VATICAN : POPE : FIND INNER PEACE IN GOD - NEW YEAR'S MESSAGE
PRAYER - MARY MOTHER OF GOD NOVENA - SHARE
HOMILY FULL TEXT - BLESSED ARE THE
PEACEMAKERS
VATICAN RADIO REPORT: Dear Brothers and Sisters,
“May God bless us and make his face to shine upon us.” We proclaimed these words from Psalm 66 after hearing in the first reading the ancient priestly blessing upon the people of the covenant. It is especially significant that at the start of every new year God sheds upon us, his people, the light of his Holy Name, the Name pronounced three times in the solemn form of biblical blessing. Nor is it less significant that to the Word of God – who “became flesh and dwelt among us” (Jn 1:14) as “the true light that enlightens every man” (1:9) – is given, as today’s Gospel tells us, the Name of Jesus eight days after his birth (cf. Lk 2:21).
It is in this Name that we are gathered here today. I cordially greet all present, beginning with the Ambassadors of the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See. I greet with affection Cardinal Bertone, my Secretary of State, and Cardinal Turkson, with all the officials of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace; I am particularly grateful to them for their effort to spread the Message for the World Day of Peace, which this year has as its theme “Blessed are the Peacemakers”.
Although the world is sadly marked by “hotbeds of tension and conflict caused by growing instances of inequality between rich and poor, by the prevalence of a selfish and individualistic mindset which also finds expression in an unregulated financial capitalism,” as well as by various forms of terrorism and crime, I am convinced that “the many different efforts at peacemaking which abound in our world testify to mankind’s innate vocation to peace. In every person the desire for peace is an essential aspiration which coincides in a certain way with the desire for a full, happy and successful human life. In other words, the desire for peace corresponds to a fundamental moral principle, namely, the duty and right to an integral social and communitarian development, which is part of God’s plan for mankind. Man is made for the peace which is God’s gift. All of this led me to draw inspiration for this Message from the words of Jesus Christ: ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God’ (Mt 5:9)” (Message, 1). This beatitude “tells us that peace is both a messianic gift and the fruit of human effort … It is peace with God through a life lived according to his will. It is interior peace with oneself, and exterior peace with our neighbours and all creation” (ibid., 2, 3). Indeed, peace is the supreme good to ask as a gift from God and, at the same time, that which is to be built with our every effort.
We may ask ourselves: what is the basis, the origin, the root of peace? How can we experience that peace within ourselves, in spite of problems, darkness and anxieties? The reply is given to us by the readings of today’s liturgy. The biblical texts, especially the one just read from the Gospel of Luke, ask us to contemplate the interior peace of Mary, the Mother of Jesus. During the days in which “she gave birth to her first-born son” (Lk 2:7), many unexpected things occurred: not only the birth of the Son but, even before, the tiring journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem, not finding room at the inn, the search for a chance place to stay for the night; then the song of the angels and the unexpected visit of the shepherds. In all this, however, Mary remains even tempered, she does not get agitated, she is not overcome by events greater than herself; in silence she considers what happens, keeping it in her mind and heart, and pondering it calmly and serenely. This is the interior peace which we ought to have amid the sometimes tumultuous and confusing events of history, events whose meaning we often do not grasp and which disconcert us.
The Gospel passage finishes with a mention of the circumcision of Jesus. According to the Law of Moses, eight days after birth, baby boys were to be circumcised and then given their name. Through his messenger, God himself had said to Mary – as well as to Joseph – that the Name to be given to the child was “Jesus” (cf. Mt 1:21; Lk 1:31); and so it came to be. The Name which God had already chosen, even before the child had been conceived, is now officially conferred upon him at the moment of circumcision. This also changes Mary’s identity once and for all: she becomes “the mother of Jesus”, that is the mother of the Saviour, of Christ, of the Lord. Jesus is not a man like any other, but the Word of God, one of the Divine Persons, the Son of God: therefore the Church has given Mary the title Theotokos or Mother of God.
The first reading reminds us that peace is a gift from God and is linked to the splendour of the face of God, according to the text from the Book of Numbers, which hands down the blessing used by the priests of the People of Israel in their liturgical assemblies. This blessing repeats three times the Holy Name of God, a Name not to be spoken, and each time it is linked to two words indicating an action in favour of man: “The Lord bless you and keep you: the Lord make his face to shine upon you: the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace” (6:24-26). So peace is the summit of these six actions of God in our favour, in which he turns towards us the splendour of his face.
For sacred Scripture, contemplating the face of God is the greatest happiness: “You gladden him with the joy of your face” (Ps 21:7). From the contemplation of the face of God are born joy, security and peace. But what does it mean concretely to contemplate the face of the Lord, as understood in the New Testament? It means knowing him directly, in so far as is possible in this life, through Jesus Christ in whom he is revealed. To rejoice in the splendour of God’s face means penetrating the mystery of his Name made known to us in Jesus, understanding something of his interior life and of his will, so that we can live according to his plan of love for humanity. In the second reading, taken from the Letter to the Galatians (4:4-7), Saint Paul says as much as he describes the Spirit who, in our inmost hearts, cries: “Abba! Father!” It is the cry that rises from the contemplation of the true face of God, from the revelation of the mystery of his Name. Jesus declares, “I have manifested thy name to men” (Jn 17:6). God’s Son made man has let us know the Father, he has let us know the hidden face of the Father through his visible human face; by the gift of the Holy Spirit poured into our hearts, he has led us to understand that, in him, we too are children of God, as Saint Paul says in the passage we have just heard: “The proof that you are sons is that God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts: the Spirit that cries, ‘Abba, Father’” (Gal 4:6).
Here, dear brothers and sisters, is the foundation of our peace: the certainty of contemplating in Jesus Christ the splendour of the face of God the Father, of being sons in the Son, and thus of having, on life’s journey, the same security that a child feels in the arms of a loving and all-powerful Father. The splendour of the face of God, shining upon us and granting us peace, is the manifestation of his fatherhood: the Lord turns his face to us, he reveals himself as our Father and grants us peace. Here is the principle of that profound peace – “peace with God” – which is firmly linked to faith and grace, as Saint Paul tells the Christians of Rome (cf. Rom 5:2). Nothing can take this peace from believers, not even the difficulties and sufferings of life. Indeed, sufferings, trials and darkness do not undermine but build up our hope, a hope which does not deceive because “God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us” (5:5).
May the Virgin Mary, whom today we venerate with the title of Mother of God, help us to contemplate the face of Jesus, the Prince of Peace. May she sustain us and accompany us in this New Year: and may she obtain for us and for the whole world the gift of peace. Amen!
ANGELUS ADDRESS - NEW YEAR A JOURNEY TO PEACE
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Happy New Year to all! On this first day of 2013, I would like God’s blessing to be extended to every man and every woman in the world. I do this with the ancient formula contained in Sacred Scripture: "The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and show thee mercy. The Lord turn his face to you and give you peace "(Numbers 6:24-26).
Such as light and heat from the sun are a blessing to the earth, so the light of God is for humanity, when He shines His face upon it. This happened with the birth of Jesus Christ! God hath shown us the brilliance of His face: at the beginning in a very humble, hidden way - in Bethlehem, only Mary and Joseph and some shepherds were witnesses to this revelation -; but little by little, like the sun from dawn comes to noon, the light of Christ has grown and spread everywhere. Even in the short time of his earthly life, Jesus of Nazareth made the face of God shine in the Holy Land, and then, through the Church animated by his Spirit, extended to all peoples the Gospel of peace. "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favour rests" (Lk 2:14). This is the song of the angels at Christmas, and the song of the Christians in every clime, a song from the hearts and lips which passes into concrete actions, actions of love that build dialogue, understanding and reconciliation.
For this, eight days after Christmas, when the Church, like the Virgin Mother Mary, shows the world the infant Jesus, the Prince of Peace, we celebrate the World Day of Peace. Yes, that Child, Who is the Word of God made flesh, came to give men a peace which the world can not give (cf. Jn 14:27). His mission is to break down the "dividing wall of hostility" (Eph 2:14). And when, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, He proclaims his "Beatitudes", among them there is also "blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God" (Mt 5:9). Who are the peacemakers? They are all those who, day by day, try to overcome evil with good, with the power of truth, with the weapons of prayer and forgiveness, with honest and well done work, with scientific research at the service of life, with the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. The peacemakers are many, but they are not loud. As leaven in dough, they raise humanity according to God's plan.
In this first Angelus of the new year, we ask the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, to bless us, like a mother blesses her children who must leave on a trip. A new year is like a journey: with the light and grace of God, may it be a path to peace for every person and every family, for each country and for the whole world.
AFTER THE ANGELUS
Dear brothers and sisters!
I share with all the most cordial good wishes for the new year: may it be a really good year, and it will be if we accept in us and among us, the love that Christ has given us. With gratitude I express my best wishes to the President of the Italian Republic and to the entire nation, as well as to other authorities who have sent me greetings.
I renew my affectionate greeting to the young people who came to Rome for the European meeting of the Taizé Community. I express my spiritual closeness to the ecclesial initiatives surrounding this World Day of Peace: I think, in particular, of the national March which took place last night in Lecce (Italy), as well as (this morning’s march) here in Rome, animated by the Community of Sant 'Egidio. I greet the members of the Family Love Movement who remained last night in prayer vigils in St. Peter's Square, in Milan and in L'Aquila. To all I repeat the words of Jesus: "Blessed are the peacemakers"!
Greetings to English speaking pilgrims:
I am pleased to greet all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors present today for this prayer. Today, New Year’s Day, we celebrate the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. With affectionate trust, Our Lady believed the message revealed to her by the angel’s word and bore Jesus Christ, true God and true man. May her powerful intercession bring you a happy and prosperous New Year!
VATICAN RADIO REPORT: Dear Brothers and Sisters,
“May God bless us and make his face to shine upon us.” We proclaimed these words from Psalm 66 after hearing in the first reading the ancient priestly blessing upon the people of the covenant. It is especially significant that at the start of every new year God sheds upon us, his people, the light of his Holy Name, the Name pronounced three times in the solemn form of biblical blessing. Nor is it less significant that to the Word of God – who “became flesh and dwelt among us” (Jn 1:14) as “the true light that enlightens every man” (1:9) – is given, as today’s Gospel tells us, the Name of Jesus eight days after his birth (cf. Lk 2:21).
It is in this Name that we are gathered here today. I cordially greet all present, beginning with the Ambassadors of the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See. I greet with affection Cardinal Bertone, my Secretary of State, and Cardinal Turkson, with all the officials of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace; I am particularly grateful to them for their effort to spread the Message for the World Day of Peace, which this year has as its theme “Blessed are the Peacemakers”.
Although the world is sadly marked by “hotbeds of tension and conflict caused by growing instances of inequality between rich and poor, by the prevalence of a selfish and individualistic mindset which also finds expression in an unregulated financial capitalism,” as well as by various forms of terrorism and crime, I am convinced that “the many different efforts at peacemaking which abound in our world testify to mankind’s innate vocation to peace. In every person the desire for peace is an essential aspiration which coincides in a certain way with the desire for a full, happy and successful human life. In other words, the desire for peace corresponds to a fundamental moral principle, namely, the duty and right to an integral social and communitarian development, which is part of God’s plan for mankind. Man is made for the peace which is God’s gift. All of this led me to draw inspiration for this Message from the words of Jesus Christ: ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God’ (Mt 5:9)” (Message, 1). This beatitude “tells us that peace is both a messianic gift and the fruit of human effort … It is peace with God through a life lived according to his will. It is interior peace with oneself, and exterior peace with our neighbours and all creation” (ibid., 2, 3). Indeed, peace is the supreme good to ask as a gift from God and, at the same time, that which is to be built with our every effort.
We may ask ourselves: what is the basis, the origin, the root of peace? How can we experience that peace within ourselves, in spite of problems, darkness and anxieties? The reply is given to us by the readings of today’s liturgy. The biblical texts, especially the one just read from the Gospel of Luke, ask us to contemplate the interior peace of Mary, the Mother of Jesus. During the days in which “she gave birth to her first-born son” (Lk 2:7), many unexpected things occurred: not only the birth of the Son but, even before, the tiring journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem, not finding room at the inn, the search for a chance place to stay for the night; then the song of the angels and the unexpected visit of the shepherds. In all this, however, Mary remains even tempered, she does not get agitated, she is not overcome by events greater than herself; in silence she considers what happens, keeping it in her mind and heart, and pondering it calmly and serenely. This is the interior peace which we ought to have amid the sometimes tumultuous and confusing events of history, events whose meaning we often do not grasp and which disconcert us.
The Gospel passage finishes with a mention of the circumcision of Jesus. According to the Law of Moses, eight days after birth, baby boys were to be circumcised and then given their name. Through his messenger, God himself had said to Mary – as well as to Joseph – that the Name to be given to the child was “Jesus” (cf. Mt 1:21; Lk 1:31); and so it came to be. The Name which God had already chosen, even before the child had been conceived, is now officially conferred upon him at the moment of circumcision. This also changes Mary’s identity once and for all: she becomes “the mother of Jesus”, that is the mother of the Saviour, of Christ, of the Lord. Jesus is not a man like any other, but the Word of God, one of the Divine Persons, the Son of God: therefore the Church has given Mary the title Theotokos or Mother of God.
The first reading reminds us that peace is a gift from God and is linked to the splendour of the face of God, according to the text from the Book of Numbers, which hands down the blessing used by the priests of the People of Israel in their liturgical assemblies. This blessing repeats three times the Holy Name of God, a Name not to be spoken, and each time it is linked to two words indicating an action in favour of man: “The Lord bless you and keep you: the Lord make his face to shine upon you: the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace” (6:24-26). So peace is the summit of these six actions of God in our favour, in which he turns towards us the splendour of his face.
For sacred Scripture, contemplating the face of God is the greatest happiness: “You gladden him with the joy of your face” (Ps 21:7). From the contemplation of the face of God are born joy, security and peace. But what does it mean concretely to contemplate the face of the Lord, as understood in the New Testament? It means knowing him directly, in so far as is possible in this life, through Jesus Christ in whom he is revealed. To rejoice in the splendour of God’s face means penetrating the mystery of his Name made known to us in Jesus, understanding something of his interior life and of his will, so that we can live according to his plan of love for humanity. In the second reading, taken from the Letter to the Galatians (4:4-7), Saint Paul says as much as he describes the Spirit who, in our inmost hearts, cries: “Abba! Father!” It is the cry that rises from the contemplation of the true face of God, from the revelation of the mystery of his Name. Jesus declares, “I have manifested thy name to men” (Jn 17:6). God’s Son made man has let us know the Father, he has let us know the hidden face of the Father through his visible human face; by the gift of the Holy Spirit poured into our hearts, he has led us to understand that, in him, we too are children of God, as Saint Paul says in the passage we have just heard: “The proof that you are sons is that God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts: the Spirit that cries, ‘Abba, Father’” (Gal 4:6).
Here, dear brothers and sisters, is the foundation of our peace: the certainty of contemplating in Jesus Christ the splendour of the face of God the Father, of being sons in the Son, and thus of having, on life’s journey, the same security that a child feels in the arms of a loving and all-powerful Father. The splendour of the face of God, shining upon us and granting us peace, is the manifestation of his fatherhood: the Lord turns his face to us, he reveals himself as our Father and grants us peace. Here is the principle of that profound peace – “peace with God” – which is firmly linked to faith and grace, as Saint Paul tells the Christians of Rome (cf. Rom 5:2). Nothing can take this peace from believers, not even the difficulties and sufferings of life. Indeed, sufferings, trials and darkness do not undermine but build up our hope, a hope which does not deceive because “God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us” (5:5).
May the Virgin Mary, whom today we venerate with the title of Mother of God, help us to contemplate the face of Jesus, the Prince of Peace. May she sustain us and accompany us in this New Year: and may she obtain for us and for the whole world the gift of peace. Amen!
ANGELUS ADDRESS - NEW YEAR A JOURNEY TO PEACE
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Happy New Year to all! On this first day of 2013, I would like God’s blessing to be extended to every man and every woman in the world. I do this with the ancient formula contained in Sacred Scripture: "The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and show thee mercy. The Lord turn his face to you and give you peace "(Numbers 6:24-26).
Such as light and heat from the sun are a blessing to the earth, so the light of God is for humanity, when He shines His face upon it. This happened with the birth of Jesus Christ! God hath shown us the brilliance of His face: at the beginning in a very humble, hidden way - in Bethlehem, only Mary and Joseph and some shepherds were witnesses to this revelation -; but little by little, like the sun from dawn comes to noon, the light of Christ has grown and spread everywhere. Even in the short time of his earthly life, Jesus of Nazareth made the face of God shine in the Holy Land, and then, through the Church animated by his Spirit, extended to all peoples the Gospel of peace. "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favour rests" (Lk 2:14). This is the song of the angels at Christmas, and the song of the Christians in every clime, a song from the hearts and lips which passes into concrete actions, actions of love that build dialogue, understanding and reconciliation.
For this, eight days after Christmas, when the Church, like the Virgin Mother Mary, shows the world the infant Jesus, the Prince of Peace, we celebrate the World Day of Peace. Yes, that Child, Who is the Word of God made flesh, came to give men a peace which the world can not give (cf. Jn 14:27). His mission is to break down the "dividing wall of hostility" (Eph 2:14). And when, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, He proclaims his "Beatitudes", among them there is also "blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God" (Mt 5:9). Who are the peacemakers? They are all those who, day by day, try to overcome evil with good, with the power of truth, with the weapons of prayer and forgiveness, with honest and well done work, with scientific research at the service of life, with the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. The peacemakers are many, but they are not loud. As leaven in dough, they raise humanity according to God's plan.
In this first Angelus of the new year, we ask the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, to bless us, like a mother blesses her children who must leave on a trip. A new year is like a journey: with the light and grace of God, may it be a path to peace for every person and every family, for each country and for the whole world.
AFTER THE ANGELUS
Dear brothers and sisters!
I share with all the most cordial good wishes for the new year: may it be a really good year, and it will be if we accept in us and among us, the love that Christ has given us. With gratitude I express my best wishes to the President of the Italian Republic and to the entire nation, as well as to other authorities who have sent me greetings.
I renew my affectionate greeting to the young people who came to Rome for the European meeting of the Taizé Community. I express my spiritual closeness to the ecclesial initiatives surrounding this World Day of Peace: I think, in particular, of the national March which took place last night in Lecce (Italy), as well as (this morning’s march) here in Rome, animated by the Community of Sant 'Egidio. I greet the members of the Family Love Movement who remained last night in prayer vigils in St. Peter's Square, in Milan and in L'Aquila. To all I repeat the words of Jesus: "Blessed are the peacemakers"!
Greetings to English speaking pilgrims:
I am pleased to greet all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors present today for this prayer. Today, New Year’s Day, we celebrate the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. With affectionate trust, Our Lady believed the message revealed to her by the angel’s word and bore Jesus Christ, true God and true man. May her powerful intercession bring you a happy and prosperous New Year!
2013
PRAYER - MARY MOTHER OF GOD NOVENA - SHARE
"Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope! To thee do - we cry, poor banished children of Eve; to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us; and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary. Amen." V - Pray for us, most holy mother of God. R - That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. "Virgin of the Incarnation, a thousand times we greet thee, a thousand times we praise thee for thy joy when God was incarnated in thee. Because thou art so powerful a Virgin and Mother of God, grant what we ask of thee for the love of God." Here state your first intention. Repeat all of above and then state your second intention. Repeat all of above and then state your third intention.PRAYER – NOVENA MARY MOTHER OF GOD Feast - JANUARY 1 This Novena honours the nine months during which Our Lady carried Our Blessed Lord in her womb.
CONCLUSION:
After the above prayers and intentions, say the Memorare. Remember, O most Gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help or sought thy intercession was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of Virgins, my mother. To thee do I cry, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me. Amen. Hail Mary full of grace... Blessed and praised be the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar, in Heaven, on earth and everywhere. AMEN.
HAPPY NEW YEAR'S - LET US MAKE THE WORLD PEACEFUL
Dear Family in Jesus, JCE World News wishes
you a blessed new year of 2013 and Feast of Mary Mother of God. Thank-you for
your patronage - please keep us in prayer as we do you. May this year be a true
"journey to peace" as suggested by Pope Benedict XVI.
"O LORD; teach me thy paths. Lead me in
thy truth, and teach me, for thou art the God of my salvation; for thee I wait
all the day long. Be mindful of thy mercy, O LORD, and of thy steadfast love,
for they have been from of old. Remember not the sins of my youth..." (Psalm 25)
Let us make the world peaceful in 2012 through small acts of kindness, love,
forgiveness, silence, and suffering. World peace begins in your heart, then
to your family, friends and the world. Above all let us pray and love God with
all our heart, mind and soul and love our neighbor as ourselves.
In Jesus and Mary, JCE News.
POPE BENEDICT XVI'S CHILDHOOD LETTER TO JESUS
"I would like a Volks-Schott (a Mass prayer book), green clothing for Mass (priest clothing) and a heart of Jesus. I will always be good. Greetings from Joseph Ratzinger". These were the childhood words of the future Pope Benedict XVI to baby Jesus.
This letter was found during the renovation of a house that the Ratzinger family lived in when he was a professor in Regensburg. It was published on Dec. 18.
AFRICA : NIGERIA : 15 CHRISTIANS KILLED IN CHURCH ON SUNDAY
15 CHRISTIANS were shot in church on Sunday,
December 30, 2012. Gunmen entered a church in Chibok in Borno State, Nigeria,
Africa. This attack is closely linked to the attack on Christmas Eve which
killed 12. The suspected group is Boko Haram, which has targeted Christians for
years. The Archbishop, Ignatius Kaigama said, “Their aim is to succeed to destroy the Christian faith,
and we are convinced this is not possible, because our faith is a gift from
God."EUROPE : RUSSIA : LAW BANS US ADOPTIONS
ASIA NEWS IT REPORT
by Nina Achmatova
Amid controversy and criticism from civil society groups and some government ministers, Putin signs into law controversial bill passed by parliament in retaliation against US Magnitsky Act. For Archpriest Chaplin, orphans raised by foreigners cannot go to heaven. Patriarch Kirill speaks about possible help to families.
Moscow (AsiaNews) - Despite a wave of criticism from civil society groups and members of the Russian government, the Russian Orthodox Church has backed the controversial 'anti- Magnitsky bill' that President Vladimir Putin signed into law last Friday. As of 1 January, the new law bans adoptions of Russian children by US citizens.
The new Russian law was adopted in response to a US law, the Magnitsky Act, which imposes sanctions on Russian officials suspected of involvement in human rights violations. In 2009, lawyer and auditor Sergei Magnitsky died in a Moscow prison under suspicious circumstances after exposing fraud involving the Russian Interior Ministry.
The Russian law was inspired by the case of Dima Yaklovev, a Russian-born toddler who died after his US adoptive father forgot him in his car. A US court eventually found the latter not guilty in the child's death. The law also targets US-funded Russian NGOs involved in political activities and foreigners involved in violating the human rights of Russians abroad.
Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, chairman of the Synodal Department for the Cooperation of Church and Society of the Moscow Patriarchate, said the law was "a search for a social answer to an elementary question: why should we give, and even sell, our children abroad?" Speaking to state news agency Interfax, Chaplin said the path to heaven would be closed to children adopted by foreigners. "They won't get a truly Christian upbringing".
For the critics of the Russian Orthodox Church, its support for the law is the latest example of its submission to the Kremlin, in which it acts more like a government ministry than an independent spiritual body.
Patriarch Kirill has not yet spoken on the matter since the controversy broke out. Once the bill is signed into law by Putin, the patriarch said the Church would set aside an unspecified amount of money to help orphans and family in difficulty.
Criticised by human rights defenders and even some ministers in the Russian government, including Putin loyalist Foreign Minister Serghei Lavrov, the law calls for an improvement in the conditions of orphans. Incentives would be provided to Russian couples to adopt.
However, the problem in Russia is cultural. Adoption is seen as something to hide. In addition, only very young and healthy children are prized because of biases against alleged "genetic defects" passed on by poor families.
The anti-Magnitsky law also stops adoption procedures already underway. Fifty-two Russian children ready to leave for the United States will thus remain in Russia. The New York Times slammed the Russia law for upending the plans of American couples in the final stages of adopting in Russia. Already, it has cost many of them US$ 50,000 or more, at a wrenching emotional price.
Adoption agency officials in the United States said there were about 200 to 250 sets of parents who had already identified children they planned to adopt and would be affected.
UNICEF estimates that there are about 740,000 children outside parental custody in Russia whilst about 18,000 Russians are on the waiting list to adopt a child. The United States is the biggest destination for adopted Russian children-more than 60,000 of them have been taken in by Americans over the past two decades.
SHARED FROM ASIA NEWS IT
by Nina Achmatova
Amid controversy and criticism from civil society groups and some government ministers, Putin signs into law controversial bill passed by parliament in retaliation against US Magnitsky Act. For Archpriest Chaplin, orphans raised by foreigners cannot go to heaven. Patriarch Kirill speaks about possible help to families.
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Moscow (AsiaNews) - Despite a wave of criticism from civil society groups and members of the Russian government, the Russian Orthodox Church has backed the controversial 'anti- Magnitsky bill' that President Vladimir Putin signed into law last Friday. As of 1 January, the new law bans adoptions of Russian children by US citizens.
The new Russian law was adopted in response to a US law, the Magnitsky Act, which imposes sanctions on Russian officials suspected of involvement in human rights violations. In 2009, lawyer and auditor Sergei Magnitsky died in a Moscow prison under suspicious circumstances after exposing fraud involving the Russian Interior Ministry.
The Russian law was inspired by the case of Dima Yaklovev, a Russian-born toddler who died after his US adoptive father forgot him in his car. A US court eventually found the latter not guilty in the child's death. The law also targets US-funded Russian NGOs involved in political activities and foreigners involved in violating the human rights of Russians abroad.
Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, chairman of the Synodal Department for the Cooperation of Church and Society of the Moscow Patriarchate, said the law was "a search for a social answer to an elementary question: why should we give, and even sell, our children abroad?" Speaking to state news agency Interfax, Chaplin said the path to heaven would be closed to children adopted by foreigners. "They won't get a truly Christian upbringing".
For the critics of the Russian Orthodox Church, its support for the law is the latest example of its submission to the Kremlin, in which it acts more like a government ministry than an independent spiritual body.
Patriarch Kirill has not yet spoken on the matter since the controversy broke out. Once the bill is signed into law by Putin, the patriarch said the Church would set aside an unspecified amount of money to help orphans and family in difficulty.
Criticised by human rights defenders and even some ministers in the Russian government, including Putin loyalist Foreign Minister Serghei Lavrov, the law calls for an improvement in the conditions of orphans. Incentives would be provided to Russian couples to adopt.
However, the problem in Russia is cultural. Adoption is seen as something to hide. In addition, only very young and healthy children are prized because of biases against alleged "genetic defects" passed on by poor families.
The anti-Magnitsky law also stops adoption procedures already underway. Fifty-two Russian children ready to leave for the United States will thus remain in Russia. The New York Times slammed the Russia law for upending the plans of American couples in the final stages of adopting in Russia. Already, it has cost many of them US$ 50,000 or more, at a wrenching emotional price.
Adoption agency officials in the United States said there were about 200 to 250 sets of parents who had already identified children they planned to adopt and would be affected.
UNICEF estimates that there are about 740,000 children outside parental custody in Russia whilst about 18,000 Russians are on the waiting list to adopt a child. The United States is the biggest destination for adopted Russian children-more than 60,000 of them have been taken in by Americans over the past two decades.
SHARED FROM ASIA NEWS IT
CATHOLIC MOVIES - WATCH ST. RITA - PART 16
IN
HONOR OF THE YEAR OF FAITH - JCE NEWS WILL BE SHOWING SOME OF THE TOP CATHOLIC
MOVIES OF ALL TIME. TUNE IN FOR THE NEXT PART OF ST. RITA- TOMORROW
NEW YEAR'S DAY MASS ONLINE - MARY MOTHER OF GOD - JAN. 1, 2013
The Octave Day of Christmas
Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the
Mother of God
Lectionary: 18
Reading 1 Nm 6:22-27
The LORD said to Moses:
“Speak to Aaron and his sons and tell them:
This is how you shall bless the Israelites.
Say to them:
The LORD bless you and keep you!
The LORD let his face shine upon
you, and be gracious to you!
The LORD look upon you kindly and
give you peace!
So shall they invoke my name upon the Israelites,
and I will bless them.”
“Speak to Aaron and his sons and tell them:
This is how you shall bless the Israelites.
Say to them:
The LORD bless you and keep you!
The LORD let his face shine upon
you, and be gracious to you!
The LORD look upon you kindly and
give you peace!
So shall they invoke my name upon the Israelites,
and I will bless them.”
Responsorial Psalm Ps 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8
R. (2a) May God bless us in his mercy.
May God have pity on us and bless us;
may he let his face shine upon us.
So may your way be known upon earth;
among all nations, your salvation.
R. May God bless us in his mercy.
May the nations be glad and exult
because you rule the peoples in equity;
the nations on the earth you guide.
R. May God bless us in his mercy.
May the peoples praise you, O God;
may all the peoples praise you!
May God bless us,
and may all the ends of the earth fear him!
R. May God bless us in his mercy.
May God have pity on us and bless us;
may he let his face shine upon us.
So may your way be known upon earth;
among all nations, your salvation.
R. May God bless us in his mercy.
May the nations be glad and exult
because you rule the peoples in equity;
the nations on the earth you guide.
R. May God bless us in his mercy.
May the peoples praise you, O God;
may all the peoples praise you!
May God bless us,
and may all the ends of the earth fear him!
R. May God bless us in his mercy.
Reading 2 Gal 4:4-7
Brothers and sisters:
When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son,
born of a woman, born under the law,
to ransom those under the law,
so that we might receive adoption as sons.
As proof that you are sons,
God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts,
crying out, “Abba, Father!”
So you are no longer a slave but a son,
and if a son then also an heir, through God.
When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son,
born of a woman, born under the law,
to ransom those under the law,
so that we might receive adoption as sons.
As proof that you are sons,
God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts,
crying out, “Abba, Father!”
So you are no longer a slave but a son,
and if a son then also an heir, through God.
Gospel Lk 2:16-21
The shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem and found Mary and
Joseph,
and the infant lying in the manger.
When they saw this,
they made known the message
that had been told them about this child.
All who heard it were amazed
by what had been told them by the shepherds.
And Mary kept all these things,
reflecting on them in her heart.
Then the shepherds returned,
glorifying and praising God
for all they had heard and seen,
just as it had been told to them.
When eight days were completed for his circumcision,
he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel
before he was conceived in the womb.
and the infant lying in the manger.
When they saw this,
they made known the message
that had been told them about this child.
All who heard it were amazed
by what had been told them by the shepherds.
And Mary kept all these things,
reflecting on them in her heart.
Then the shepherds returned,
glorifying and praising God
for all they had heard and seen,
just as it had been told to them.
When eight days were completed for his circumcision,
he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel
before he was conceived in the womb.
TODAY'S SAINT : JAN. 1 : MARY MOTHER OF GOD
Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God
Feast: January 1
 Information:
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The solemnity of the Mother of God, which now coincides with
the octave-day of Christmas and the beginning of the new year, was probably
assigned this day because of the influence of the Byzantine Church, which
celebrates the synapsis of the most holy Theotokos on December 26. This is in
accordance with the Eastern practice of honoring secondary persons on the day
after the feast of the principal personage (in this case, the birth of Christ).
The Coptic Church celebrates this feast on January 16, but in the West, as early
as the fifth century, the feast was celebrated on the Sunday before Christmas,
although in France it was celebrated on January 18 and in Spain on December 18.
Even before Pope Sergius introduced four Marian feasts in the seventh century
(the Birth of Mary, the Annunciation, the Purification and the Assumption), the
octave day of Christmas was celebrated in Rome in honor of the Maternity of
Mary. Later, in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the feast of the
Circumcision was added, although it had been introduced into Spain and France at
the end of the sixth century and was later included in the Missal of Pope St.
Pius V. The recent liturgical reform has restored the original Roman practice,
which replaced the pagan feast of the New Year, dedicated to the god Janus, with
this feast honoring the Mother of God.
A popular movement began in Portugal in the eighteenth century for a feast honoring Mary's maternity, and in 1914 the date of the feast was fixed at October 11. It was extended to the entire Latin Church in 1931, the fifteenth centenary of the Council of Ephesus. The restoration of the feast to January 1, which falls in the Christmas season and has an ecumenical significance, coincides with other anniversaries; for example, the octave day of Christmas, the circumcision of the Infant Jesus (assigned to the first Sunday of January); the feast of the Holy Name of Jesus (which dates back to 1721); and the day for peace, introduced by Pope Paul VI. In the encyclical Marialis Cultus (1974) Pope Paul VI states: "This celebration, assigned to January 1 in conformity with the ancient liturgy of the city of Rome, is meant to commemorate the part played by Mary in this mystery of salvation. It is meant also to exalt the singular dignity which this mystery brings to the 'holy Mother . . . through whom we were found worthy . . . to receive the Author of life.' It is likewise a fitting occasion for renewed adoration of the newborn Prince of Peace, for listening once more to the glad tidings of the angels, and for imploring from God, through the Queen of Peace, the supreme gift of peace. For this reason . . . we have instituted the World Day of Peace, an observance that is gaining increasing support and is already bringing forth fruits of peace in the hearts of many" (no. 5). |
SOURCE: http://www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/S/solemnityofmary.asp#ixzz1iFrUNxIA
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