CATHOLIC NEWS WORLD : FRI. JAN. 6, 2012

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

VATICAN : POPE : 22 NEW CARDINALS - CONSISTORY FOR FEBRUARY

AMERICA : CANADA : POPE ELEVATES COLLINS TO CARDINAL

EUROPE : EVANGELISATION IN THE MALL - NEW FRONTIERS

AUSTRALIA : EPIHANY - MEANING OF THE FEAST

ASIA : BANGLADESH : MISSIONARY NUNS CELEBRATE 150 YEARS

AFRICA : SENEGAL : CARDINAL CALLS FOR PEACE

TODAY'S GOSPEL AND MASS ONLINE : FRI. JAN. 6, 2012

TODAY'S SAINT : JAN. 6 : EPIPHANY OF JESUS - 3 KINGS 

TODAY'S SAINT : JAN. 6 : ST. ANDRE BESSETTE

 

 

VATICAN : POPE : 22 NEW CARDINALS - CONSISTORY FOR FEBRUARY

At the midday Angelus for the celebration of the Feast of the Epiphany,

Pope Benedict XVI announced a consistory for February 18th next. The cardinals to be created are:

1. Msgr. Fernando Filoni, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples;

2. Msgr. Manuel Monteiro de Castro, Major Penitentiary;

3. Msgr. Santos Abril Y Castellò, Archpriest of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major;

4. Msgr Antonio Maria Veglio, President of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People;

5. Msgr. Giuseppe Bertelli, President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and President of the Governorate of the same State;

6. Msgr Francesco Coccopalmerio, President of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts;

7. Msgr JOÃO Braz de Aviz, Prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life;

8. Msgr Edwin O'Brien, Pro Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem;

9. Msgr. Domenico Calcagno, President of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See;

10. Msgr Giuseppe Versaldi, President of the Prefecture for Economic Affairs of the Holy See;

11. His Beatitude GEORGE Alencherry, Major Archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly of the Syro Malabar (India);

12. Msgr Thomas Christopher Collins, Archbishop of Toronto (Canada);

13. Msgr Dominik Duka, Archbishop of Prague (Czech Republic);

14. Msgr Willem Jacobus Eijk, Archbishop of Utrecht (Netherlands);

15. Msgr. Giuseppe Betori, Archbishop of Florence (Italy);

16. Msgr Timothy Michael Dolan, Archbishop of New York (United States);

17. Msgr. Rainer Maria Woelk, Archbishop of Berlin (Federal Republic of Germany);

18. Msgr John Tong Hon, Bishop of Hong Kong (China);

The Holy Father has also decided to raise to the dignity of cardinal a revered prelate, who carries out his ministry as Pastor and Father of the Church, and three worthy clergymen, who are distinguished for their commitment to serving the Church.

They are:

1. His Beatitude Lucian Muresan, Major Archbishop of Fagaras and Alba Julia of the Romanians (Romania);

2. Rev. Julien Ries, priest of the Diocese of Namur and professor emeritus of history of religions at the Catholic University of Louvain;

3. Fr. Prospero Grech, OSA, Professor Emeritus of various Roman universities and Consultant to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith;

4. Fr. Karl Becker, SJ, Professor Emeritus of the Pontifical Gregorian University, Consultant for many years the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

AMERICA : CANADA : POPE ELEVATES COLLINS TO CARDINAL

ARCHDIOCESE OF TORONTO RELEASE: POPE BENEDICT XVI ELEVATES ARCHBISHOP THOMAS COLLINS TO THE COLLEGE OF CARDINALS

TORONTO (January 6, 2012) – This morning following Mass at the Vatican, the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, announced that His Grace, Thomas Collins, Archbishop of Toronto, will be elevated to the College of Cardinals, an international group of principal advisors to the Pontiff.

Archbishop Collins commented on his appointment:

“I am deeply honoured that the Holy Father has called me to be a member of the College of Cardinals. I am grateful for the trust he has placed in me, and recognize this honour as a sign of his esteem for the role of Canada and of the Archdiocese of Toronto in the universal Church. I ask the people of the Archdiocese, whom I am privileged to serve as bishop, and all people in the community, to pray for me and for all who serve Our Lord through ministry in the Church."

Born and raised in Guelph, Ontario, Thomas Collins was ordained a priest in 1973. Pope John Paul II named him Bishop of St. Paul, Alberta in 1997 and Archbishop of Edmonton in 1999. Pope Benedict later appointed him as the 10th archbishop of Toronto on December 16, 2006.

The formal consistory, at which the new cardinals will be created, will take place February 18-19 in Rome. Cardinal-designate Collins will become the fourth cardinal in the 110-year history of the Archdiocese of Toronto and the 16th cardinal in the history of the Roman Catholic Church in Canada.

The College of Cardinals is convened at the discretion of the Holy Father to discuss issues of significance – most members serve on committees covering a variety of matters. When the papacy is vacant (ie. death of the pope), all cardinals under the age of 80 gather in Rome for a closed meeting, called a conclave, to elect a new pope.

The Archdiocese of Toronto is Canada’s largest diocese, stretching from Toronto north to Georgian Bay and from Oshawa to Mississauga. It is home to 1.9 million Catholics and 225 churches, with Mass celebrated in more than 30 different languages each week.

Photos and biographical information regarding Archbishop Collins’ appointment to the College of Cardinals can be found online at: SOURCE http://www.archtoronto.org/Posted by JesusCaritasEst at 1:49 PM 0 comments

EUROPE : EVANGELISATION IN THE MALL - NEW FRONTIERS

The Vatican Paper L'Obsservatore Romano reported that Archbishop Rino Fisichella, the President of the Pontifical Council for the promotion of new evangelisation, celebrated Mass in one of Rome's largest Malls. Bringing the Good News of Christ to Shopping Malls and other largely populated areas has become the reality of the new evangelisation. He is quoted as saying, "«Every Mall is located within the territory of the parish. These are spaces of new evangelisation that the pastors cannot ignore. Is an experience — continued monsignor Fisichella — which I did myself in Rome, on the last Sunday before Christmas, invited by the parish priest of the area in which lies a large shopping mall. I met so many people walking to the shops. And then I celebrated mass ". Moreover, today the Mall is not much different from the Agora of São Paulo. "The Apostle of the Gentiles walking down the streets of Athens was many altars erected to the gods. Also the "unknown God". Encountering the philosophers Paul announces to have come to bring you the very God who do not know. And the gleam of the malls could lead people to be able to drive out their problems. But it is not so. The men have all in the heart of God and the nostalgia go always to its research '." Another Archbishop , Nosiglia, agrees, " I think it's necessary to resume the threads of dialogue between the generations '. And even the Church must boldly walking on new paths and embark sin here. «Maybe we should really open our speakers also in shopping centers and places of entertainment, or propose feasible in educational services cooperative form at local speakers or religious congregations. " (IMAGE SOURCE: GOOGLE)

AUSTRALIA : EPIHANY - MEANING OF THE FEAST

Catholic Communications, Sydney Archdiocese REPORT
6 Jan 2012

This feast on 6 January celebrates the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles and the visit of the Magi or Wise Men to the Christ Child.
The name "Epiphany" comes from the Greek word "Epiphania" which means to show, make known or reveal.
The celebration originated in the Eastern Church in AD 361, beginning as a commemoration of the birth of Christ before other meanings were added - the visit of the three Magi or Wise Men, Christ's Baptism in the Jordan River and even his first miracle at the wedding at Cana. These three events are central to the definition of Epiphany.
Falling within Christmastide, the Epiphany solemnity on this day traditionally marks the end of the Twelve Days of Christmas.
While some Greek Orthodox Churches still observe the Epiphany celebration as the Nativity of Jesus, the majority of the Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches focus on the visit of the Magi and Jesus' Baptism. The significance behind the visit of the Magi is the revelation of Christ as "Lord and King".

The Wise Men were the first Gentiles to publicly recognise the divinity of Jesus, by way of their offerings of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
The Holy Father, Pope Benedict XV1 has encouraged Christians to continue living the joy and mystery of Christmas in preparation of the Feast of the Epiphany.
This week he told his weekly audience in St Peter's, Rome; "Christmas is the feast when God becomes so close to human beings that he shares the same fact of being born to reveal to them their deepest dignity, that of being sons and daughters of God.
"In that way, the dream of humanity that began in paradise - we want to be like God - is realised in an unexpected way: not because of the greatness of man, who cannot make himself God, but through the humility of God, who descends," Pope Benedict said.
The Holy Father said that if at Christmas Jesus is born and almost "hidden" in human form in the manger in Bethlehem, at Epiphany he is revealed to the Three Kings, and the world.

He also encouraged Christians to keep the Christmas spirit and contemplate God revealing himself to humanity and radiating "the joy born of knowing how close God is to us".
Christmas, Epiphany and the Baptism of the Lord are invitations to become more aware of the responsibility each Christian has to bring the light of Christ to the world, Pope Benedict said.
He said the feasts are also an invitation to welcome Christ into one's heart once again and strengthen a commitment to imitating him, so that "his feelings, thoughts and actions are our feelings, thoughts and actions.
The Holy Father will celebrate the Baptism of the Lord by baptising babies in the Sistine Chapel on Sunday, 8 January.
http://www.sydneycatholic.org/news/latest_news/2012/201216_1098.shtml

ASIA : BANGLADESH : MISSIONARY NUNS CELEBRATE 150 YEARS

UCAN REPORT: Pledge to encourage more lay people to do mission work

By Sumon Corraya, Dhaka
Bangladesh
January 5, 2012

Nuns from the Congregation of Our Lady of the Missions (RNDM) celebrated the 150th anniversary of the foundation of their order at their provincial headquarters in Dhaka yesterday.

Around 400 Catholics including Holy Cross Archbishop Patrick D’Rozario of Dhaka, Holy Cross Bishop Moses Costa of Chittagong, Oblate Bishop Bejoy D’Cruze of Sylhet, and the state minister for cultural affairs Promod Mankin attended the celebrations.
The day included a Holy Eucharistic celebration and a cultural program.
Archbishop D’Rozario told the gathering in his homily that the congregation has acquired many treasures to enrich the Church in days past.
“RNDM nuns are keen to comply with Church teachings and are devoted in missionary spirit. We congratulate them on this anniversary,” the prelate said.
The religious order has been running schools, orphanages and sewing centers, and has undertaken many pastoral ministries to serve people in Bangladesh since the arrival of the first missionary nuns in 1882.
It has a total of 114 local and foreign nuns working from 15 convents in the country.
Local superior Sister Prova Mary Karmoker said her congregation plans to set up an ‘RNDM Associate’ organization soon to involve laypeople in missionary services.
http://www.ucanews.com/2012/01/05/missionary-nuns-mark-anniversary/

AFRICA : SENEGAL : CARDINAL CALLS FOR PEACE

CISA REPORT: DAKAR, January 6, 2012 (CISA) -Cardinal Theodore Adrien Sarr has called for constructive dialogue between the government of Senegal and the rebels in Casamance.
The Archbishop of Dakar in Senegal, Cardinal Theodore Adrien Sarr, called on the government and the rebels of the Casamance Movement of Democratic Forces who are fighting for the independence of the Casamance region to end the conflict.
The cardinal made the call on Sunday, January 1 during holy mass in Casamance. He said the conflict had dragged on for so long and had killed and displaced many people in addition to destroying property, according to Vatican Radio -Africa.
The country’s president Abdoulaye Wade announced in his New Year message that his government was considering an amnesty for the rebel leaders, Salif Sadio and Ousmane Dabo, in exchange for peace.
He promised to facilitate the process of social reintegration for the rebel fighters after the disarmament and demobilization.
The rebels have been fighting the government since 1982. Last month they ambushed and killed 30 government soldiers and took five as prisoners of war.
http://www.cisanewsafrica.com/?p=3786

TODAY'S GOSPEL AND MASS ONLINE : FRI. JAN. 6, 2012

Mark 1: 7 - 11
7	And he preached, saying, "After me comes he who is mightier than I, the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.
8	I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."
9	In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.
10	And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens opened and the Spirit descending upon him like a dove;
11	and a voice came from heaven, "Thou art my beloved Son; with thee I am well pleased."

TODAY'S SAINT : JAN. 6 : EPIPHANY OF JESUS - 3 KINGS

Epiphany of the Lord

Feast: January 6

Information: Feast Day: January 6

EPIPHANY, which in the original Greek signifies appearance or manifestation, as St. Austin observes, is a festival principally solemnised in honour of the discovery Jesus Christ made of himself to the Magi, or wise men; who, soon after his birth, by a particular inspiration of Almighty God, came to adore him and bring him presents. Two other manifestations of our Lord are jointly commemorated on this day in the office of the church: that at his baptism, when the Holy Ghost descended on him in the visible form of a dove, and a voice from heaven was heard at the same time: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." The third manifestation was that of his divine power at the performance of his first miracle, the changing of water into wine, at the marriage at Cana, "by which he manifested his glory, and his disciples believed in him." Upon so many accounts ought this festival to challenge a more than ordinary regard and veneration; but from none more than us Gentiles, who, in the persons of the wise men, our first-fruits and forerunners, were on this day called to the faith and worship of the true God. The call of the Gentiles had been foretold for many ages before in the clearest terms. David and Isaias abound with predictions of this import; the like is found in the other prophets; but their completion was a mercy reserved for the times of the Messiah. It was to him, who was also the consubstantial Son of God, that the eternal Father had made the promise of all "nations for his inheritance"; who being born the spiritual king of the whole world, for the salvation of "all men," would therefore manifest his coming both to those that "were near, and those that were afar off," that is, both to Jew and Gentile. Upon his birth, angels were dispatched ambassadors to the Jews, in the persons of the poor shepherds, and a star was the divine messenger on this important errand to the Gentiles of the East; conformably to Balaam's prophecy, who foretold the coming of the Messias by that sign. The summons of the Gentiles to Bethlehem to pay homage to the world's Redeemer was obeyed by several whom the Scripture mentions under the name and title of , or wise men; but is silent as to their number. The general opinion, supported by the authority of St. Leo, Caesarius, Bede, and others, declares for three. However, the number was small, comparatively to those many others that saw that star, no less than the wise men, but paid no regard to this voice of heaven: admiring, no doubt, its uncommon brightness, but culpably ignorant of the divine call it, or hardening their hearts against its salutary impressions, overcome by their passions, and the dictates of self-love. In like manner do Christians, from the same cause, turn a deaf ear to the voice of the divine grace in their souls, and harden their hearts against it in such numbers, that, notwithstanding their call, their graces, and the mysteries wrought in their favour, it is to be feared that even among many "are called, but few are chosen." It was the case with the Jews, "with the most of whom," St. Paul says, "God was not well pleased." The wise men being come, by the guidance of the star, into Jerusalem, or near it, it there disappears: whereupon they reasonably suppose they are come to their journey's end, and upon the point of being blessed with the sight of the new-born king: that, on their entering the royal city, they shall in every street and corner hear the acclamations of a happy people, and learn with ease the way to the royal palace, made famous to all posterity by the birth of their king and Saviour. But to their great surprise there appears not the least sign of any such solemnity. The court and city go quietly on in seeking their pleasure and profit! and in this unexpected juncture what shall these weary travellers do? Were they governed by human prudence, this disappointment is enough to make them abandon their design, and retreat as privately as they can to screen their reputation, and avoid the raillery of the populace, as well as to prevent the resentment of the most zealous of tyrants, already infamous for blood. But true virtue makes trials the matter and occasion of its most glorious triumphs. Seeming to be forsaken by God, on their being deprived of extraordinary, they have recourse to the ordinary means of information. Steady in the resolution of following the divine call, and fearless of danger, they inquire in the city with equal confidence and humility, and pursue their inquiry in the very court of Herod himself: "Where is he that is born king of the Jews? " And does not their conduct teach us, under all difficulties of the spiritual kind, to have recourse to those God has appointed to be our spiritual guides, for their advice and direction? To "obey and be subject to them," that so God may lead us to himself, as he guided the wise men to Bethlehem by the directions of the priests of the Jewish church. The whole nation of the Jews, on account of Jacob's and Danial's prophecies, were then in the highest expectation of the Messiah's appearance among them; the place of whose birth having been also foretold, the wise men, by the interposition of Herod's authority, quickly learned, from the unanimous voice of the Sanhedrim, or great council of the Jews, that Bethlehem was the place which was to be honoured with his birth, as having been pointed out by the prophet Micheas several ages before. How sweet and adorable is the conduct of divine providence! He teaches saints his will by the mouths of impious ministers, and furnishes Gentiles with the means of admonishing and confounding the blindness of the Jews. But graces are lost on carnal and hardened souls. Herod had then reigned upwards of thirty years; a monster of cruelty, ambition, craft, and dissimulation; old age and sickness had at that time exasperated his jealous mind in an unusual manner. He dreaded nothing so much as the appearance of the Messiah, whom the generality then expected under the notion of a temporal prince, and whom he could consider in no other light than that of a rival and pretender to his crown; so no wonder that he was startled at the news of his birth. All Jerusalem, likewise, instead of rejoicing at such happy tidings, were alarmed and disturbed together with him. We abhor their baseness; but do not we, at a distance from courts, betray several symptoms of the baneful influence of human respects running counter to our duty? Likewise in Herod we see how extravagantly blind and foolish ambition is. The divine infant came not to deprive Herod of his earthly kingdom, but to offer him one that is eternal; and to teach him a holy contempt of all worldly pomp and grandeur. Again, how senseless and extravagant a folly was it to form designs against those of God himself! who confounds the wisdom of the world, baffles the vain projects of men, and laughs their policy to scorn. Are there no Herods nowadays? Persons who are enemies to the spiritual kingdom of Christ in their hearts ? The tyrant, to ward off the blow he seemed threatened with, has recourse to his usual arts of craft and dissimulation. He pretends a no less ardent desire of paying homage to the new-born king, and covers his impious design of taking away his life under the specious pretext of going himself in person to adore him. Wherefore, after particular examination about the time when the wise men first saw this star, and a strict charge to come back and inform him where the child was to be found, he dismissed them to the place determined by the chief priests and scribes. Herod was then near his death; but as a man lives, such does he usually die. The near prospect of eternity seldom operates in so salutary a manner on habitual sinners as to produce in them a true and sincere change of heart. The wise men readily complied with the voice of the Sanhedrim, notwithstanding the little encouragement these Jewish leaders afford them from their own example to persist in their search; for not one single priest or scribe is disposed to bear them company in seeking after, and paying due homage to, their own king. The truths and maxims of religion depend not on the morals of those that preach them; they spring from a higher source—the wisdom and veracity of God himself. When, therefore, a message comes undoubtedly from God, the misdemeanours of him that immediately conveys it to us can be no just plea or excuse for our failing to comply with it. As, on the other side, an exact and ready compliance will then be a better proof of our faith and confidence in God, and so much the more recommend us to his special conduct and protection, as it did the wise men. For no sooner had they left Jerusalem, but, to encourage their faith and zeal, and to direct their travels, God was pleased to show them the star again, which they had seen in the East, and which continued to go before them till it conducted them to the very place where they were to see and adore their God and Saviour. Here its ceasing to advance, and probably sinking lower in the air, tells them in its mute language: "Here shall you find the new-born king." The holy men, with an unshaken and steady faith, and in transports of spiritual joy, entered the poor cottage, rendered more glorious by this birth than the most sumptuous stately palace in the universe, and finding the child with his mother, they prostrate themselves, they adore him, they pour forth their souls in his presence in the deepest sentiments of praise, thanksgiving, and a total sacrifice of themselves. So far from being shocked at the poverty of the place, and at his unkingly appearance, their faith rises and gathers strength on the sight of obstacles which, humanly speaking, should extinguish it. It captivates their understanding; it penetrates these curtains of poverty, infancy, weakness, and abjection; it casts them on their faces, as unworthy to look up to this star, this God of Jacob; they confess him under this disguise to be the only and eternal God: they own the excess of his goodness in becoming man, and the excess of human misery which requires for its relief so great a humiliation of the Lord of glory. St. Leo thus extols their faith and devotion: "When a star had conducted them to adore Jesus they did not find him commanding devils, or raising the dead, or restoring sight to the blind, or speech to the dumb, or employed in any divine actions; but a silent babe, under the care of a solicitous mother, giving no sign of power, but exhibiting a miracle of humility." The Magi, pursuant to the custom of the eastern nations, where the persons of great princes are not to be approached without presents, present to Jesus, as a token of homage, the richest produce their countries afforded, gold, frankincense, and myrrh— gold, as an acknowledgment of his regal power; incense, as a confession of his Godhead; and myrrh, as a testimony that he was become man for the redemption of the world. The holy kings being about to return home, God, who saw the hypocrisy and malicious designs of Herod, by a particular intimation diverted them from their purpose of carrying back word to Jerusalem where the child was to be found. So, to complete their fidelity and grace, they returned not to Herod's court; but, leaving their hearts with their infant Saviour, took another road back into their own country. In like manner, if we would persevere in the possession of the graces bestowed on us, we must resolve from this day to hold no correspondence with a sinful world, the irreconcilable enemy to Jesus Christ; but to take a way that lies a distance from it, I mean that which is marked out to us by the saving maxims of the gospel. And pursuing this with an unshaken confidence in his grace and merits, we shall safely arrive at our heavenly country. It has never been questioned but that the holy Magi spent the rest of their lives in the fervent service of God. The ancient author of the imperfect comment on St. Matthew, among the works of St. Chrysostom, says they were afterwards baptized in Persia by St. Thomas the apostle, and became themselves preachers of the gospel. Their bodies were said to have been translated to Constantinople under the first Christian emperors. From thence they were conveyed to Milan, where the place in which they were deposited is still shown in the Dominicans' church of that city. The emperor Frederick Barbarossa having taken Milan, caused them to be translated to Cologne in Germany, in the twelfth century.

SOURCE: http://www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/E/epiphanyofthelord.asp#ixzz1ifzjXEwl