, from Vancouver to Ottawa, as part of a Pro-life group called Crossroads. Founded in 1995 by a student at Franciscan University in Ohio, Crossroads is composed of small groups of college students who walk across Canada and the United States to raise awareness for the pro-life cause and work towards ending the tragedy of abortion.
During their 5500 kilometer walk, which will take them almost three months to complete, Michael and Jonathan will pray morning and evening prayer plus 20 decades of the rosary every day, attend daily Mass when possible, speak to Churches and youth groups across the country, and pray in front of abortion clinics in every major city they visit.
It will be the walk of a lifetime but it won’t be without sacrifices. In order to do the walk they will have to forgo their summer jobs and will be unable to meet the costs of their education next year. If you would like to help Jonathan and Michael in their mission, donations may be sent to Michael Hayden (attention: Walk for Life) at Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy, 18 Karol Wojtyla Square, Box 249, Barry’s Bay, ON K0J 1B0. Donations can also be made online through http://www.paypal.com/ and enter the following email:
mike.walks.for.life@gmail.com
AUSTRALIA
DIFFERENT APPROACH TO HEALING MASS CAUSES PROBLEMS
Cath News report. A foreign-trained priest who laid a mentally and physically disabled girl on an altar during a West Australian mass at the weekend and ordered her to walk has raised a furore among parishioners.
Although neither the priest nor parish is identified in a report in The West Australian, the newspaper cites the Vicar-General of Perth's Catholic Archdiocese Brian O'Loughlin saying the "bizarre and unusual service" was largely due to the priest's mental condition.
The priest was later escorted to a mental health clinic by police. The congregation is being counselled over the event, which left children and adults in tears. Monsignor O'Loughlin said it also highlighted that foreign-trained priests had a more spiritual approach, while Westerners had a more logical outlook and tended to turn to the spiritual when they could not understand concepts in other ways. He said the approach by African, Asian and Eastern European-trained priests was sometimes a "difficulty" but while it required adjustment, it was not a problem because overseas priests were an important addition and were welcomed by multicultural congregations.
Catherine Roatch, who saw the faith-healing service, said it appeared to be an attempted exorcism.
"He prayed in some gibberish and then started to demand that this girl speak as well as stand up," she is cited saying.
"The girl would not have even been able to comprehend, let alone follow instructions. It was very undignified for the young lady and she was just crying, howling at the altar.
"People were getting up and leaving. People were crying and they were angry. The children were terrified."
http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=21123
TODAY´S SAINT
St. Hilary of Arles
BISHOP
Feast: May 5
Information: Feast Day: May 5
Born: 400 at Lorraine
Died: 449
This saint was nobly born about the year 401, and was related to St. Honoratus of Arles, and of the same country in Gaul, which was probably Lorraine, or some other part of Austrasia. He was brought up in a manner suitable to his birth, in the study of the liberal arts, and of every branch of polite learning. especially of eloquence and philosophy. But how little value we ought to set on all things that appear great in the eyes of the world, he himself has taught us. "We are all equal," says he, "in Jesus Christ; and the highest degree of our nobility is to be of the number of the true servants of God. Neither science, nor birth, according to this world, can exalt us, but in proportion to our contempt of them." Before God had put these sentiments into his heart, he seems to have been not altogether insensible to the advantages of this world, in which he was raised to the highest dignities. His kinsman, St. Honoratus, who had forsaken his country to seek Christ in the solitude of the isle of Lerins, where he had founded a great monastery, was the instrument made use of by the Almighty to open his eyes. This holy man had always loved Hilary, and thought he could not give him more solid proof of his friendship than by endeavoring to gain him entirely to God. He therefore left his retirement for a few days to seek him out, and endeavored to move him by the same powerful, weighty reflections, which had made the deepest impression on his own mind, and induced him to break the chains of the world. "What floods of tears," says St. Hilary, "did this true friend shed to soften the hardness of my heart! How often did he embrace me with the most tender and compassionate affection, to obtain of me that I would take into serious consideration the salvation of my soul! Yet, by an unhappy victory, I still remained conqueror." Honoratus, finding his endeavors to wean him from the charms of a deceitful world ineffectual, had recourse to prayer, his ordinary refuge. "Well," said he to Hilary, "I will obtain of God, what you will not now grant me." Upon which they took leave of each other. Hilary, reflecting on what Honoratus had said to him, was not long before he began to feel a violent conflict within himself. "On one side," says he, "me-thought I saw the Lord calling me; on the other the world offering me its seducing charms and pleasures. How often did I embrace and reject, will and not will the same thing! But in the end Jesus Christ triumphed in me. And three days after Honoratus had left me, the mercy of God, solicited by his prayers, subdued my rebellious soul." He then went in person to seek St. Honoratus, and appeared before him as humble and tractable as the saint had left him haughty and indocile.
From this moment there appeared in Hilary that wonderful change which the Holy Ghost produces in a soul which he truly converts. His words, looks, and whole comportment breathed nothing but humility, patience, sweetness, mortification, and charity. Every one saw in him a man who began to labor in earnest to save his soul, and who had put his hand to the plough to look no more behind him, or to send a single thought alter v. hat he had left for Christ's sake. Aspiring to perfection, he sold all his several estates to his brother, and distributed all the money accruing from the sale among the poor, and the most indigent monasteries. Thus disengaged from the world, and naked, no less in the inward disposition of soul than in his exterior, he, like Abraham, took leave of his own country, and made the best of his way to Lerins; where from his first entrance he made it appear that he was worthy to live in the company of saints. He set out in the pursuit of monastic perfection with such zeal and fervor, as to become in a short time the pattern of those on whose instructions and example he came to form his own conduct. His application to prayer and mortification, and his watchfulness and care to avoid the smallest faults and imperfections, prepared him to receive the gift of tears. It is thought that his baptism was posterior to his retirement. St. Honoratus having been chosen archbishop of Arles, in 426, Hilary followed him to that city; but it was not long before his love of solitude occasioned his return to Lerins. All the holy inhabitants of that isle testified as great joy to receive him again, as he felt to see himself among them. But God, who had other designs upon him, did not permit him to enjoy long his beloved retirement. St. Honoratus begged his assistance, and the comfort of his company, and as he did not yield to entreaties, went himself to fetch him from Lerins. Soon after God called St. Honoratus to himself, his death happening in 428 or 429. Hilary, though sensibly afflicted for the loss of such a friend, rejoiced however to see himself at liberty, and set out directly for Lerins. But no sooner were the citizens apprized of his departure, than messengers posted after him with such expedition, that he was overtaken, brought back, and consecrated archbishop, though only twenty-nine years of age. In this high station the virtues which he had acquired in solitude shone with lustre to mankind. The higher he was exalted by his dignity, the more did he humble himself beneath all others in his heart. He reduced himself in every thing to the strictest bounds of necessity: and he had only one coat for winter and summer. He applied himself diligently to meditation on the holy scriptures, and preaching the word of God, was assiduous in prayer, watching, and fasting. He had his hours also for manual labor, with a view of gaming something for the poor; choosing such work as he could join with reading or prayer. He travelled always on foot, and had attained to so perfect an evenness of temper, that his mind seemed never ruffled with the least emotion of anger. He had an admirable talent in preaching. When he spoke before the learned of the world, his elocution, his accent, his discourse, his action, were such as the greatest orators justly admired, but despaired ever to come up to. Yet when he instructed the illiterate, he changed his manner of address, and proportioned his instructions to the capacities of the most simple and ignorant, though always supporting the dignity of the divine word by a maimer and expression suitable to its majesty. He preached the truth in its purity, without flattering the great. He had often in private admonished a certain judge in the province of a criminal partiality in the administration of justice, but without effect. One day the magistrate came into the church, attended by his officers, while the saint was preaching. The holy bishop broke off his sermon on the spot, and gave his surprised audience for reason, that he who had so often neglected the advice he had given him for his salvation, was not worthy to partake of the nourishment of the divine word. the judge no sooner heard his reflection, but withdrew in confusion, and the saint resumed his discourse Observing one day that many went out of the church immediately after the reading of the gospel, just as he was going to preach, he prevailed with them to return, by saying: "You will not so easily get out of hell, if you are once unhappily fallen into its dungeons." He had such a love for the poor, that to have the more to bestow on them, he lived himself in the greatest poverty: he never kept a horse, and labored hard in digging and manuring the ground, though educated according to the dignity of his family. To redeem captives, he caused the church plate to be sold, not excepting the sacred vessels; making use of patens and chalices of glass ill the celebration of the divine mysteries. If his compassion for the corporal miseries of the faithful was so tender, we may judge how much more he was moved to pity at their spiritual necessities. He bore the weak with tenderness, but never indulged the passions or sloth of any. When he put any one in a course of penance he was himself bathed in tears; whereby he troth excited the penitent to the like, and with ardent sighs and prayer obtained for him of God the grace of compunction and pardon. He visited the bishops of his province, and endeavored to make them walk in the perfect spirit of Christ, the prince of pastors. He established many monasteries and took particular care to enforce a strict observance of monastic discipline among them. He had a close friendship with St. Germanus, whom he called his father, and respected as an apostle. He presided in the council of Ries in 439, in the first council of Orange in 441, in the council of Vaison in 442, and probably in 443, in the second council of Arles, in all which several canons of discipline were framed.
His zeal exasperated several tepid persons; and some of these, by misconstruing his actions, gave the holy pope St. Leo a disadvantageous character of him. His zeal, indeed, had been on some occasions too hasty and precipitate: but this was owing in him to mistake, not to passion; for the circumstances of his actions, and of his eminent piety, oblige us to interpret his intention by the same spirit by which he governed himself in his whole conduct. This disagreement between St. Leo and St. Hilary proved a trial for the exercise of zeal in the former, and of patience in the latter, for his greater sanctification by humility, submission, and silence. Chelidonius, bishop of Besancon, had been deposed by St. Hilary Upon an allegation, that, before he was consecrated bishop, he had married a widow, and had condemned persons to death as magistrate; both which were looked upon as irregularities or disqualifications for holy orders. Chelidonius hereupon set out for Rome, to justify himself to the pope, St. Leo, who received his appeal from his metropolitan, and acquitted him of the irregularity with which he stood charged. St. Hilary, upon hearing that his suffragan was gone for Rome, followed him thither on foot, and in the midst of winter. The pope having assembled a council to judge this affair, St. Hilary took his seat among the other bishops that composed it: but from his not attempting to prove the irregularity which had been alleged against Chelidonius, the saint seemed to own that he had been imposed on as to the matter of fact. But he pretended, that the cause ought not to be judged otherwise than by commissaries deputed by the pope to take cognizance of it in the country that gave it birth, a point for which some Africans had contended. This plea was overruled, the contrary having been frequently practiced, when both parties could appear at Rome: though the manner of judging appeals is only a point of discipline, which may vary in different places. Another affair brought St. Hilary into a greater difficulty. Projectus, a bishop of his province, being sick, St. Hilary, upon information, hastened to his see, and ordained a new bishop: after which Projectus recovering, there were two bishops contending for the same see, and Hilary supported the last ordained; perhaps because the first might remain disabled for his functions. The author of St. Hilary's life does not clear up his conduct in this particular: but we cannot doubt of the sincerity of his intention. Moreover the discipline of the church in such matters was not at that time so clearly settled by the canons as it has been since. St. Hilary therefore imagined a metropolitan might have a discretionary power in such matters. However St. Leo rightly judged such an ordination irregular, liable to great inconveniences, and productive of schisms. Wherefore he forbade St. Hilary to ordain any bishops for the future. Our holy prelate cancelled his mistakes by his patience, and St. Leo, writing immediately after the saint's death, to his successor Ravennus, calls him,
That this saint never gave in to the Semi-Pelagian doctrine, though it hard not been then condemned by any decree of the pastors of the church, is clearly shown by Tillemont and Dom. Rivet. This is proved from several passages in his life by St. Honoratus; and in the Martyrologies of Rabanus and Notker it is mentioned that he vigorously exerted his zeal in bringing a light and in correcting the Pelagian heresy, which is taught in the conferences of Cassian. His exposition of the creed, commended by the ancients, is now lost: his homilies on all the feasts of the year were much esteemed, but are not known at present. The best edition of his works is given by John Salinas, regular canon of St. John Lateran, in Italy, in 1731.
SOURCE http://www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/H/sthilaryofarles.asp
TODAY´S GOSPEL
John 15: 1 - 8
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1 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.
2 Every branch of mine that bears no fruit, he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
3 You are already made clean by the word which I have spoken to you.
4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.
5 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
6 If a man does not abide in me, he is cast forth as a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned.
7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.
8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples.
