2013
Vatican Radio REPORT: Christians are called to proclaim Jesus without fear , without shame and without triumphalism . Those were the words of Pope Francis at Mass this Tuesday morning at the Casa Santa Marta. The Pope also stressed the risk of becoming a Christian without the Resurrection and reiterated that Christ is always at the center of our life and hope .
“Jesus is the Winner who has won over sin and death.” Those were the words of Pope Francis on Tuesday morning during his Homily at morning Mass. He was referring to the Letter of St. Paul to the Colossians in which the Saint recommends we walk with Jesus " because he has won, and we walk with him in his victory “firm in the faith."
This is the key point, the Pope stressed: "Jesus is risen .
" But, the Holy Father continued, it is not always easy to understand . The Pope then recalled that when St. Paul spoke to the Greeks in Athens he was listened to with interest up to when he spoke of the resurrection. "This makes us afraid , it best to leave it as is." Pope Francis said.
Continuing his Homily the Pope recalled the Apostles, who closed themselves up in the Upper Room for fear of the Jews, even Mary Magdalene is weeping because they have taken away the Lord's Body . " …they are afraid to think about the Resurrection." The Pope noted that “there are also the Christians who are embarrassed. They are embarrassed to "confess that Christ is risen.
Finally, said Pope Francis there is the group of Christians who " in their hearts do not believe in the Risen Lord and want to make theirs a more majestic resurrection than that of the real one . These, he said are the “triumphalist” Christians.
" They do not know the meaning of the word ' triumph ' the Pope continued, so they just say “triumphalism”, because they have such an inferiority complex and want to do this ...
When we look at these Christians , with their many triumphalist attitudes , in their lives, in their speeches and in their pastoral theology, liturgy , so many things , it is because they do not believe deep down in the Risen One . He is the Winner, the Risen One. He won.
"This, the Holy Father added, is the message that Paul gives to us " Christ "is everything," he is totality and hope , "because he is the Bridegroom , the Winner " .
“Jesus is the Winner who has won over sin and death.” Those were the words of Pope Francis on Tuesday morning during his Homily at morning Mass. He was referring to the Letter of St. Paul to the Colossians in which the Saint recommends we walk with Jesus " because he has won, and we walk with him in his victory “firm in the faith."
This is the key point, the Pope stressed: "Jesus is risen .
" But, the Holy Father continued, it is not always easy to understand . The Pope then recalled that when St. Paul spoke to the Greeks in Athens he was listened to with interest up to when he spoke of the resurrection. "This makes us afraid , it best to leave it as is." Pope Francis said.
Continuing his Homily the Pope recalled the Apostles, who closed themselves up in the Upper Room for fear of the Jews, even Mary Magdalene is weeping because they have taken away the Lord's Body . " …they are afraid to think about the Resurrection." The Pope noted that “there are also the Christians who are embarrassed. They are embarrassed to "confess that Christ is risen.
Finally, said Pope Francis there is the group of Christians who " in their hearts do not believe in the Risen Lord and want to make theirs a more majestic resurrection than that of the real one . These, he said are the “triumphalist” Christians.
" They do not know the meaning of the word ' triumph ' the Pope continued, so they just say “triumphalism”, because they have such an inferiority complex and want to do this ...
When we look at these Christians , with their many triumphalist attitudes , in their lives, in their speeches and in their pastoral theology, liturgy , so many things , it is because they do not believe deep down in the Risen One . He is the Winner, the Risen One. He won.
"This, the Holy Father added, is the message that Paul gives to us " Christ "is everything," he is totality and hope , "because he is the Bridegroom , the Winner " .
SHARED FROM RADIO VATICANA
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TODAY'S SAINT: SEPT. 10: ST. NICHOLAS OF TOLENTINO: D. 1305
St. Nicholas of Tolentino
CONFESSOR
Feast: September 10
Information: Feast Day: September 10
Born: 1246 AD
Died: 1305 AD
Canonized: 5 June (Pentecost) 1446 by Pope Eugene IV
Patron of: animals; babies; boatmen; dying people; mariners; sailors; sick animals; souls in purgatory; watermen
This Nicholas was born in answer to his mother's prayers. Childless and in middle age, she had made a pilgrimage with her husband to the shrine of St. Nicholas of Bari to ask for a son whom she promised to dedicate to God's service. When her wish was granted, she named the boy Nicholas and he soon gave unusual signs of saintliness. Already at seven he would hide away in a nearby cave and pray there like the hermits whom he had observed in the mountains. As soon as he was old enough he was received into the Order of Augustinian friars. On account of his kind and gentle manner his superiors entrusted him with the daily feeding of the poor at the monastery gates, but at times he was so free with the friary's provisions that the procurator begged the superior to check his generosity. He was ordained in 1271 and said his first Mass with exceptional fervor; thereafter, whenever he celebrated the holy Mystery he seemed aglow with the fire of his love. His preaching, instructions and work in the confessional brought about numerous conversions, and his many miracles were responsible for more, yet he was careful not to take any credit for these miracles. "Say nothing of this," he would insist, "give thanks to God, not to me. I am only a vessel of clay, a poor sinner." He spent the last thirty years of his life in Tolentino, where the Guelfs and the Ghibellines were in constant strife. Nicholas saw only one remedy to the violence: street preaching, and the success of this apostolic work was astounding. "He spoke of the things of heaven," says his biographer St. Antonine. "Sweetly he preached the divine word, and the words that came from his lips fell like flames of fire. Among his hearers could be seen the tears and heard the sighs of people detesting their sins and repenting of their past lives." During the last years of his life St. Nicholas was bedridden and suffered grievously. He died surrounded by his community. In 1345 a lay Brother cut off the arms of his body intending to take them to Germany as relics, and the friars then hid his body to prevent further attempts of this kind. It has not been found to this day, but the arms have been preserved. It is recorded that they have bled on several occasions, usually, it is said, before some calamity that befell the Church or the world
http://www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/N/stnicholasoftolentino.asp
Feast: September 10
Information: Feast Day: September 10
Born: 1246 AD
Died: 1305 AD
Canonized: 5 June (Pentecost) 1446 by Pope Eugene IV
Patron of: animals; babies; boatmen; dying people; mariners; sailors; sick animals; souls in purgatory; watermen
This Nicholas was born in answer to his mother's prayers. Childless and in middle age, she had made a pilgrimage with her husband to the shrine of St. Nicholas of Bari to ask for a son whom she promised to dedicate to God's service. When her wish was granted, she named the boy Nicholas and he soon gave unusual signs of saintliness. Already at seven he would hide away in a nearby cave and pray there like the hermits whom he had observed in the mountains. As soon as he was old enough he was received into the Order of Augustinian friars. On account of his kind and gentle manner his superiors entrusted him with the daily feeding of the poor at the monastery gates, but at times he was so free with the friary's provisions that the procurator begged the superior to check his generosity. He was ordained in 1271 and said his first Mass with exceptional fervor; thereafter, whenever he celebrated the holy Mystery he seemed aglow with the fire of his love. His preaching, instructions and work in the confessional brought about numerous conversions, and his many miracles were responsible for more, yet he was careful not to take any credit for these miracles. "Say nothing of this," he would insist, "give thanks to God, not to me. I am only a vessel of clay, a poor sinner." He spent the last thirty years of his life in Tolentino, where the Guelfs and the Ghibellines were in constant strife. Nicholas saw only one remedy to the violence: street preaching, and the success of this apostolic work was astounding. "He spoke of the things of heaven," says his biographer St. Antonine. "Sweetly he preached the divine word, and the words that came from his lips fell like flames of fire. Among his hearers could be seen the tears and heard the sighs of people detesting their sins and repenting of their past lives." During the last years of his life St. Nicholas was bedridden and suffered grievously. He died surrounded by his community. In 1345 a lay Brother cut off the arms of his body intending to take them to Germany as relics, and the friars then hid his body to prevent further attempts of this kind. It has not been found to this day, but the arms have been preserved. It is recorded that they have bled on several occasions, usually, it is said, before some calamity that befell the Church or the world
http://www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/N/stnicholasoftolentino.asp
CHRISTIANS KILLED IN DAMASCUS IN SYRIA
AsiaNews sources report anti-Christian violence and persecution in the village where people still speak Aramaic. Islamist insurgents have broken into homes and seized at least six young Greek-Catholics. Dead bodies are lying in the streets as a warning to the inhabitants. In Damascus, the local Church tries to help the refugees, but "many families have been stranded in their homes. Nothing is known about them."
Maaloula (AsiaNews) - The bodies of Christians killed lie abandoned by the side of roads; houses and churches have been destroyed and plundered," this is Maaloula today, a village about 60 kilometres north of Damascus that was recently invaded by Islamist insurgents.
The town, the cradle of the Syrian Christian tradition and a unique place in the world where Aramaic is still spoken, is now a ghost town.
Sources, anonymous for security reasons, told AsiaNews that "the Islamist insurgents are breaking into village homes. Yesterday they killed three people and took six young Greek-Catholics Christians prisoners. Bodies have been left in the streets as a warning to the population. Many families are locked in their homes and cannot even escape. Nobody knows their conditions."
The situation is critical for those who were able to leave the village. "Several hundred people," sources said, "managed to save themselves, but had to leave all their belongings. A new ordeal is starting for them."
In the capital, parishes gave hospitality to fleeing families, but the food will not last for long.
"These people are traumatised," sources told AsiaNews. "Entire families have left their entire lives in Maaloula. They do not need only material goods such as food, water, a bed to rest but also spiritual support, especially the elderly, women and children. "
The rebels of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) invaded the village last Thursday, defeating government forces with the support of al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Brigades.
After taking control of the city, Islamists begun to desecrate Christian buildings, destroying the crosses on the dome of the Greek-Catholic monastery of Saints Sergius and Bacchus.
A villager told AsiaNews that the leader of the local Muslim community condemned the attack saying it was against Islam.
"Violence cannot be carried out either in the name of Allah or Muhammad," the sheikh said, to no avail. (S.C.)
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Maaloula (AsiaNews) - The bodies of Christians killed lie abandoned by the side of roads; houses and churches have been destroyed and plundered," this is Maaloula today, a village about 60 kilometres north of Damascus that was recently invaded by Islamist insurgents.
The town, the cradle of the Syrian Christian tradition and a unique place in the world where Aramaic is still spoken, is now a ghost town.
Sources, anonymous for security reasons, told AsiaNews that "the Islamist insurgents are breaking into village homes. Yesterday they killed three people and took six young Greek-Catholics Christians prisoners. Bodies have been left in the streets as a warning to the population. Many families are locked in their homes and cannot even escape. Nobody knows their conditions."
The situation is critical for those who were able to leave the village. "Several hundred people," sources said, "managed to save themselves, but had to leave all their belongings. A new ordeal is starting for them."
In the capital, parishes gave hospitality to fleeing families, but the food will not last for long.
"These people are traumatised," sources told AsiaNews. "Entire families have left their entire lives in Maaloula. They do not need only material goods such as food, water, a bed to rest but also spiritual support, especially the elderly, women and children. "
The rebels of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) invaded the village last Thursday, defeating government forces with the support of al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Brigades.
After taking control of the city, Islamists begun to desecrate Christian buildings, destroying the crosses on the dome of the Greek-Catholic monastery of Saints Sergius and Bacchus.
A villager told AsiaNews that the leader of the local Muslim community condemned the attack saying it was against Islam.
"Violence cannot be carried out either in the name of Allah or Muhammad," the sheikh said, to no avail. (S.C.)
PRIEST AND 250 OTHERS HELD HOSTAGE BY MNLF IN PHILIPPINES
UCAN REPORT: Another priest and parishioners holed up in church as fighting goes on outside
Soliders patrol Zamboanga City following MNLF assault (PIA 9)
- ucanews.com reporter, Zamboanga City
- Philippines
- September 10, 2013
A Catholic priest was among some 250 civilians who were taken hostage by rebel Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) fighters in the southern Philippine city of Zamboanga on Monday.
Monsignor Chris Manongas, administrator of the Archdiocese of Zamboanga, said Father Michael Ufana was taken by MNLF gunmen from his parents’ house.
"They were not able to leave. The [MNLF] took over the house. That’s how it happened," he said.
The Mindanao Human Rights Action Center corroborated the report, citing an eyewitness who saw the taking of Ufana. Police officials confirmed Ufana was taken hostage.
Another Catholic priest, whose name was not released for security reasons, was also trapped in one of the villages taken over by the MNLF.
Manongas told ucanews.com he was able to talk with the second priest over the phone. "He is inside the church with some refugees. He said they have no food and water," said Manongas.
"[We are] having difficulty penetrating the place because it is cordoned off by the military. It is very dangerous because the fighting is around the church.”
Thousands of refugees, most of them Muslims from five villages taken over by MNLF fighters, have sought shelter in three churches in the area.
"We are helping. We are not afraid. Our social action center here is working hard. We are even putting our lives in danger just to be able to help these people," Manongas said.
"We condemn in the highest form this violent attempt to take over the city by the MNLF. We call on them to please listen to the voice of sanity," he added.
Heavy exchanges of gunfire continued on Tuesday as the standoff entered its second day. Rocket-propelled grenades and mortars were fired on the village of Talon-Talon.
As of 3pm on Tuesday several houses in the village of Santa Barbara were burning. The city government said four firefighters tried to get into the area but were advised by the military to wait for clearance.
Offices were earlier closed while city streets emptied. A curfew was declared last night across the city and in the nearby province of Basilan.
The death toll currently stands at six, with 24 wounded. President Benigno Aquino has said there is no need to declare a state of emergency in Zamboanga City, given the presence of government security forces.
The MNLF is demanding independence from the Philippine government.
SHARED FROM UCAN NEWS
MEMORIAL MASS FOR UNBORN AT CATHEDRAL IN AUSTRALIA
Catholic Communications, Sydney Archdiocese REPORT:
10 Sep 2013
10 Sep 2013
An unusual but very special sight will be displayed this Friday evening on the steps outside the west door of St Mary's Cathedral.
It will be 82 candles. The light of these candles will serve as a public memorial to the estimated 82 unborn children whose lives are tragically taken by abortion each day in New South Wales.
An initiative of His Eminence Cardinal Pell, and inspired by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles' Requiem Mass for the Unborn, the second annual Memorial Mass for the Unborn will be celebrated by Cardinal Pell and priests of the Archdiocese of Sydney this Friday evening (13 September) at 7.30pm at St Mary's Cathedral.
Chris Meney, the director of the Life, Marriage and Family Centre, says that the Mass is an important occasion for the Catholic community of Sydney to gather together to remember all those in our society who have been hurt by abortion:"We know that there are many families who have experienced or been affected by abortion and who grieve the loss of their unborn child.This Mass is an opportunity to remember and mourn these children, and to pray for their bereaved mothers and fathers, that they might experience God's love, forgiveness and healing."
It will be 82 candles. The light of these candles will serve as a public memorial to the estimated 82 unborn children whose lives are tragically taken by abortion each day in New South Wales.
An initiative of His Eminence Cardinal Pell, and inspired by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles' Requiem Mass for the Unborn, the second annual Memorial Mass for the Unborn will be celebrated by Cardinal Pell and priests of the Archdiocese of Sydney this Friday evening (13 September) at 7.30pm at St Mary's Cathedral.
Chris Meney, the director of the Life, Marriage and Family Centre, says that the Mass is an important occasion for the Catholic community of Sydney to gather together to remember all those in our society who have been hurt by abortion:"We know that there are many families who have experienced or been affected by abortion and who grieve the loss of their unborn child.This Mass is an opportunity to remember and mourn these children, and to pray for their bereaved mothers and fathers, that they might experience God's love, forgiveness and healing."
The solemn sung Mass will feature the St Mary's Cathedral choir and a procession in which the 82 candles will be taken up to the altar by epresentatives of Sydney Catholic schools, university chaplaincies, parishes, pro-life and pregnancy support groups. Following the procession, lights will be switched off and the Cathedral will be plunged into darkness for 82 seconds of silence to remember the 82 victims. At the conclusion of Mass, the candles will be moved outside the West Door to the cathedral steps, as a public memorial to the unborn.
Mr Meney said that he hoped this year's Mass would be a sign of the love and concern of the Catholic community in Sydney for all those hurt by abortion and a sign of their belief in the dignity and value of every human life. "The hundreds of people who came to St Mary's last year for the Memorial Mass for the Unborn witnessed to their belief in the preciousness of life and the importance of standing in solidarity with women who are pregnant in difficult circumstances.During the Mass, we were able to pray for and recognise the victims of abortion, and the truth that the bearing of life is a responsibility that women must not be left to bear alone."
"Your presence and prayers at this year's Memorial Mass for the Unborn will be a consolation to all who have lost a child to abortion, and a powerful sign to our public authorities entrusted with the defence of life that these children have not been forgotten."
Mr Meney said that he hoped this year's Mass would be a sign of the love and concern of the Catholic community in Sydney for all those hurt by abortion and a sign of their belief in the dignity and value of every human life. "The hundreds of people who came to St Mary's last year for the Memorial Mass for the Unborn witnessed to their belief in the preciousness of life and the importance of standing in solidarity with women who are pregnant in difficult circumstances.During the Mass, we were able to pray for and recognise the victims of abortion, and the truth that the bearing of life is a responsibility that women must not be left to bear alone."
"Your presence and prayers at this year's Memorial Mass for the Unborn will be a consolation to all who have lost a child to abortion, and a powerful sign to our public authorities entrusted with the defence of life that these children have not been forgotten."
See the flyer here
TODAY'S MASS ONLINE : TUES. SEPT. 10, 2013
Tuesday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 438
Reading 1 COL 2:6-15
Brothers and sisters:
As you received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in him,
rooted in him and built upon him
and established in the faith as you were taught,
abounding in thanksgiving.
See to it that no one captivate you with an empty, seductive philosophy
according to the tradition of men,
according to the elemental powers of the world
and not according to Christ.
For in him dwells the whole fullness of the deity bodily,
and you share in this fullness in him,
who is the head of every principality and power.
In him you were also circumcised
with a circumcision not administered by hand,
by stripping off the carnal body, with the circumcision of Christ.
You were buried with him in baptism,
in which you were also raised with him
through faith in the power of God,
who raised him from the dead.
And even when you were dead in transgressions
and the uncircumcision of your flesh,
he brought you to life along with him,
having forgiven us all our transgressions;
obliterating the bond against us, with its legal claims,
which was opposed to us,
he also removed it from our midst, nailing it to the cross;
despoiling the principalities and the powers,
he made a public spectacle of them,
leading them away in triumph by it.
As you received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in him,
rooted in him and built upon him
and established in the faith as you were taught,
abounding in thanksgiving.
See to it that no one captivate you with an empty, seductive philosophy
according to the tradition of men,
according to the elemental powers of the world
and not according to Christ.
For in him dwells the whole fullness of the deity bodily,
and you share in this fullness in him,
who is the head of every principality and power.
In him you were also circumcised
with a circumcision not administered by hand,
by stripping off the carnal body, with the circumcision of Christ.
You were buried with him in baptism,
in which you were also raised with him
through faith in the power of God,
who raised him from the dead.
And even when you were dead in transgressions
and the uncircumcision of your flesh,
he brought you to life along with him,
having forgiven us all our transgressions;
obliterating the bond against us, with its legal claims,
which was opposed to us,
he also removed it from our midst, nailing it to the cross;
despoiling the principalities and the powers,
he made a public spectacle of them,
leading them away in triumph by it.
Responsorial Psalm PS 145:1B-2, 8-9, 10-11
R. (9) The Lord is compassionate toward all his works.
I will extol you, O my God and King,
and I will bless your name forever and ever.
Every day will I bless you,
and I will praise your name forever and ever.
R. The Lord is compassionate toward all his works.
The LORD is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and of great kindness.
The LORD is good to all
and compassionate toward all his works.
R. The Lord is compassionate toward all his works.
Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your Kingdom
and speak of your might.
R. The Lord is compassionate toward all his works.
I will extol you, O my God and King,
and I will bless your name forever and ever.
Every day will I bless you,
and I will praise your name forever and ever.
R. The Lord is compassionate toward all his works.
The LORD is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and of great kindness.
The LORD is good to all
and compassionate toward all his works.
R. The Lord is compassionate toward all his works.
Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your Kingdom
and speak of your might.
R. The Lord is compassionate toward all his works.
Gospel LK 6:12-19
Jesus departed to the mountain to pray,
and he spent the night in prayer to God.
When day came, he called his disciples to himself,
and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles:
Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew,
James, John, Philip, Bartholomew,
Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus,
Simon who was called a Zealot,
and Judas the son of James,
and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
And he came down with them and stood on a stretch of level ground.
A great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people
from all Judea and Jerusalem
and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon
came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases;
and even those who were tormented by unclean spirits were cured.
Everyone in the crowd sought to touch him
because power came forth from him and healed them all.
and he spent the night in prayer to God.
When day came, he called his disciples to himself,
and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles:
Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew,
James, John, Philip, Bartholomew,
Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus,
Simon who was called a Zealot,
and Judas the son of James,
and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
And he came down with them and stood on a stretch of level ground.
A great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people
from all Judea and Jerusalem
and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon
came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases;
and even those who were tormented by unclean spirits were cured.
Everyone in the crowd sought to touch him
because power came forth from him and healed them all.
