2014
Pope Francis “In virtue of their feminine genius, female theologians are able to take up…" Text/Video
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Friday met with members of the International Theological Commission, at the beginning of a new five-year mandate (quinquennium).
In his address, the Holy Father noted the mission of the Commission, “to study doctrinal problems of great importance, especially those which present new points of view, and in this way to offer its help to the Magisterium of the Church.” This mission, he said, requires not only “intellectual competence, but also spiritual dispositions.” Among those spiritual dispositions, the Pope said he wanted to draw particular attention to the importance of listening.
The theologian, he said, is first of all a believer who hears the word of God. But the theologian must also “humbly listen” to “‘what the Spirit says to the Churches’ through the diverse manifestations of the lived faith of the Church.” In particular, he noted the significantly greater presence of women on the Commission. “In virtue of their feminine genius,” he said, “female theologians are able to take up… certain unexplored aspects of the unfathomable mystery of Christ.” He invited the Commission “to draw greater profit from this specific contribution of women to the understanding of the faith.”
Pope Francis also called attention to the international character of the Commission, which he said “reflects the catholicity of the Church. “The diversity of points of view should enrich the catholicity without harming the unity,” he said. “The unity of Catholic theologians is born from their common reference to one sole faith in Christ and is nourished by the diversity of gifts of the Holy Spirit. From this foundation and in a healthy pluralism, various theological approaches, developed in different cultural contexts and with the diversity of the methods used, cannot ignore each other, but in theological dialogue ought to reciprocally enrich and correct one another.”
Concluding his address, the Holy Father looked to the example of the Blessed Virgin Mary who, “under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and with all the resources of her feminine genius… has not ceased to enter ever more into ‘all truth.’” He prayed, “May the Madonna, the teacher of authentic theology, obtain for us, with her maternal prayer, that our charity “may increase ever more and more in knowledge and every kind of perception.” Finally, before blessing the assembled theologians, Pope Francis led the group in the recitation of the “Hail Mary.”
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Today's Mass Readings : Friday December 5, 2014
Friday of the First Week of Advent
Lectionary: 179
Reading 1IS 29:17-24
Thus says the Lord GOD:
But a very little while,
and Lebanon shall be changed into an orchard,
and the orchard be regarded as a forest!
On that day the deaf shall hear
the words of a book;
And out of gloom and darkness,
the eyes of the blind shall see.
The lowly will ever find joy in the LORD,
and the poor rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
For the tyrant will be no more
and the arrogant will have gone;
All who are alert to do evil will be cut off,
those whose mere word condemns a man,
Who ensnare his defender at the gate,
and leave the just man with an empty claim.
Therefore thus says the LORD,
the God of the house of Jacob,
who redeemed Abraham:
Now Jacob shall have nothing to be ashamed of,
nor shall his face grow pale.
When his children see
the work of my hands in his midst,
They shall keep my name holy;
they shall reverence the Holy One of Jacob,
and be in awe of the God of Israel.
Those who err in spirit shall acquire understanding,
and those who find fault shall receive instruction.
But a very little while,
and Lebanon shall be changed into an orchard,
and the orchard be regarded as a forest!
On that day the deaf shall hear
the words of a book;
And out of gloom and darkness,
the eyes of the blind shall see.
The lowly will ever find joy in the LORD,
and the poor rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
For the tyrant will be no more
and the arrogant will have gone;
All who are alert to do evil will be cut off,
those whose mere word condemns a man,
Who ensnare his defender at the gate,
and leave the just man with an empty claim.
Therefore thus says the LORD,
the God of the house of Jacob,
who redeemed Abraham:
Now Jacob shall have nothing to be ashamed of,
nor shall his face grow pale.
When his children see
the work of my hands in his midst,
They shall keep my name holy;
they shall reverence the Holy One of Jacob,
and be in awe of the God of Israel.
Those who err in spirit shall acquire understanding,
and those who find fault shall receive instruction.
Responsorial Psalm PS 27:1, 4, 13-14
R. (1a) The Lord is my light and my salvation.
The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The LORD is my life’s refuge;
of whom should I be afraid?
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
One thing I ask of the LORD;
this I seek:
To dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
That I may gaze on the loveliness of the LORD
and contemplate his temple.
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
Behold, our Lord shall come with power;
he will enlighten the eyes of his servants.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The LORD is my life’s refuge;
of whom should I be afraid?
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
One thing I ask of the LORD;
this I seek:
To dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
That I may gaze on the loveliness of the LORD
and contemplate his temple.
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.Behold, our Lord shall come with power;
he will enlighten the eyes of his servants.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel MT 9:27-31
As Jesus passed by, two blind men followed him, crying out,
“Son of David, have pity on us!”
When he entered the house,
the blind men approached him and Jesus said to them,
“Do you believe that I can do this?”
“Yes, Lord,” they said to him.
Then he touched their eyes and said,
“Let it be done for you according to your faith.”
And their eyes were opened.
Jesus warned them sternly,
“See that no one knows about this.”
But they went out and spread word of him through all that land.
“Son of David, have pity on us!”
When he entered the house,
the blind men approached him and Jesus said to them,
“Do you believe that I can do this?”
“Yes, Lord,” they said to him.
Then he touched their eyes and said,
“Let it be done for you according to your faith.”
And their eyes were opened.
Jesus warned them sternly,
“See that no one knows about this.”
But they went out and spread word of him through all that land.
Latest News from Vatican Information Service and Pope Francis - Official Release
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04-12-2014 - Year XXII - Num. 216
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| Audience with the President of Mozambique: Church's fundamental contribution to development Vatican City, 4 December 2014 (VIS) – Today in the Vatican Apostolic Palace the Holy Father Francis received in audience the president of the Republic of Mozambique, Armando Emilio Guebuza, who subsequently met with Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, accompanied by Msgr. Antoine Camilleri, under secretary for Relations with States. During the cordial discussions the good relations between the Holy See and the Republic of Mozambique were highlighted. In this context, reference was made to the fundamental contribution of the Catholic Church to the development of the country through her educational and healthcare institutions, and her important role in the promotion of peace and national reconciliation. Finally, attention turned to various regional challenges, such as disarmament and the struggle against poverty and social inequality. |
| Francis receives the volunteers of the FOCSIV Vatican City, 4 December 2014 (VIS) – The image of a Church at work in the service of those in difficulty is promoted by the Federation of Christian Organisations for International Volunteer Service (FOCSIV), which seeks to combine the accumulated experience of its members with the dimension of voluntary service to the poor in the style of the good Samaritan and according to Gospel values. Starting from their Christian identity, they are “volunteers in the world”, offering many development projects to offer concrete responses to the “scandals” of hunger and war. Pope Francis emphasised these characteristics in his address to two thousand members of the federation in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall this morning. “Your work alongside men and women in difficulty is a living announcement of the tenderness of Christ, Who walks alongside humanity in all times”, affirmed the Pope. “There is a great need to bear witness to the value of gratuity: the poor must not become an opportunity for profit! The face of poverty is changing nowadays, and there are those among the poor who are developing different expectations: they aspire to be protagonists, they are organised, and above all they practise that solidarity that exists between those who suffer, between those who are left behind. You are called upon to perceive these signs of the times and to become an instrument of service to assist in enabling leadership among the poor. Solidarity with the poor means thinking in terms of community, of the priority of the life of all above the appropriation of goods by the few. It also means combating the structural causes of poverty: inequality, unemployment and homelessness, and the denial of social and working rights. Solidarity is a way of making history with the poor, avoiding supposedly altruistic works that reduce others to passivity”. Among the main causes of poverty, Francis did not neglect to mention the existence of an economic system that exploits natural resources. “I think in particular of deforestation, but also of environmental disasters and the loss of biodiversity. It is necessary to reaffirm that creation is not property from which we can derive pleasure and dispose of as we please, and much less the property of just a few. Creation is a marvellous gift that God has given us for us to take care of and use for the benefit of all, with respect. I therefore encourage you to continue in your commitment to ensuring that creation remains the patrimony of all, to be handed on in all its beauty to future generations”. Many of the countries where the FOCSIV works are at war, and the Pope emphasised that working for the development of the people also means cooperating in building peace, “seeking with tenacious perseverance to disarm minds, to draw closer to people, to build bridges between cultures and religions. Faith will help you to do this even in the most difficult countries, where the spiral of violence no longer seems to leave space for reason. A sign of peace and hope is your activity in refugee camps, where you encounter desperate people, faces marked by abuse, children who hunger for food, freedom and a future. How many people in the world flee from the horrors of war! How many people are persecuted for their faith, forced to abandon their homes, their places of worship, their homelands, their loved ones! How many broken lives! How much suffering, how much destruction! Faced with all of this, a disciple of Christ cannot step or turn away, but instead seeks to take care of this suffering humanity with evangelical closeness and acceptance”. The Pope reiterated his concerns for migrants and refugees, who “seek to flee from hard living conditions and dangers of every type”, and insisted on the need for collaboration between “institutions, NGOs and ecclesial communities, to promote itineraries of harmonious co-existence between different peoples and cultures. “Migratory movements require adequate forms of reception that do not leave migrants at the mercy of the sea and bands of unscrupulous traffickers. At the same time, there is a need for active collaboration between States to regulate and effectively manage such phenomena”. Finally, Francis thanked the volunteers of the Federation who, for more than forty years, have shown themselves to be “true witnesses of charity, workers of peace, builders of justice and solidarity”, and, encouraging them to continue in their progress, he invited them to find time each day for a personal encounter with God in prayer. “It will be your strength in moments of greatest difficulty, disappointment, solitude and incomprehension”. |
| St. Peter's Square prepares for Christmas Vatican City, 4 December 2014 (VIS) – The 25 and a half metre-tall white fir tree that will decorate St. Peter's Square this Christmas arrived in the Vatican this morning. From Passo dell'Abbate, in the Italian province of Fabrizia, Calabria, its peculiar characteristic is its double or “twin” trunk: two trunks joined together as one. The ceremony of the lighting of the tree will take place on 19 December at 4.30 p.m. and will coincide this year with the illumination and unveiling of the nativity scene. Entitled “Il Presepe in Opera” (“The Nativity Scene in Opera”) and composed of around 25 life-size terracotta statues, it is a gift from the “Verona for the Arena” Foundation and will be inspired by the operatic works for which the city is famed, with the intention of promoting Italian opera throughout the world. This also provides the basis for the title of the display, which is a play on the double meaning of the word “opera” in Italian: it is “at work”, in the sense that its message is universal and active, and also based on the material used to stage the operatic work “The Elixir of Love” by Gaetano Donizetti. |
| Audiences Vatican City, 4 December 2014 (VIS) – Today, the Holy Father received in audience: - Cardinal Severino Poletto, archbishop emeritus of Turin; - Archbishop Michael W. Banach, apostolic nuncio in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands; - Archbishop Giovanni d'Aniello, apostolic nuncio in Brazil; - Juan Pablo Cafiero, ambassador of Argentina to the Holy See, on his farewell visit. |
| Other Pontifical Acts Vatican City, 4 December 2014 (VIS) – The Holy Father has appointed Rev. Patrick Michael O'Regan as bishop of Sale (area 44,441, population 405,000, Catholics 120,340, priests 39, permanent deacons 5, religious 34), Australia. The bishop-elect was born in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia in 1958 and was ordained a priest in 1983. He holds a licentiate in liturgy and sacramental theology from the Institut Catholique, Paris, and has served in a number of pastoral roles, including deputy parish priest in Lithgow, Cowra and Orange, vice dean of the Cathedral of Bathurst, parish priest in Wellington and Layney, diocesan administrator and chancellor of the diocese of Bathurst. He is currently dean of the Cathedral and vicar general of the same diocese. |
Saint December 5 : St. Sabbas : Hermit : Died 532
St. Sabbas
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HERMIT
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Feast: December 5
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