Bethlehem is a reflection of the ultimate realities, it shows us the inexhaustible love of God that fulfills all our desires and, at the same time, the closed heart of Herod who lives a living hell.
December 15, 2023-Reading time: 3minutes
If I don't see it, I don't believe it. With this phrase the materialism that surrounds us shakes off any reference to transcendence. But what if it were possible to see God with our eyes? St. Francis of Assisi considered it and succeeded.
Thomas of Celano recounts, in the first biography written of the saint, that in the year 1223, while he was near the Italian town of Greccio, he asked a certain John, a noble man of good reputation, to prepare a manger to celebrate Christmas so that he could contemplate the scene of the Nativity. His words were: "I wish to celebrate the memory of the child who was born in Bethlehem and I want to contemplate somehow with my eyes what he suffered in his disability as a child, how he was laid in the manger and how he was placed on hay between the ox and the donkey".
The chronicler describes how that Christmas night, the first nativity scene in history gathered a multitude of friars and families from the surrounding area, who came with candles and lit teas, and the joy with which the saint contemplated it and preached at the Eucharist that a priest celebrated on the manger itself. Between songs of praise from the improvised community, one of the attendees had an extraordinary vision. It is said that he saw "a child lying lifeless in the manger" and that, as Francis approached him, he awoke from his slumber. This vision is not without meaning," explains the author, "since the child Jesus, buried in the oblivion of many hearts, was resurrected by his grace, through his servant Francis, and his image was engraved in the hearts of those in love. At the end of the solemn vigil, all returned home filled with joy".
On the 800th anniversary of this unique event, the custom of representing the birth of Jesus so that children and adults can contemplate "with their eyes" the mystery of Bethlehem is still very much alive.
There are monumental and miniature nativity scenes, living and ceramic, popular and Neapolitan, static and mechanized...
In every house, in every establishment, in every parish, institution or confraternity there is a "John", like that first Greccio nativity scene maker, who, alone or with a group of collaborators, strives every year to install the best possible nativity scene.
In the apostolic letter "The beautiful sign of the manger" On the meaning and value of the crib, which I recommend everyone to reread at this time, the Holy Father recalled that "It is not important how the crib is prepared, it can always be the same or be modified every year; what counts is that it speaks to our life". And it is true that nativity scenes speak. They speak to us of the daily presence of God in the midst of our ordinary life, even though we often live far from Him. Their value as a resource for the transmission and renewal of faith is unquestionable.
Just the other day, I was trying to solve one of my children's doubts about what heaven would be like. And it is really hard to imagine that "contemplation of God" of which the Catechism speaks to us. "What a bore to see God all day long!" -the child said to me-. Looking for an answer, my gaze then stopped on the crib that was already set up in the living room at home, and I noticed the joy of the Virgin, St. Joseph, the angels, the little shepherds, the kings... They were all full of joy contemplating the child God.
-Imagine you are in Bethlehem, sleeping in the open," I said, "and suddenly a choir of angels appears to you and announces that the baby Jesus has been born. Would you go or would you not go to see him because you find it boring?
-It would be awesome. I'd go running," he replied.
-Well, imagine heaven like this. A place where, every day, you can witness an extraordinary event that fills you with joy. A place where kings and the poor share the same destiny and the same desire: to be close to God, as close as possible and for as long as possible, because getting bored... Do you get bored watching a baby, your cousin for example?
-I could play with her for hours, as funny as she is.
-Because a bitter old man wouldn't think of creating the Universe to share his life with you!
As we went along, the conversation made me realize even more deeply how Bethlehem is a reflection of the ultimate realities, for it also shows us the hell of Herod, decrepit and sad for not having wanted to accept the good news that is being given to him. There on the top of his castle he has only himself and his cruelty, far from communion with God and with men.
So, once again, St. Francis has done it again. That child asleep in a very deep sleep has risen thanks to him to bring me, 800 years later, a new teaching, a new hope. And simply by contemplating some clay figurines. Seeing is believing.
Journalist. Graduate in Communication Sciences and Bachelor in Religious Sciences. He works in the Diocesan Delegation of Media in Malaga. His numerous "threads" on Twitter about faith and daily life have a great popularity.
Msgr. StaglianòTheological science must be conceived more and more as wisdom".
The president of the Pontifical Academy of Theology and archbishop emeritus of Noto has granted an interview to Omnes where he explains, in broad outline, the changes introduced by Pope Francis with the Motu Proprio. Ad theologiam promovendam.
"A reform in continuity". Monsignor Antonio Staglianò carefully chooses these words to begin describing the profound changes that the Pope, with the letter in the form of a motu proprio Ad theologiampromovendamhas introduced in the bylaws of the Pontifical Academy of Theology over which he presides. A revolution of no small importance that even represents a paradigm shift for the Academy founded by Clement XI in 1718.
In a long conversation with Omnes, Staglianò points out that, normally, when the expression "paradigmatic revolution" is used in science, reference is made to that work by Thomas Samuel Kuhn titled The structure of scientific revolutionsin which the American philosopher explains how in science there are upheavals that generate new methods and a new way of proceeding in science itself.
"We borrow from Kuhn the idea of the paradigm, but we cannot but read it within the Church. After all, theology is an ecclesial form, not just science, which must be situated within Tradition," says Staglianò. The revolution is there, but within continuity.
New theology
The construction of a new idea of theology is the greatest novelty of this revolution. Monsignor Staglianò calls it Wisdom TheologyWe call it so following the Holy Father's instructions. In essence, theological science must be conceived more and more as wisdom".
And if all this is new, he adds, "it is so in reference to the context that has been created from 300 years ago until today, that is, since the Enlightenment and the birth of science, knowledge has been conceived more and more in intellectualist, rationalist terms".
This prejudice that the Enlightenment has imposed on culture, according to Staglianò, "is a prejudice that must be overturned, because if knowledge is the fruit of science, then Christian Revelation cannot be considered knowledge, but ends up being branded as opinion: because everything that is not knowledge, the enlightened prejudice places it in the realm of opinion, of non-truth".
A new language
Here, then, we are faced with an awkward situation, Staglianò admits: "On the one hand, by believing in the Revelation of God in Jesus Christ we come to really know God, but this knowledge - which would be the Truth of God - according to the Enlightenment approach would not have the character of truth."
Therefore, to maintain that theology is wisdom means, above all, to ask that "that indication be applied also to theology which Benedict XVI did to all sciences and to all knowledge: to extend the limits of reason in a sapiential sense. This means that "reason must be measured against all human experience".
Knowledge comes from Revelation, from the Gospel. And the real novelty consists in "recovering, in a new language, what theology has always been before becoming a science: namely, wisdom," Staglianò explains.
Theology without borders
To a theology that rediscovers itself as wisdom, no limits or boundaries can be set. "And this," says Staglianò, "for a missionary reason that underlies the Christian faith itself. Faith corresponds to the Gospel, and Jesus is the Son of God in human flesh, and therefore is the salvation and redemption that God has willed for all."
Hence a logical consequence that the President of the Pontifical Academy of Theology summarizes as follows: "If the Gospel is meant for everyone, then everyone can hear the Gospel: I am referring also to those who belong to other religions or even to those who do not believe.
Everyone needs to be saved by Jesus Christ and here, says Staglianò, "comes the question of the service that sapiential theology can render to the evangelization of the Catholic Church itself, which, perhaps, after more than 2000 years, needs to be reinvigorated. The great risk is that it has lost the true face of God".
New instruments
Entering into dialogue with these diverse and distant worlds is one of the new and important priorities of the Pontifical Academy of Theology. To this end, the new statutes provide for new structures.
First of all, Staglianò explains, "a Council of Higher Studies called to interact with the spheres of higher culture, including the institutional sphere. And then we thought of theological cenacles with which to relate sapiential theology to the people in order to speak of God through the themes of life, the suffering flesh, political and social issues."
To do all this, Staglianò concludes, "we will be helped by some figures created thanks to the new statutes: that of the referent interlocutor. These will be persons or groups of persons to whom the Pontifical Academy of Theology will be able to refer in order to open spaces of wide-ranging interlocution."
The authorFederico Piana
Journalist. He works for Vatican Radio and collaborates with L'Osservatore Romano.
"Ratzinger's theology is symphonic," says Pablo Blanco
The priest Pablo Blanco, recently awarded the Ratzinger Prize 2023, was the speaker at the Omnes Forum on December 14, with the theme "Benedict XVI. Reason and Faith.
On Thursday, December 14, the Omnes Forum "Benedict XVI. La razón y la fe" (Benedict XVI. Reason and Faith) was held on Thursday, December 14, with Fr. Ratzinger Prize 2023. The colloquium was moderated by Juan Manuel Burgos, president of the Spanish Association of Personalism.
Pablo Blanco is a professor of Dogmatic Theology at the University of Navarra, as well as being a member of the editorial committee that publishes in Spanish the works of the Pope Emeritus at the University of Navarra. BAC Publishing House. In addition, he is the author of numerous publications in publishing houses such as BAC, Rialp, Word, Cristiandad Editions, San Pablo, o Planet.
In the first place, Professor Blanco reflected on Joseph Ratzinger's relationship with faith, "a golden thread that runs through all his thought", but which, moreover, is a "distinctly Christian" aspect, since Christianity has never hesitated to "enter into dialogue" with philosophy and intellectuals. "Reason and religion is something that is in the DNA of Christianity," said Professor Blanco, and this relationship differentiates Christianity from other religions.
Regensburg Speech
Pablo Blanco then went on to analyze in depth the Ratsibona speech, one of Ratzinger's most famous interventions, since it was initially the cause of great controversy due to a quote from the Byzantine emperor Manuel Paleologus II in which he spoke of Islam.
However, Professor Blanco explained that initially it was a purely academic discourse, from which "the whole was taken for the part". The original purpose of this passage was to explain that truth can only be proposed, not imposed. "It was a peaceful affirmation, but it set fire to a trail of gunpowder," explained the Ratzinger Prize winner.
Logos
On the other hand, in relation to the theme of reason in the Western world, Pablo Blanco explained that logos is understood in Ratzinger's discourse as creative reason, so that reason and love are intimately united. "With our rational capacity we can understand nature and reach the Logos with capital letters. Through created things we can know the world and God". Professor Blanco pointed out that "this is a provocation in the German world".
Moreover, "the union between the Greek logos and faith is a constant in Christianity". Contrary to the assertions of Adolf Harnack, who accused Christianity of having been Hellenized, or rather, Platonized, Ratzinger affirms that the opposite is true: Christianity has Christianized Hellenism.
Habermas
On the other hand, Pablo Blanco has also focused on the relationship between the philosopher Jürgen Habermas and Ratzinger. Habermas wanted to establish a bridge between faith and reason because, although he was an atheist, he saw the need for a "moral energy" that Christianity could provide. Faith and reason can "heal" each other: reason can prevent fundamentalism in faith, and faith can prevent reason from leading to situations like Auschwitz. However, after the Regensburg speech, Habermas claimed that Ratzinger was "anti-modern" because he interpreted his speech as an attempt to return to the dialogue between faith and reason of the Middle Ages.
However, Professor Blanco claims that this is a failure to understand Ratzinger's thought in depth, since what he is doing is revising the Enlightenment concept of reason.
Conclusions
Finally, the rereading of the speech led to an understanding and the Abu Dhabi declaration between Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of al-Azhar in 2019. "There has never been so much dialogue between Catholics and Muslims as as a result of this speech, and the dialogue continues," says Pablo Blanco.
Concluding his reflection, the Ratzinger Prize winner commented, using the expression of Pope Francis, that Ratzinger's theology is "a kneeling theology, and not an office or laboratory theology (...) It is a living theology. It is symphonic, everything connects with everything".
At the end of the colloquium, the attendees were able to ask Professor Blanco their questions and the director of Omnes, Alfonso Riobó, thanked everyone for attending and the sponsors for their collaboration.
A full report of the meeting will be available in the next issue of Omnes magazine.
Pope Francis has released his message for the 57th World Day of Peace, to be held on January 1, 2024 with the theme "Artificial Intelligence and Peace."
In the message for the 57th World Day of Peace the Pope reflects on the positive aspects of scientific progress, but also on the ethical challenges that some advances, such as artificial intelligence, pose.
First of all, Francis recalls that Sacred Scripture affirms that "God has given men his Spirit so that they may have 'skill, talent and experience in the performance of all kinds of work' (Ex 35:31).
The pastoral constitution "Gaudium et Spes" of the Second Vatican Council also stated that man has always "striven by his work and ingenuity to perfect his life". Therefore, the Pope pointed out that the progress of science and technology "insofar as it contributes to a better order of human society and to the increase of freedom and fraternal communion, leads to the perfection of man and the transformation of the world", and he expressed his joy for the progress of science, thanks to which "it has been possible to remedy innumerable evils that affected human life and caused great suffering".
Risks and algorithms
But, on the other hand, Francisco points out that these developments can lead to a risk in some areas: "Technical-scientific progress, making it possible to exercise control over reality, never seen before, is placing in the hands of man a vast range of possibilities, some of which represent a risk to human survival and a danger to the common home".
Francis also mentions technologies that use algorithms, which extract the "digital traces left on the Internet, data that make it possible to control the mental and relational habits of people for commercial or political purposes, often without their knowledge, limiting their conscious exercise of freedom of choice. In fact, in a space like the web, characterized by an overload of information, the flow of data can be structured according to selection criteria not always perceived by the user".
The Pope recalls that innovations are not "neutral, but are subject to cultural influences. As fully human activities, the directions they take reflect decisions conditioned by the personal, social and cultural values of each epoch".
Artificial intelligence
The Pope then pauses to reflect on artificial intelligence, because "the term itself, which has now entered common parlance, embraces a variety of sciences, theories and techniques aimed at making machines reproduce or imitate, in their functioning, the cognitive capacities of human beings".
"Their impact," the Pope reminds us, "regardless of the underlying technology, depends not only on the project, but also on the objectives and interests of the owner and developer, as well as the situations in which they are used."
For all these reasons, Francis points out that it should not be taken for granted that the development of this so-called artificial intelligence will necessarily bring something positive to humanity: "Such a positive outcome will only be possible if we are capable of acting responsibly and respecting fundamental human values (...). It is not even enough to assume, on the part of those who design algorithms and digital technologies, a commitment to act in an ethical and responsible manner. It is necessary to strengthen or, if necessary, institute bodies responsible for examining emerging ethical issues and for protecting the rights of those who use forms of artificial intelligence or are influenced by them".
On the other hand, the Pope reflects on machines that learn on their own, "machine learning" and "deep learning", a technology that, although it is "in a pioneering phase, is already introducing significant changes in the fabric of societies, exerting a profound influence on cultures, social behavior and the construction of peace".
Disinformation and bias
Moreover, "the ability of some devices to produce syntactically and semantically coherent texts, for example, is no guarantee of reliability (...) They can (...) generate statements that at first glance seem plausible, but are in fact unfounded or betray biases. This creates a serious problem when artificial intelligence is used in disinformation campaigns that spread fake news and lead to a growing distrust of the media. Confidentiality, data ownership and intellectual property are other areas where the technologies in question pose serious risks, to which are added further negative consequences linked to their improper use, such as discrimination, interference in electoral processes, the establishment of a society that monitors and controls people, digital exclusion and the intensification of an individualism that is increasingly detached from the collective."
Moreover, the Pope stresses that algorithms cannot provide "guaranteed forecasts of the future, but only statistical approximations. Not everything can be predicted, not everything can be calculated (...). Moreover, the large amount of data analyzed by artificial intelligences is not in itself a guarantee of impartiality. When algorithms extrapolate information, they always run the risk of distorting it, reproducing the injustices and prejudices of the environments in which they originate. The faster and more complex they become, the more difficult it is to understand why they have generated a certain result".
On the other hand, artificial intelligences are not impartial, "the purpose and meaning of their operations will continue to be determined or enabled by human beings who have their own universe of values". "The risk," the Pope points out, "is that the criteria underlying certain decisions will become less transparent, that decisional responsibility will be hidden, and that producers may evade the obligation to act for the good of the community."
For this reason, the "sense of limits" is important, which, according to Francis, is "an aspect often neglected in today's technocratic and efficiency-oriented mentality, yet decisive for personal and social development. The human being, in fact, mortal by definition, thinking of surpassing every limit thanks to technology, runs the risk, in the obsession of wanting to control everything, of losing control of himself, and in the search for absolute freedom, of falling into the spiral of a technological dictatorship".
Discrimination and injustices
The Pope stresses that all these issues pose great ethical challenges: "In the future, the reliability of someone who asks for a loan, the suitability of an individual for a job, the possibility of recidivism of a convicted person or the right to receive political asylum or social assistance could be determined by artificial intelligence systems. (...) Systemic errors can easily multiply, producing not only injustices in individual cases but also, by domino effect, authentic forms of social inequality".
On the other hand, there is the risk of an influence and limitation on human freedom, since "forms of artificial intelligence often appear capable of influencing the decisions of individuals by means of predetermined choices associated with stimuli and persuasions, or by means of systems for regulating personal choices based on the organization of information. These forms of manipulation or social control require precise attention and supervision, and imply a clear legal responsibility on the part of producers, users and government authorities".
The Pope reminds us that human rights must always come first: "We must not allow algorithms to determine the way we understand human rights, to set aside the essential values of compassion, mercy and forgiveness, or to eliminate the possibility for an individual to change and leave the past behind."
In addition, another important issue to consider is the impact "of new technologies on the workplace. Jobs that were once the exclusive province of human labor are rapidly being absorbed by industrial applications of artificial intelligence."
Weapons
Another of the Pope's major concerns in this area is the arms race: "The possibility of conducting military operations by means of remote-controlled systems has led to a lesser perception of the devastation they have caused and of the responsibility for their use, contributing to an even colder and more distant approach to the immense tragedy of war. The pursuit of emerging technologies in the field of so-called 'lethal autonomous weapons systems', including the warlike use of artificial intelligence, is a major ethical concern.
Autonomous weapon systems can never be morally responsible subjects. The uniquely human capacity for moral judgment and ethical decision-making is more than a complex set of algorithms, and that capacity cannot be reduced to the programming of a machine that, while 'intelligent,' is always a machine. For this reason, it is imperative to ensure adequate, meaningful and consistent human oversight of weapon systems."
In addition, another aspect to take into account is "the possibility that sophisticated weapons could end up in the wrong hands facilitating, for example, terrorist attacks or actions aimed at destabilizing legitimate government institutions".
Education
The Pope also points out that these technologies can have an impact on education, and stresses the need to "promote critical thinking. Users of all ages, but especially young people, need to develop a capacity for discernment in the use of data and content obtained from the web or produced by artificial intelligence systems. Schools, universities and scientific societies are called upon to help students and professionals to take ownership of the social and ethical aspects of the development and use of technology".
Appeal to the international community
In the message, the Pope indicates that these concerns are not the responsibility of a few, but of every human being, and that the use of this type of technology must be regulated: "I urge the community of nations to work together to adopt a binding international treaty to regulate the development and use of artificial intelligence in its many forms".
"My prayer at the beginning of the new year is that the rapid development of forms of artificial intelligence will not increase the already numerous inequalities and injustices present in the world, but will help to put an end to wars and conflicts, and to alleviate so many forms of suffering that affect the human family," the Pope concludes.
Towards the verdict of the "trial of the century" at the Vatican. What you need to know
The verdict of guilt or innocence of the ten defendants and four companies related to the case known as the Becciu case will be announced on December 16, although it will be later when the full verdict with the motivations and allegations will be known.
Andrea Gagliarducci-December 14, 2023-Reading time: 5minutes
It has been called the "trial of the century". In reality, however, the Vatican trial for the management of the funds of the Secretariat of State is more like a commercial law trial, in which the most frequent accusations are those of corruption, fraud and embezzlement.
Even so, the process has achieved international resonance because for the first time a cardinal, Angelo Becciu, has been accused in a Vatican tribunal. Until the Pope Francis' motu proprio of April 30, 2021In fact, cardinals could only be judged by the Vatican Cassation, which is a college of three cardinals.
The verdict, i.e. the declaration of "guilty" or "not guilty" of the ten defendants and four companies on remand, will be announced on December 16. On the other hand, the full verdict, with the reasons, should be published a few months later.
The dispositive part, however, will have to be interpreted, because the charges are many, sometimes cross-cutting and involve several defendants, and are subject to change.
It is also possible that the court may decide that certain offenses are not exactly those contained in the indictment provided by the prosecutor, deciding lighter penalties or simply declaring that the acts committed do not constitute a crime. To do this, it is first necessary to understand what the trial consists of.
One trial, three trials
The investigators have followed three leads, very different from each other and all related to the theme of "management of the funds of the Secretary of State".
The first clue is the most important: the investment of the Secretary of State in the shares of a luxury mansion in London for about 200 million euros. The investment was first given to the agent Raffaele Mincione and then to the agent Gianluigi Torzi. Torzi, in turn, took the shares of the investment and kept only the 1,000 voting shares, thus maintaining full control of the property.
Therefore, the Secretary of State decided to buy the shares and take control of the building. The negotiation that led the Secretariat of State to pay Torzi compensation for the loss of the shares was considered "extortion" by Vatican investigators. The Holy See then sold the palace without carrying out the planned development operations (the investment was not so much in the palace itself, but in a project to expand it and reallocate its use to rental purposes) for a price below market value. According to the Vatican Promoter of Justice, the loss to the Holy See would range from 139 to 189 million euros.
The second clue concerns the allocation of funds from the Secretariat of State amounting to 125,000 euros to Caritas of Ozieri, in Sardinia, Cardinal Angelo Becciu's home diocese. The money was destined by Caritas to SPES, a cooperative linked to Caritas that carries out social work, and was intended to cover the expenses of a bakery created to create jobs for the marginalized, and the construction of a "citadel of charity". The crime would be embezzlement, because according to the accusation Becciu used the money of the Secretariat of State for personal purposes and to enrich his family.
The third clue concerns the hiring by the Secretariat of State of Cecilia Marogna, a self-styled intelligence expert who claimed to collaborate in the release of some hostages, including that of Sister Cecilia Narvaez, the Colombian nun kidnapped in Mali in 2017. The woman, according to the Prosecutor's Office, would have spent for herself money that had been earmarked by the Secretariat of State to conclude the release operations.
What the defendants risk
The Vatican's promoter of justice has asked for total sentences of 73 years and one month in prison, in addition to various disqualifications and fines. According to the promoter of justice Alessandro Diddi, the common thread of these three lines of investigation is always and only Cardinal Angelo Becciu. It matters little that Becciu was involved in the operation of the London palace only at the beginning, because it was under his management that the sale and purchase of the shares in the building began.
Precisely because the cardinal has never shown signs of repentance, the maximum possible penalty has been requested for him: 7 years and 3 months in prison, disqualification from public office, a fine of 10329 euros and a request for forfeiture of 14 million.
For René Bruelhart, former chairman of the Financial Intelligence Authority, 3 years and 8 months imprisonment, temporary disqualification from public office and a fine of 10329 euros have been requested.
For Tommaso Di Ruzza, director of the Financial Intelligence Authority, 4 years and 3 months imprisonment, temporary disqualification from public office and a fine of €9600 have been requested.
For Monsignor Mauro Carlino, who was the deputy's secretary at the time of the operation, 5 years and 4 months in prison, perpetual disqualification from public office and a fine of 8,000 euros are requested.
Enrico Craso, who was finance director of the State Secretariat through Credit Suisse, is asked to serve 9 years and 9 months in prison, a fine of 18,000 euros and perpetual disqualification from public office, according to the indictment.
Cecilia Marogna, faces 4 years and 8 months in prison, perpetual disqualification from public office and a fine of 10,329 euros.
For the racer Raffaele Mincione 11 years and 5 months of imprisonment, life disqualification from public office and a fine of 15450 euros are requested, while Gianluigi Torzi faces 7 years and 6 months of imprisonment, life disqualification from public office and a fine of 9000 euros.
For the lawyer Nicola Squillace, who claimed to have acted on behalf of the Secretary of State, 6 years imprisonment, suspension from the practice of his profession and a fine of 12500 euros.
The highest sentence requested was for State Secretariat official Fabrizio Tirabassi: 13 years and 3 months imprisonment, perpetual disqualification from public office and a fine of €18750.
In addition, the Secretariat of State of the Vatican, the Administration for the Patrimony of the Apostolic See and the Institute for the Works of Religion have joined the proceedings as civil plaintiffs: the former has asked for compensation for image damages caused by the operations of between 97 and 177 million euros, while the IOR has requested restitution of 206 million euros and almost one million euros for moral and reputational damage to the Institute.
The defenses
The defenses have pointed out what they consider to be contradictions in the reconstruction of the promoter of Justice, and have all requested the acquittal of their defendants, for two main reasons: because the fact does not exist, and because the fact does not constitute a crime.
According to the defenses, there was no investment crime, nor was any evidence presented that the losses on the purchase of the building constituted a crime. The defense also stressed that there was no evidence that Cardinal Angelo Becciu and his family had received funds illegally, so he could not be charged with embezzlement. Finally, the defenses accused the Vatican's promoter of justice of elaborating a theorem, regardless of the outcome of the hearing.
From the sentence, the resistance of the Vatican judicial system will be understood. If the investigations are shown to be characterized by bias, as the defenses claim, this could weaken the Vatican judicial system itself. Already a London judge, Baumgartner, in proceedings related to this process, has called the findings of the investigations a mischaracterization, an accusation that the promoter of Justice returns to the sender.
The presence of no less than four papal rescripts that have hastily changed the rules of research is also an important issue. The rescripts only concern this trial. But can a fair trial really be characterized by extemporaneous decisions?
Cardinal Pell understood before others the economic reform of the Holy See
In a letter to the Dicastery for the Economy, Pope Francis acknowledges the steps taken in improving the economic management of the Holy See and offers new indications on how to continue the journey, from the recognition of just remuneration to just investments.
Giovanni Tridente-December 14, 2023-Reading time: 4minutes
The Cardinal George PellIn his role as the first prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy, he showed courage and - as in the Christian life - displayed zeal, conviction and determination, having "seen" and understood before others "which was the path to follow". Pope Francis put it in black and white in a letter addressed to the people working in the Secretariat for the Economy. Economywritten a week after receiving them at a hearing in mid-November.
On that occasion, the Holy Father launched an invitation to move forward along the path already undertaken almost ten years ago with the establishment of the Agency, especially with regard to transparency, control and more agile and efficient procedures within the Roman Curia.
Concepts that he now reiterates more clearly in this letter released by the same Dicastery for the Economy last December 12: "Looking back and noting the current situation, I cannot fail to see the many advances that have been made," Francis began, also highlighting the numerous appreciations received for the work carried out following the indications of the first Prefect Pell, so that the patrimony of the Holy See would be mission-oriented, avoiding the risks and mistakes of the past.
The foundations laid by Cardinal Pell have allowed his successors to promote new reforms, many of which have been approved under the direction of Father Juan Antonio Guerrero, who has worked "with a style founded on dialogue, concreteness and simplicity," acknowledges the Pontiff.
The journey has just begun
But the path of reform is by no means finished. "On the contrary," writes the Pope, "it has only just begun," because as for all the living realities of the Church in general, and of the Roman Curia in particular, one must always orient oneself towards what is best, keeping a watchful eye on the effects of the various changes, adapting where necessary.
"We must not forget" - the Holy Father adds - "that the correct management of the patrimony and its use is a testimony given to all of how much can be done with little", and the work carried out by those who work in this context of "economy of mission" is a true service rendered to the universal Church.
A job that is undoubtedly "delicate" because the risk of transforming authority into command or recognition and respect into fear is just around the corner, along with the temptation to "exercise power instead of making decisions" or even to avoid using money where it is needed to increase and make the Church's mission flourish, for example in those circumstances "where there is more need in a disinterested way".
A clear warning to invest resources appropriately together with the need to exercise the "ability to listen and be listened to", but also to engage the various professional and technical economic skills not on the basis of an "arbitrary will of those responsible for deciding or authorizing", but with the aim of leading the various initiatives to be supported "towards the common good".
Of course, you also have to be loyal to know how to "say no when what is represented to you or what you find in the controls betrays the mission", rather in favor of particular interests, or with the violation of the norms for purposes alien to the Holy See and to the Church and its mission.
Prudence and loyalty
"Prudence and loyalty," the Pope therefore asks, "for the common good of our work community, of the Church, of the faithful and of those in need." A service that must certainly be carried out with "professionalism, dedication, in-depth study", without, however, forgetting "humility, a willingness to listen, a spirit of service and, finally, vigilance and a culture of legality and transparency".
Faced with the economic deficit of the Holy See, which annually erodes a part of its patrimony, the Pope asks to "reverse the trend", inviting everyone to "be ready with modesty and spirit of service to renounce their own particular interest for the sake of the common interest", freeing themselves from rigidity and opening themselves to updating.
Rewarding merit
The Pontiff's thinking is, on the one hand, to hire new figures - competent, ethically prepared and professional - but also to give those already working in the Holy See the possibility of renewal, offering them "training, opportunities for growth, new experiences", without diminishing the signs of trust and recognition. This also means "fair remuneration", "the fairer the more it is linked to results and to the contribution that each one makes to the service of the Church". Avoid careerism, but certainly reward merit.
The same must apply in the case of external suppliers to whom the Holy See has recourse: "ethics, ability and professionalism, at the right price for an equitable benefit," as has already been regulated in recent years. And for the patrimony in general, the fruits of whose management must also be shared equitably "so that all have what they really need".
Investments, Pope Francis further specifies, "must have neither the aim of speculation nor that of accumulation" and the same must apply to the budgets and endowments available to the various entities, so that there are not "rich entities and poor entities" but harmony throughout the Holy See, because all "participate in the realization and pursuit of the same good".
You and God prepare for the feast. Collect for the III Sunday of Advent
We have already passed the halfway point of Advent and the Church surprises us with this Sunday called GaudeteI repeat, rejoice in the Lord; I tell you again, rejoice. The Lord is near" (Phil 4:4-5).
Carlos Guillén-December 14, 2023-Reading time: 3minutes
It is precisely this joy motivated by the closeness of the Lord that is also reflected in the corresponding collect prayer:
O God, who contemplate how faithfully your people await the feast of the birth of the Lord, grant us to rejoice in so great an event of salvation and to celebrate it always with solemnity and overflowing joy.
Deus, qui cónspicis pópulum tuum nativitátis domínicae festivitátem fidéliter exspectáre, presta, quaésumus, ut valeámus ad tantae salútis gáudia perveníre, et ea votis sollémnibus semper laetítita celebráre.
Again, those in charge of the liturgical reform saw fit to move the old prayer in use to another day and find one that better reflected the essence of this Sunday. With minor modifications we now use this prayer, which comes from the Ravenna Ritual (8th century).
In its structure we find a brief invocation (Deus), the anamnesis that refers to the approaching Christmas and a subordinate clause that introduces an epiclesis with two petitions.
Waiting, arriving and celebrating
The abundant use of verbs in this sentence is interesting. On the one hand, the verbs with personal forms present us with two subjects: God and his people. God is the one who contemplates (conspicis) always with paternal and benevolent love for his pilgrim people. We, as his people, turn to him full of filial trust to ask him (quaésumus) your help, so that we can (valeámus) to attain the goods of salvation that he has destined for us. This is the dynamism of the whole Christian life.
On the other hand, the three verbs that appear in the infinitive give us a good idea of the attitudes with which the Church situates herself in this liturgical season.
First, there is the wait (exspectáre): a look ahead with hope, towards the Birth of the Savior. Undoubtedly, this awakens a powerful desire in the Christian and this desire originates in him, in her, the movement of wanting to reach (perveníre) that marvelous horizon that God unfolds before the eyes of faith. And, of course, arriving will become a celebration (celebrate), with that double nuance that it has: of celebration, logically, but also of liturgical action, therefore, of real and effective participation in the salvific mystery.
Joy and solemnity
The last mentioned action, celebrating the Birth of the Lord, is accompanied by two characteristics that give it a particular tone: joy (laetítia) and solemnity (votis sollémnibus).
Joy is the specific characteristic of this third Sunday of the month. Advent. A particularly lively, animated, enthusiastic joy (alacri). In this "joyful" way, God encourages us not to be satisfied with the joy we may already have, but to seek a fuller joy. A fullness that is only possible by drawing closer to Him, by trusting Him more, by letting ourselves be loved more by Him. Even if we know that, deep down, we will only attain perfect joy after this life. And, precisely for this reason, we understand the need to correspond more fully to God's grace here on earth, taking advantage of the time God gives us.
The other characteristic to which we have referred are the solemn rites full of splendor that usually accompany Christmas. Surely they want to help us to taste the beatitude of Heaven, joining us already to the perfect happiness of the choirs of angels and saints.
Although, paradoxically, such a celebration contrasts radically with the humility of the birth of the Child God in Bethlehem, in a manger. And it also contrasts with our personal smallness, with our lack of merit and sometimes with our defeats. Perhaps in this way we can see that God really has to put it all together. He is the one who puts on the party. Without God, without Redemption, there would be no reason to celebrate. Undoubtedly, it is God who has given us the right to celebrate. Even if we still celebrate under the veil of this world that is about to pass away, it is still a reality that the reason for our joy and our celebration is already among us, and that is reason enough to want to transform our lives.
U.S. Department of Homeland Security seeks to increase protection at houses of worship
Catholic, Christian, Jewish and Muslim places of worship have become potential targets for vandalism or attacks, especially since the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Since 2020, there have been at least 308 incidents of vandalism and destruction in parishes or chapels of the Church in the United States. Arson, destroyed images, stained glass windows, stolen liturgical objects, walls and doors painted with anti-Catholic language, are some of the cases of vandalism that have occurred in the last three years.
Sometimes these crimes can escalate into hate attacks resulting in loss of life, as happened in 2017 at St. Augustine's Church in Des Moines, Iowa. At other times, the attacks can be cyber attacks as in 2019 at St. Ambrose Church in Brunswick, Ohio, a computer crime that left millions in losses. Threats to places of worship in the U.S. are increasingly complex and widespread, ranging from acts of vandalism or cyber attacks to attacks with weapons.
Given this reality, Archbishop Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York and chairman of the Committee for Religious Freedom of the USCCB, noted in 2022: "The U.S. bishops have noted a disturbing trend of vandalism in Catholic churches. We are not alone. Our friends in other religious groups also suffer these attacks, and in some communities they occur more frequently."
Catholic, Christian, Jewish and Muslim places of worship have become potential targets for vandalism or attacks, especially since the conflict between Israel and Hamas. FBI Director Christopher Wray noted in an appearance before lawmakers on December 6 that hate crimes in the U.S. have been on the rise for some time, but the number of cases has increased by 60 % since October 2023.
Security for religious communities
In light of these developments, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), through the Agency for Infrastructure Security and Cybersecurity released a set of security guidelines for places of worship on December 6. The 16-page document titled "Physical Security Performance Goals for Religious Communities" contains a series of actions specifically designed to help religious organizations plan for, protect their buildings, and respond to threats.
"The physical security performance goals we are releasing today provide churches, synagogues, mosques, and other religious institutions with accessible and easily implementable strategies to improve their security and reduce risk to their communities," said Alejandro N. Mayorkas, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. For her part, Jen Easterly, DHS Agency Director in charge of the DHS Infrastructure and Cybersecurity Agency stated, "The agency has a long history of supporting faith communities to improve physical and cybersecurity practices."
Some of the recommendations presented in the document are: Monitor access points with video surveillance systems, place motion-activated lighting outside, install alarms on windows and doors, control access to reserved areas such as offices, electrical or computer facilities. In the case of schools, it is recommended to have only one controlled entry point.
On the other hand, to prevent cyber attacks, the agency recommends updating software periodically, requiring secure passwords for accessing computer files, protecting data with encryption methods, and verifying that there are no unauthorized connections or devices on computers. The text also suggests forming a security planning team with members of the community and having a leader, ideally with professional experience in the area, to assist in emergency situations.
DHS also recommends that religious group leaders reach out to local law enforcement personnel and agencies to learn how they can help deal with an emergency when it arises.
The friend of the bridegroom. Third Sunday of Advent (B)
Joseph Evans comments on the readings for the Third Sunday of Advent and Luis Herrera offers a brief video homily.
Joseph Evans-December 14, 2023-Reading time: 2minutes
What stands out in today's Gospel is the transparency of John the Baptist: the light of God's truth flows through him as through the clearest of windows. In fact, the evangelist uses precisely light as a metaphor to describe the Baptist's ministry: "This one was coming as a witness, to bear witness to the light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but the one who bore witness to the light.".
And the sincerity, the clarity, of John shines through in this passage: "And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, 'Who are you?' He confessed and did not deny; he confessed, 'I am not the Messiah.'". He sees himself only as a "voice" in the wilderness: not the content, the Word (which is Christ himself), but only a means that the Word uses to convey its message, as our voice might speak the words, the ideas, of another person.
And when the priests and Levites sent from Jerusalem ask John why he baptizes if he is neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet announced by Moses, he answers: "I baptize with water; in the midst of you there is one whom you do not know, the one who comes after me, and whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.". What gives so much authority to John's testimony is his extraordinary humility. He is very clear about how little he is and what he is not: he is not the Christ, he is not the content of the message, but a mere means for its transmission. He even considers himself unworthy to be Christ's slave: unworthy to do the slave's work of untying his master's sandals.
In another passage (Jn 3:28-30), which also shows John's humility, he describes Christ as the "husband" and its own role as that of a mere "husband's friend" whose voice "rejoices" much to hear. It is not surprising, then, that the Church offers us as today's first reading a beautiful text from Isaiah that also expresses joy in the expectation of salvation: "I overflow with joy in the Lord, and rejoice with my God.".
While the messengers of the Jewish authorities are so serious and joyless ("Who art thou, that we may give an answer to them that sent us? What sayest thou of thyself?"), John rejoices humbly. Knowing how unimportant we are, mere servants of truth, is deeply liberating.
Homily on the readings of the Third Sunday of Advent (B)
The priest Luis Herrera Campo offers its nanomiliaA short one-minute reflection for these Sunday readings.
Today, December 13, we celebrate Saint Lucy, a Christian martyr who was beheaded in 304 under Emperor Diocletian. Since the 15th century, popular devotion has identified St. Lucy as the patron saint of sight, and events are held in many countries around the world.
"Lucia, martyr of Syracuse, reminds us by her example that the highest dignity of the human person consists in bearing witness to the truth, following one's conscience at all costs, without duplicity and without compromise". Pope Francis, just a year ago, thus addressed the members of the Italian Union of the Blind and Visually Impaired (UICI), received in audience in the Sala Clementina, on the eve of the liturgical memorial of St. Lucy, patron saint of the visually impaired and visually handicapped.
Fragility is a resource: "This means being," the Holy Father added, "on the side of the light, at the service of the light, as the very name Lucia evokes. Be clear, transparent, sincere people; communicate with others in an open, clear, respectful way. This is how you help to spread the light in the environments in which you live, to make them more human, more habitable".
Today, December 13, we celebrate Saint Lucy, a Christian martyr who was beheaded in 304 under Emperor Diocletian. Since the 15th century, popular devotion has identified St. Lucy as the patron saint of sight, and events are held in many countries around the world.
The story of Lucia begins in Syracuse, between 280 and 290 AD. Born into a wealthy family, she is fatherless and betrothed to a patrician. Her life takes an important turn when her mother, Eutichia, falls seriously ill. During a pilgrimage to the tomb of St. Agatha, Lucia prays for her mother to be cured, at which point she has a vision in which St. Agatha announces her destiny as the future patron saint of Syracuse. After her mother's recovery, Lucia dedicated her life to serving the Lord, distributing her wealth to the poor. She was persecuted for refusing to marry, but despite torture and the threat of death, Lucia remained firm in her Christian faith until the day she was beheaded.
Contrary to popular belief, December 13 does not coincide with the shortest day of the year, as it falls on the winter solstice, December 22. However, the period between December 13 and 14 can enjoy a celestial spectacle with the Geminids, similar to the Perseids in August.
It is said that, after her conversion to Christianity, St. Lucy lost her sight or even plucked out her eyes in an attempt to resist sin. In Italy, there is a tradition that she brings gifts to children, which originates from a gesture of generosity attributed to the saint. After her death, according to legend, St. Lucy returns to earth to bring happiness to children on the night of December 13, symbolizing the light she brought to the world. The figure of Saint Lucia, therefore, has evolved in Italian folklore as a sort of Santa Claus in advance who delivers joy and gifts to the little ones, in a gesture charged with spiritual meaning. This tradition, rooted in generosity and symbolism, has helped to shape the iconography of the saint as a luminous and beneficent figure, especially loved by children.
All over the world there are different and attractive celebrations linked to St. Lucy. In Syracuse, the city of which she is patron saint, the National Festival of Lights and Renewal takes place on December 12 in anticipation of the procession with a silver statue through the streets on the feast day. In Sweden, girls dressed in white carry cookies and saffron rolls in procession, with white dresses symbolizing purity. In Tuscany, the "Santa Lucia Fair" offers typical products, sweets and Christmas decorations, while in Florence the Christmas fir tree is lit with music and toasts.
In other parts of Italy, such as Lucca, the hospital of San Luca organizes initiatives for this day dedicated to the patron saint of sight. One of the traditions on this feast is the blessing of the eyes, and there will also be a concert by the band of the Folgore parachute brigade. The Milan cathedral, also involved in the celebration of the saint, preserves a copy of her statue in which Lucia is depicted with her eyes on a saucer, symbolizing that she is the patron saint of stonemasons.
"My mother taught us that we had to forgive," says Boko Haram victim
Aid to the Church in Need has launched a campaign to help the Nigerian church with the slogan "Help Nigeria. Martyred Church, Living Church". According to the Religious Freedom Report launched by ACN this year, "Nigeria is one of the worst countries in the world to live the Christian faith".
This morning, a press conference was held at the headquarters of ACN Spain, a foundation of the Holy See, to explain the current situation in Nigeria and the details of the Aid to the Church in Need campaign.
Nigeria is currently one of the most dangerous countries in the world for Christians due to numerous terrorist attacks by the Boko Haram and Islamic State of West Africa groups, in addition to the "Fulani" in the center of the country. Since 2022, 39 priests have been killed, 30 priests kidnapped and 17 catechists murdered.
Victim assistance projects in Nigeria
The press conference was attended by Kinga von Schierstaedt, Team Leader for Africa of the Project Department of Aid to the Church in Need International (ACN), Father Joseph Bature Fidelis, Director of the Human Resources and Trauma Care Center of the Diocese of Maiduguri, and Janada Marcus, a survivor of the Boko Haram attacks.
According to ACN, "the bishops have requested projects to improve the security of priests and religious". Among these projects are the construction of security fences in convents, cars so that priests can move around in more rural areas instead of walking or cycling, which makes kidnappings more difficult, and alarm systems in presbyteries so that priests can call for help when an attack occurs.
Another project carried out was the construction of the Trauma Care Center in Maiduguri, as many people need support due to the trauma caused by the terrorist attacks, especially in the north of the country. "They come here shattered. They flee the violence and flock to the Church for support and comfort and find professional and spiritual care and social promotion. True peace is only achieved when the trauma of the deeply wounded is healed," says the center's director, Father Joseph Bature Fidelis.
During the year 2022, Aid to the Church in Need has financed 122 projects, with a total of 2.1 million euros: construction or reconstruction of churches, seminaries, parsonages and other church buildings; training of local clergy, support for priests, subsistence aid for nuns, financing of catechetical material and support for means of transportation and means of communication.
Janada Marcus' testimony
Currently, as Kinga von Schierstaedt explained, the campaign is focusing on four types of projects: psycho-spiritual care and security, formation, maintenance of the Eucharistic adoration center dedicated to the Nigerian martyrs and the formation and support of priests.
Janada Marcus, a 25-year-old woman, has been the victim of terrorist attacks on four occasions. On one occasion, she was abducted after surgery, still with a festering wound and under the effects of anesthesia, and was imprisoned for a year and eight months along with others until she managed to escape. On another occasion, she witnessed her father being killed by Boko Haram. Janada was treated at the Maiduguri Trauma Care Center, where her mother took her when she saw that her daughter was having continuous nightmares and was unable to talk to people. Janada said this morning that she has managed to forgive the terrorists and now has peace of mind: "My mother taught us that we had to forgive. It is part of our Christian faith.
Currently, the young woman has managed to get her life back on track, she has a diploma in Tropical Health and Disease Control and in March of this year she visited the Vatican and was able to greet Pope Francis.
Despite terrorism, ACN notes that "Nigeria is the country in Africa with the largest number of seminarians and, despite discrimination and persecution, the number of aspirants continues to grow".
Francis calls for openness to Jesus and peace in the Holy Land
In the last session of the cycle on the passion to evangelize, Pope Francis invited the audience today to reflect on the word of Jesus to the deaf and dumb, EffetáHe also called on all the baptized to proclaim the Gospel, and to exchange "the gift of friendship". He also called again for a humanitarian cease-fire and the release of all hostages in the Holy Land.
Francisco Otamendi-December 13, 2023-Reading time: 4minutes
With a more recovered tone of voice, and on some occasions standing, the Holy Father presided this morning, the feast of St. LuciaThe Pope, virgin and martyr, held the 30th and last session of the cycle of catechesis on the passion to evangelize, the apostolic zeal of the believer, in the Paul VI Hall of the Vatican. The theme of the Audience has been "EffatáThe "Open Church", based on the Gospel passage of the healing of a deaf-mute by Jesus (Mk 7:31-35).
Numerous Mexican chants to the Virgin of Guadalupe, whose feast day was celebrated yesterday, preceded the catechesis, along with shouts of Viva el Papa!
The Pontiff insisted once again that "let us not forget to ask for the gift of peace for the peoples suffering from the war, especially for Israel, Palestine and the tormented Ukraine". He recalled the pain and suffering of these peoples, and called for a humanitarian cease-fire, because humanitarian aid is urgently needed in Gaza. He also called for the release of all hostages, and again cried out: "No to war, yes to peace".
"Launch ourselves into the sea of the world."
In his meditation, the Pontiff recalled that "Effatá"is an expression that the celebrant says at the moment of baptism, while touching the ears and lips of the baptized. "It is a call to open and expand the whole person to receive the proclamation of Jesus and go out on mission."
"Let us allow the Lord to touch our tongues and ears, to open them, to untie them to announce his presence that liberates and comforts everyone, especially those who suffer most," the Pope said. "May he fill us with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit to fan the flame of divine love in the hearts of all, without fear, with courage. Abandoning personal securities and trusting in the call of Jesus will make us launch out into the sea of the world, ready to go and announce to all peoples what we have seen and heard."
"Let us not forget," continued the Holy Father, "that the Lord calls us to open ourselves to the breath of the Holy Spirit, to listen to his voice and to allow ourselves to be impelled by the passion to evangelize; this is a task that concerns every Christian. (...) "We too, who have been given the effetá of the Spirit in baptism, we are called to open ourselves. "Open up," Jesus says to every believer and to his Church: open up because the message of the Gospel needs you to be witnessed to and proclaimed! Open yourself, do not close yourself in your religious comforts and in the "it has always been done this way"! Open yourself, Church, to the breath of the Holy Spirit, who urges you to be missionary, evangelizing!".
"The love we give"
The "Effatá (Open yourself)" of Jesus, "is an invitation to rediscover the joy of mission in the fire of the Spirit. Missionary zeal, in fact, is not propaganda to gain consensus, it is not proselytism, nor is it filling one's head with notions, but rather to ignite in the heart the spark of God's love. To paraphrase a beautiful expression, we could say that the heart of those to whom we proclaim is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be lit," the Pope explained.
Therefore, "apostolic zeal does not depend on organization, but on ardor; it is not measured by the consent we receive but by the love we give. (...). The message is clear: to be shepherds of God's people, we must be fishers of men, ready to leave the shores of our own security to set sail with the Gospel on the sea of the world".
Francis also invited us to examine ourselves with these questions: "Let us also ask ourselves: Do I really love the Lord, to the point of wanting to proclaim him? Do I want to become his witness or am I content to be his disciple? Do I take the people I meet to heart? Do I bring them to Jesus in prayer? Do I want to do something so that the joy of the Gospel, which has transformed my life, may also make theirs more beautiful?
"Celebrate at Christmas the coming of the Christ Child."
In his greeting to the pilgrims in various languages, the Holy Father invited "all of us, as baptized Christians, to bear witness to Jesus and to proclaim him. Let us also ask for the grace, as a Church, to carry out pastoral and missionary conversion" (French language). To English-speakers he reminded them of the Advent and the ChristmasI welcome all English-speaking pilgrims, especially the groups from Malaysia and the United States of America. To each of you, and to your families, I wish you a fruitful Advent journey to celebrate at Christmas the coming of the Child Jesus, the Savior of the world. May God bless you.
To the German-speaking people he recalled "may St. Lucy, Virgin and Martyr, whose liturgical memory falls today, help us to make Christ shine with our witness of faith, light of the peoples".
The Pope told the Arabs that "by virtue of baptism, every Christian is called to be a prophet, witness and missionary of the Lord, by the power of the Holy Spirit and to the ends of the earth. May the Lord bless you all and protect you always from all evil.
He emphasized to the Poles that "a special way of living Advent in your country is to participate in the Masses. Rorate caeli. May this beautiful tradition, which expresses the expectation, together with Mary, of the coming of the Savior, become an opportunity to give witness to your living faith".
And he encouraged Spanish-speaking people "not to forget that the Lord calls us to open ourselves to the breath of the Holy Spirit to listen to his voice and allow ourselves to be impelled by the passion to evangelize; this is a task that concerns every Christian. May Jesus bless you and the Holy Virgin watch over you".
Finally, in Italian, Francis recalled St. Lucy, and pointed out that "in some parts of Italy and Europe it is customary to exchange gifts on this feast because of the proximity of Christmas. I would like to invite you all to exchange the gift of friendship and Christian witness, which is a precious gift".
Pope urges Syro-Malabar Catholics to have communion
The mode of celebration of the Holy Qurbana, the Eucharistic rite of this ancient Eastern Rite Church in communion with Rome, has recently aroused controversy. The Pope has sent a strong video message to the Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly asking that the Eucharistic rite be celebrated next Christmas according to the modality adopted by the Synod of the Syro-Malabar Church.
The Pope has reshuffled the leadership of the Syro-Malabar Church of India in the state of Kerala, accepting the resignation of the major archbishop, Cardinal George Alencherry, and of Msgr. Andrew Thazhath, the apostolic administrator he appointed two years ago for the "rebel" archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly. A measure adopted after the vain mission as pontifical delegate of the Slovak Archbishop Cyril Vasil, former secretary of the Congregation for Oriental Churches, which did not help to ease the tensions between the Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly and the rest of the Syro-Malabar Church.
The object of contention, as underlined both by the Vatican News as Asia News, remains the mode of celebration adopted by the Syro-Malabar Synod in 2021, which provides for the celebrant to face the altar during the central moment of the liturgy. A solution that the vast majority of the clergy of Ernakulam-Angamaly - the largest archdiocese of the Syro-Malabar Church, comprising about a tenth of the faithful - does not want to accept, having adopted the rite in which the celebrant faces the assembly after the Second Vatican Council. Thus, the ancient confrontation over the unified liturgy, which has long divided this very ancient Church of the Indias The Orientales remains unresolved.
Pope's warning call
Pope Francis, far from underestimating the gravity of the situation, sends a strong video message to the Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly, asking that the Eucharistic rite be celebrated next Christmas in all the Churches according to the "unified" modality adopted by the Synod of the Syro-Malabar Church after years of discussion, but rejected by the clergy of the diocese where the seat of the major archbishop is located.
"You are Churches, do not become a sect," Francis says. "Do not force the competent ecclesiastical authority to take note that you have left the Church, because you are no longer in communion with your pastors and with the successor of the apostle Peter, called to confirm all the brothers in the faith and to preserve them in the unity of the Church."
Cardinal Alencherry, who was elected major archbishop by the Syro-Malabar Synod in 2012, since 2017 has been involved in an affair related to a sale of land owned by the Church, which has caused scandal and controversy in the Catholic community of Kerala. In his letter to the cardinal, the Pontiff nevertheless renews his personal esteem, recalling also that Alencherry had already submitted his resignation in 2019, but the Holy See - accepting the opinion of the Synod - had rejected it. Now, therefore, the leadership of the Syro-Malabar Church in accordance with the law has been entrusted to the curial bishop Sebastian Vaniyapurackal, until the election of the new major archbishop, which is expected to take place in January.
New apostolic administrator
As for the Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly, in accepting the resignation of Msgr. Andrews Thazhath as apostolic administrator (who remains archbishop of Trichur), Francis appointed Msgr. Bosco Puthur, bishop emeritus of the Melbourne eparchy of the Syro-Malabarese, as the new apostolic administrator. Thazhath was also highly questioned for the way he carried out the mandate given to him by Pope Francis to resolve the dispute over the liturgy.
In recent days, a letter also caused a stir, stating that the eight deacons of the diocese awaiting priestly ordination could only be ordained after taking an oath to celebrate the Qurbana (the Eucharistic rite) only in the manner established by the Synod, which, as discussed above, requires the celebrant to face the assembly during the first part of the liturgy, but then turn toward the altar at the moment of consecration.
Pope's video message to the Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly.
In this "strong time" of the liturgical year, we continue with the series on the Prefaces of Advent. In addition to the Prefaces present in the typical Latin edition, our Missal adds two others, newly composed. The first, called Preface III of Advent, can be used until December 16.
Giovanni Zaccaria-December 13, 2023-Reading time: 3minutes
Here too, as in the Preface I of AdventThe eschatological character of this part of the time of preparation for Christmas is predominant.
It is indeed fair to thank you,
it is our duty to sing in your honor
hymns of blessing and praise,
Almighty Father, beginning and end of all creation.
You have hidden the day and the hour from us
in which Christ, your Son,
Lord and Judge of history,
will appear, clothed in power and glory
above the clouds in the sky.
On that terrible and glorious day
the figure of this world will pass
and the new heavens and the new earth shall be born.
The same Lord who will then show Himself to us full of glory
is now coming to meet us
in every man and in every event
that we may receive him in faith
and by love let us bear witness
of the blissful expectation of his kingdom.
Therefore, as we await his final coming,
united with angels and saints,
we sing the hymn of your glory:
Holy, Holy, Holy...
The text presents a certain novelty from the beginning, since it shows an initial protocol different from that of most of the other Prefaces. From the very first expressions, it directs the contemplative gaze of the faithful towards God the Father Almighty, the beginning and end of all things: in this way it introduces us immediately into a perspective that is both cosmic and historical-eschatological.
The embolism of the preface consists of three sections, also indicated graphically in the text of the Missal. The first section recalls the text of Matthew 2436, in which Jesus himself affirms that no one knows the day and hour of the Son's final manifestation; these words in themselves constitute an invitation to vigilance, a typical theme of this time of Advent.
Then we turn to the prophetic vision of the second coming of Christ, when "they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with great power and glory" (Mt 24:30). He will come as Lord (cf. Acts 2:36) - which translates the Greek Kyriosand Judge (cf. Acts 10:42), that is, the one charged with establishing justice once and for all (cf. Rev 20:11-12).
From the "end times" to everyday life
The second section continues with the description of that last day and defines it as tremendous (cf. Gl 2:11) and glorious (cf. Ez 39:13 and Acts 2:20), adjectives that show the extraordinary nature of the moment, which instills fear and at the same time reveals the majesty of God (glorious is an adjective that usually refers to God). The vision, however, does not stop here, but opens to the grandiose contemplation of the new heavens and the new earth: the figure of this world passes away (cf. 1 Cor 7:31) and a new era begins, characterized no longer by fragility, but by fullness and definitiveness, as attested by the prophecies of Isaiah (cf. Is 65:17 and 66:22), later taken up by 2 Pet 3:13 and Rev 21:5.
In the Epistle to the Romans, Paul also directs his gaze toward this fullness when he says: "For the creation has been subjected to the fall (...) in the hope that the creation itself also will be set free from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of God" (Rom 8:20-21). It is beautiful to observe how in this fresco of what will be, the material dimension is not only not despised, but on the contrary, it is exalted, in that recapitulation of all things that includes not only man, but the whole cosmos.
Finally, the third section of the Preface proposes to us the passage from this grandiose contemplation of the events of the "end times" to daily life: preparing for the coming of the Lord means above all opening our hearts to our neighbor and welcoming every person and every event; in the people the Lord places at our side and in the events that happen to us, God speaks. There is here an echo of the words of Gaudium et Spes 22: "By the incarnation, the Son of God has united himself in a certain way to every man".
The text concludes with a tripartite sentence, which highlights the necessity of the theological virtues for daily life: faith is necessary to be able to recognize Christ who makes himself present in the events of life and to be able to welcome this presence of his; charity is indispensable to bear witness to the Christian life, which is open to hope, that is, to the confident expectation of the fulfillment of God's plans of salvation for us.
Finally, precisely by nourishing the expectation of the second coming, we are invited to join the angels and saints in the singing of the Sanctus.
What to expect from the Synod of Synodality in 2024
All the bishops of the world have received a document encouraging them to deepen the work of the Synod of Synodality and to prepare for the October 2024 session.
The news portal Vatican News informs that all the bishops of the world have received a document and a letter from Cardinals Mario Grech and Jean-Claude Hollerich related to the Synod of Synodality that the Church is experiencing.
The document sent begins by encouraging the episcopate to reflect on the session that took place in October 2023, during which a work dynamic based on dialogue and experience was followed. At the end of the Assembly, the synthesis of the topics discussed was made public, to which the bishops are invited to return to continue reflecting on the work done.
The text then clarifies that the Synod is not based on the issues discussed. Citing the Pope Francis explains that "the important thing is how the reflection is done, that is, in a synodal way". However, we cannot lose sight of the topics that the participants will discuss in 2024. For this reason, the Pope will indicate questions that he considers relevant and will convene groups of experts from all continents to work, with the involvement of the competent Dicasteries of the Roman Curia, in an ecclesial dynamization coordinated by the General Secretariat of the Synod". Finally, the groups will present working reports at next year's meeting.
On the other hand, the document sent to the bishops asks them to deepen "the concrete forms of the missionary commitment to which we are called, in the dynamism between unity and diversity proper to a synodal Church". To this end, work will be done both at the level of the local Church and of the local Churches with the Pope, for which it is necessary for each bishop to consult his community.
Guidelines
The working guidelines sent to all the bishops encourage a "reflection centered on the theme of the differentiated co-responsibility in the mission of all the members of the People of God". However, they also emphasize seeking expert voices. The document calls for "the involvement of experts and academic institutions present in the area, so that the contribution of theological and canonical expertise, as well as relevant human and social sciences, can be present".
On the other hand, the Ordinary Council of the Synod wants the experiences of synodality to be broadened at the local level, promoting initiatives, inviting those who live in situations of exclusion, Christians of other denominations and people who confess other religions.
To facilitate the process, the General Secretariat of the Synod has published a possible worksheet on which the local Churches can rely. The document can be found on the official website of the Synod and is available in several languages.
New "Instrumentum Laboris
After the consultation, each episcopal conference will have to send a summary of the work to the General Secretariat of the Synod by May 15, 2024. With the contributions of the local Churches, the body in charge will draft the "Instrumentum Laboris" of the October session.
Although the material sent by the local Churches "will not directly constitute the object of discernment" of the 2024 meeting, it will help to "compose a framework in which to situate the work of the Assembly".
The Spanish Association of Personalism (AEP) will offer a master's degree on Karol Wojtyla/John Paul II that will run from January to October 2024. The deadline for registration is January 10, 2024.
The Master's program will run from January to October 2024. registration period will end on January 10, 2024. The sessions, which will be held on Wednesday afternoons, will last three hours and will be recorded so that those enrolled can enjoy them at a later date.
The full registration fee is 1500 €, although there is the possibility of taking the master's degree in modules of two subjects. Members of the Spanish Association of Personalism will receive a 5 % discount on the registration fee.
"This master's degree offers a complete and interrelated overview of the many facets of Karol Wojtyla/John Paul II: his initial poetic and theatrical vocation, his philosophical and theological formation, his own anthropological proposal, which he called personalism, and his innovative theology of the body. The master's degree can be understood as a tribute to Karol Wojtyla-John Paul II that seeks to disseminate his immense personal, doctrinal and spiritual legacy," they indicate in the web. The title also "offers a complete vision of his life and work, unique in the Spanish language".
For further information, please contact the deputy director of the master's program, Nieves Gómez, at the following e-mail address: [email protected].
Subjects
The first block of subjects will take place from January to February with the following topics: "Karol Wojtyla / John Paul II (1920-2005)" ("The Polish context. Student of philology during Nazism. Priest and professor of Ethics. Archbishop of Krakow in an occupied Poland. The Second Vatican Council. Pope John Paul II and his influence on the 20th century"); and "The beauty of the word: poetic and theatrical work" ("From the Sonnets and the Renaissance Psalter to the poems of the mature period. The theatrical works of the neo-Romantic period: Job and Jeremiah. Dramas of the rhapsodic period. The goldsmith's workshop. Roman Triptych: synthesis and summit of his literary work").
The second block will be developed from March to April, with two other topics: "Ethics, love and responsibility" ("The renewal of ethics in the Lublin school under the influence of Scheler, Kant and Thomas Aquinas. Love and responsibility. The personalistic norm. Pleasure and sexuality. The person and love"); and, secondly, "Personalist anthropology" ("The personalism of Karol Wojtyla. The project of Person and action. Consciousness and self-consciousness. Freedom as choice and self-determination. Psyche, soma, integration and self-realization. The structure of affectivity").
The third block will take place in the months of May and June, and will focus on the following two themes: "Theology of the body" ("The mystery of the beginning: male and female created them. The human couple as image of the Trinity. The redemption of the heart. The body and the work of art. The resurrection of the flesh"); and "Marriage and family as 'communio personarum'" ("The feminine genius and the 'mulieris dignitatem'. Spousal love and fecundity. Marriage as an institution. The family as the place of the person. Paternity, maternity, filiation").
Finally, from September to October, the fourth and last block will be developed, with the themes "Socio-political thought" ("Participation and alienation. Work: objective and subjective dimension 'Laborem exercens'. The debate on liberation theology. Democracy, society, solidarity, market"); and, secondly, "Church and Christianity in John Paul II ("The Christological perspective: Christ reveals man to man, 'Redemptor hominis'. Science, reason and faith. The Church before its history. An Ecumenical Perspective. From the Second Vatican Council to the Third Millennium. Totus tuus").
Faculty
As for the faculty, the director of the master's program is Juan Manuel Burgos, president of the AEP and the AIP, and professor at the CEU San Pablo University and the Villanueva University of Madrid. He has edited the complete works of Karol Wojtyla in Spanish, and is the author, among others, of the books "Para comprender a Karol Wojtyla" (BAC) and "La filosofía personalista de Karol Wojtyla" (Palabra).
The deputy director of the master's degree is Nieves Gómez Álvarez, PhD in Philosophy from the UCM and professor at the Universidad Villanueva and UDIMA in Madrid, and at the Universidad Anáhuac in Mexico. She has been a collaborating professor at the Pontifical Institute John Paul II and in 2021 she taught in the John Paul II Chair of the CITES (Avila) the intensive course "The defense of the person. Wojtyla in the face of atheistic humanisms".
Also participating will be Juan José Pérez Soba, director of the International Area of Research in Moral Theology at the John Paul II Pontifical Theological Institute in Rome, and professor of Pastoral Theology of Marriage and the Family at the same institute, and Bogdan Piotrowski, author, translator and co-author of 14 books related to the work and teachings of Karol Wojtyla, and member of the Colombian Academy of Language. He personally knew John Paul II and the Holy See appointed him official translator of his works into Spanish for Latin America. He will teach the module "The beauty of the word: poetic and theatrical work".
Other professors will be Benjamin Wilkinson, Alejandro Burgos, Marco Lome, Patricia Garza Peraza or Andrzej Dobrzynski.
The apparition of the Virgin of Guadalupe to the Indian Juan Diego is one of the Marian apparitions verified by the Church and known worldwide. Although there are many reports of apparitions, the Catholic Church is very careful when determining their veracity, falsity or possibility.
Since the beginning of Christianity, the protection and help of the Virgin Mary for Christians has been a constant in history. Marian devotion, a humus of trusting and filial faith, is based, on many occasions, on apparitions of the Mother of God to different people at different times and places.
The apparitions of the Virgin are one of the subjects in which the Church puts more care and study before determining the veracity of these apparitions that are, when they occur, epicenter of faith in God.
Concept of "Marian apparition".
For the Catholic Church, Revelation -the making known of God through man- concluded with the death of the last of the Apostles. With this, the deposit of Faith already presented everything that must necessarily be believed or practiced in order for souls to reach eternal salvation or heaven.
But this in no way hinders the existence of private revelations - apparitions, visions, messages... - from God, the saints, and also from the Virgin Mary.
Naturally, the Church reserves the authority to make an authentic judgment on visions or apparitions, to approve them or not, bearing in mind that, although they help the Christian people to increase their religiosity, they are not matters of necessary faith.
Marian apparitions are manifestations of the Virgin Mary to one or more persons, in a specific place and time in history, which the Catholic Church pronounces in order to determine their veracity, falsity or possibility.
Some of the apparitions have originated places of worship or pilgrimage of great religious relevance, such as the Basilica of Guadalupe, or the sanctuaries of Fatima and Lourdes. Other apparitions have inspired the birth of religious orders, such as the Carmelites, Mercedarians or Conceptionists.
With regard to possible apparitions, the Church is extremely cautious, prudent and charitable, and above all stresses the distinction between public revelation, contained in Sacred Scripture and Tradition, which constitutes the "depositum fidei," and private revelations, to which we are referring in this fascicle. Public revelation, as we said, is finished, but not completely explicit, and it is up to the Magisterium - the teaching task of the Church - to deepen the richness of its content in the course of time.
We cannot claim that the approval of a Marian apparition guarantees the words that the visionaries transmit as having been pronounced by Mary. It is not a question of Sacred Scripture or of a divine inspiration, but of something that the Mother of God wanted to communicate at a particular moment, for a particular purpose and through particular visionaries.
Thus, the Catechism states in its point 67 that "Throughout history there have been so-called 'private' revelations, some of which have been recognized by the authority of the Church. These, however, do not belong to the deposit of faith. Their function is not to 'improve' or 'complete' the definitive Revelation of Christ, but to help us to live it more fully at a certain time in history.".
Are some appearances true and others false?
As for the apparitions -which would be private revelations- we can also classify them as public or private.
Among the public apparitions, or those with external relevance, the Church has recognized, to date, almost thirty as being of supernatural origin. These are some of the best known:
The first is the Virgin of Pilar, who appeared to the apostle Santiago in Zaragoza, Spain, around the year 40.
Later, in the 13th century, the Virgin of the Rosary in France and the Virgin of Mount Carmel in the Holy Land.
In the 16th century the Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexico, Our Lady of Velankanni in India -today Bharat-. In the 17th century Our Lady of Laus in France.
At the end of the 18th century Our Lady of La Vang in Vietnam.
In the 19th century in France the Miraculous Medal, Our Lady of Victories, Our Lady of La Salette, Our Lady of Lourdes, Mother of Hope and Mother of Mercy; also in the 19th century Our Lady of Knock in Ireland.
And in the 20th century Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal; Mother of God and Our Lady of the Poor in Belgium; Our Lady of All Nations in Holland; in Italy Our Lady of Revelation and Our Lady of Tears; Our Lady of Prayer in France; Our Lady of America in the USA; Our Lady of Akita in Japan; Our Lady and Mother Reconciler in Venezuela; Our Lady of Capua in Nicaragua; Mother of the Word in Rwanda; Our Lady Soufanieh in Syria; Our Lady of the Rosary of St. Nicholas in Argentina; and the Guardian of the Faith in Ecuador.
The Church has also declared the falsity of some apparitions, among them Bayside in the USA, Belluno in Italy, and Palmar de Troya in Spain.
Finally, we will refer to some apparitions of doubtful veracity, which does not imply that they are necessarily considered false, since in the future we could count on their recognition: Garabandal in Spain, Our Lady of Zeitun in Egypt, and the Queen of Peace in Medjugorje, Bosnia.
How does the Church approve a Marian apparition?
First and foremost, it should be noted that there is no regulation of this phenomenon, neither in the Code of Canon Law or any other instrument. We do have the Observatory of apparitions and mystical phenomena linked to the figure of the Virgin Mary in the world, created by the Pontifical International Marian Academy with the aim of analyzing and interpreting the various cases of Marian apparitions awaiting a pronouncement by the ecclesiastical authority on their authenticity.
The Church recognizes that God - personally or through, for example, his Mother - can speak directly to some souls and communicate some good to them, for themselves or for society. But, as has been said, these revelations add nothing to Christian doctrine, already revealed by Christ and always in the process of study and discernment by the Magisterium. The purpose of these revelations would be the help dispensed by Our Lady to live the faith in accordance with the teaching of the Church.
To verify the authenticity of the apparitions, the Church will fundamentally evaluate the following elements: the mental equilibrium of whoever claims to be a visionary; his or her level of cultural and doctrinal education, as well as his or her communion with the Church; his or her probity of life or virtuous life, since although Mary can appear to anyone, it does not seem admissible that she will show herself to those who appear as sinners or far from God; if any desire for economic gain arises on the occasion of the apparitions; the transparency and naturalness, to rule out that any apparition is focused on whoever claims to be a seer without further ado; the number of apparitions and the content of the message received; the extraordinary signs linked to the apparitions, such as healings, miracles, cosmic phenomena, etc.The spiritual fruits, such as conversions or, in general, the fruits in the souls of those who enjoy the apparitions; and the compliance of the supposed visionaries to the dispositions of the ordinary of the place, in general the bishop.
If after this verification the ecclesiastical authority - the bishop of the place or the Holy See - approves the apparition under study, it can be believed with only human faith, provided that nothing contrary to faith and morals appears in the apparition and it is proven that it is due to supernatural causes.
In short, the aspects to be taken into account in order to approve an alleged Marian apparition will be the person of the seer, the content of the vision or apparition, its nature, form and purpose.
As for the process of approval, there are several stages: favorable declaration by the bishop, when he declares that the alleged apparitions do not contain anything contrary to faith or morals; permission for the celebration of the liturgy, when it is permitted to celebrate Holy Mass at the site of the apparitions; papal recognition, when the apparition has a notorious worldwide repercussion; and finally liturgical recognition, when the apparition becomes part of the liturgical calendar.
The approval can be given by the bishop himself, on the understanding that if the Holy See has not intervened in the approval, this does not mean that he rejects it.
Notes common to Marian apparitions approved by the Church.
From the various apparitions approved by the Church we can conclude a series of aspects generally common to all of them, and which in some way come to verify their authenticity:
Seers are psychologically healthy and simple people. They do not manifest emotional deviations, and avoid focusing attention on their persons. Before the apparition, in several cases, they were not particularly spiritual and did not claim to have visions.
Humility, the avoidance of self-referentiality, and the admission that it may be something illusory if the ecclesiastical authority so disposes, are notes common to the visionaries. In addition, another sign of their humility is that they are capable of obeying authority when it so disposes.
The apparition entails a series of tests and difficulties for the lives of the seers, which will be normal or not, and will always require supernatural facts or signs.
They usually take place in secluded, silent places that invite recollection and prayer.
The message Our Lady transmits to them normally exhorts them to live the Gospel, to increase the life of piety and the works of mercy and to remember forgotten aspects of the Faith or in the process of being forgotten.
In short, we find events that, although they do not form part of the deposit of Faith, can help to strengthen that Faith and to know what God, through the Virgin Mary, will want for his children at a given moment in the history of their salvation.
Throughout the Gospels, we find Jesus followed by thousands of people who sought him out to ask for his merciful favors. Crowds easily flocked to him in search of healing, deliverance, or to hear his transformative teachings. They presented him with real needs, such as their paralysis, blindness, leprosy, or brought them sick and hopeless in repeated scenes and pictures of pain.
To this day, these are the most common images on the altars and in the chapels visited by those who come in time of need. It would be strange to see a church full of grateful worshippers who come not to ask but only to offer in gratitude! Still, welcome to all, for He unconditionally invited them to say, come to me, the weary and heavy laden, and bring me your burdens. (Matthew 11:28).
In the Gospels we read of two exceptions that we could highlight of those who came to prostrate themselves to give him gifts: one at the beginning of his life, and the other towards the end of it. On the first occasion, some interesting characters from the East (kings, magi, or astrologers) who, following the omen of the star, obsessively sought him out to present him with very expensive chests of incense, gold and myrrh.
The second occasion was the case of the mysterious woman with a pure nard perfume in an alabaster jar costing 300 denarii, the annual salary of a worker in Jesus' time. In those times when expensive oil or perfume was transported or stored, the jar was sealed so as not to risk it evaporating or being used in waste. Therefore, the jar would have to be broken to finally use the expensive contents.
The woman with the perfume
An interesting tradition from ancient times will help us understand this Gospel. It is said that some cultures used to have unmarried maidens prepare a cup of expensive perfume and keep it until the day the desired man proposed to them. If the young woman agreed to his proposal she would prove it by breaking the vessel and pouring the perfume on his feet; a way of sayingI receive you in my heart and in my life, and I give you the treasure of my purity reserved for you.. The Song of Songs also mentions the perfume of fine nard as a symbol of fidelity and purity in conjugal love.
At Mark 14:3-9A woman known as a sinner, when she heard that Jesus was eating at a Pharisee's house, came in with an alabaster jar filled with the costly perfume of fine nard, broke it, and approaching Jesus anointed his head and all his hair, and fell at his feet wetting them with her tears and wiping them with her own hair. Who is this woman who was not on the guest list for that succulent dinner? A silent lover of Jesus? One who found the love of her life and wanted to show it to him like the maidens in love in ancient times? Or is she a prophetic figure of humanity prostrate before his feet, weeping with love and repentance, offering her only wealth in exchange for the forgiveness of her many sins?
It is interesting that the four Gospels speak of her: in Luke, Matthew and Mark the woman is anonymous but in the Gospel of John she is identified as Mary of Bethany, sister of Lazarus and friend of Jesus. Now it makes more sense! She who on other occasions would sit at His feet in ecstasy for long hours listening to Him, would become obsessed with Him and would profess her love for Him by giving Him her preserved fine nard as a gift. But very much in His style, Jesus transformed a moment charged with human feelings and realities into spiritual languages and supernatural experiences. The place became one of those confessionals where no one would everno words can be heard, but the tears of repentant faces can be seen.
– Supernatural woman is prophetically sized to prefigure all those of contrite hearts before his feet who finally value spiritual riches far above material or human riches and communicate with languages of sanctified love. The dinner guests are the same as always who do not see beyond the mundane and everyday and question the value of spiritual gains. And the poor who must always be cared for are those who are affectively rather than materially deprived, and who need not only physical bread, but also food for the soul.
Christ and the murmurings
Whoever this woman was, at the conclusion of the renowned moment, Jesus said something that did notever said of any of the guests at the dinner, or of any follower or disciple: "Wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what she has done will also be told for a memorial of her" (Mark 14:9).
Observers tabulated and greedily counted this offering as they still do today. The world with its banking mentality does not understand the unmeasured dedication of a consecrated life or an act of unconditional surrender and sacrifice. A year's salary squandered in a moment of exaggerated sentimentality? What a waste of so little wealth! Besides, there were those who thought that this perfume was tainted with sin, for what woman in those times could afford such a luxury? Only someone who made a good living in sinful business.
Jesus did not care about the comments of her past or her sin. All that was diluted in the tears of repentance of a contrite woman. "Let her alone, for because she has been forgiven much, she has loved me much" (Luke 7:47-50). The guests saw only a broken jar and a costly wasted spikenard. But for Jesus, the "ground gold" of the spikenard did not compare with his sincere tears flowing from a broken heart: these were far more costly and valuable. For just as only by breaking alabaster will spikenard spring forth, so inner brokenness unleashes powerful invocations, unrecognizable virtues and streams of grace. The aroma of the imported ointment filled the house and even permeated the clothes of the guests in that room. It was the kind of expensive fragrance that was used in drips because of its strong odor, and spilling a whole bottle flooded the atmosphere until it could still be perceived several days later.
The good smell of Christ
A few days after what happened at this penultimate public supper, Jesus washes the feet of his disciples at the last supper, and hours later faces his passion and death. But on that road to Calvary, Jesus did not smell of blood, sweat or death. The scent of the fine spikenard so impregnated in Him flooded the route of the Via Dolorosa, as a symbol of the fragrance of mercy. Jesus would shed His blood to benefit all those prostrated before that cross throughout history. The shattered flask was a figure of Jesus' body which would be broken. His shed blood would be more precious than the purest oil: an eternally present and pervasive fragrance of forgiveness, of incomparable value and redemptive power.
Every time you, woman, shed tears of brokenness, repentance and gratitude at the feet of Jesus, you turn your pain into a precious perfume, you are handing over to him a whole story of joys and tears, of achievements and failures, of efforts and rewards, of gains and losses. It will be worth it to sacrifice that tithe in exchange for eternal life! It will be worth it to sign that peace treaty and negotiation of mercy so that you will hear the same words that Jesus said to her: her many sins are forgiven because she showed me much love (Luke 7:47). It will no longer be your past sins or brokenness that will identify you, but you will be recognized by the aroma of the fine spikenard that His mercy will impregnate in you.
After instituting the World Day of the Poor in 2017, as a legacy of the Jubilee of Mercy, and the World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly in 2021, still in times of pandemic, Pope Francis announced at the Angelus on December 8 the establishment of the World Day of Children, whose first edition will be held on May 25-26, 2024.
"The initiative responds to the question: what kind of world do we want to bequeath to children who are growing up?" the Pope said, also in response to Jesus' invitation to care for them. The poor, the elderly and children, along with young people (whose World Day was first instituted by St. John Paul II in 1986), have always been at the center of Pope Francis' magisterium.
While the first initiative, the one dedicated to the poor, is coordinated by the Dicastery for Evangelization, the day for grandparents and the elderly is in the hands of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life. The second, for children, will be sponsored by the Dicastery for Culture and Education.
The event at the Vatican
On November 6, an allusion to this day was held in the Paul VI Hall of the Vatican with thousands of children from different parts of the world, some 80 countries, who were able to tell their dreams and wishes directly to the Pope. The Pontiff spent some time with them listening to the questions of some of the "representatives": Isidora from Brazil, Rania from Palestine, Massimo from Rome, Ivan from Ukraine, Kim Ngan from Vietnam, Antrànik from Syria, Celeste from Peru, Pauline from Congo, Sofia from the Philippines, Luxelle from Africa, Susa from Samoa Tonga, Chris from Haiti, Drew from Australia, Salma from Ghana.
They had been convened by the same Dicastery of Culture for the event "Let's learn from children", in synergy with the Community of Sant'Egidio, the Auxilium Cooperative and with the support of the Franciscans.
"We have talked about many beautiful things, but the most beautiful thing that touches your hearts is peace, because you do not want war, you want there to be peace in the world," Pope Francis said at the end of the meeting after responding individually to each child.
A more beautiful and good world
For the occasion, "The Children's Encyclical" was also presented, a book signed by Franciscans Enzo Fortunato and Aldo Cagnoli, in whose preface the Pope writes: "Dear children, I embrace you, and know that your Pope and 'grandfather' will do everything possible so that you may live in a more beautiful and good world".
The same coordinating group for the November initiative will create the basis for future World Children's Days. Commenting on the Holy Father's decision to establish the Day on a permanent basis, the organizing committee underscored the spirit in which the project was born: the desire to imagine together with children "a different world, where there is peace, care for the environment and a choice for fraternity".
Carlo Acutis was a young Italian Catholic and web designer, best known for documenting Eucharistic miracles and approved Marian apparitions around the world and cataloging them on a website he created before his early death from leukemia.
The heartbeat of the sky
Director: José María Zavala and Borja Zavala
PhotographyMiguel Gilaberte
Music: Luis Mas
Platform: Cinemas
"The Heartbeat of Heaven" is a documentary about his life and work. A compendium that takes us into his universe by interviewing his family, his parish priest and the people he changed throughout his life, such as the Indian Rajesh Mohur, a member of a Brahmin priestly caste who embraced Catholicism thanks to the daily example of the Italian Blessed.
Carlo, an apostle of the Eucharist, dedicated entire years of his short life to researching Eucharistic miracles throughout the world.
The Zavala brothers travel around the world to follow his trail and provide extensive unpublished material, spinning documentary with animated fiction. From recordings of Carlo Acutis himself in his original voice, to recreations of his life and Eucharistic miracles.
The Offer
The anecdotes surrounding the filming of "The Godfather" have always delighted cinephiles and agnostics. The conflict with the mafia, Frank Sinatra's boycott, managing to put feet to the project with a talented crew and a meager budget...; That's what it's all about. The Offer.
The offer
CreatorMichael Tolkin
Actors: Miles Teller, Matthew Goode, Dan Fogler, Burn Gorman, Colin Hanks, Giovanni Ribisi, Juno Temple
Platform: Sky Showtime and Paramount +
A closed series of the never-before-revealed experiences of its producer, Albert S. Ruddy. 10 chapters that one can devour enjoying the story, the dialogues, the performances, the costumes....;
An award-winning creation that has galvanized opinions, and whose followers - including myself - recommend it to anyone who will listen. This is a carefully crafted series. A love letter to cinema.
"Silence and sobriety are essential in the Christian life," Pope says
At today's Angelus, the Pope reflected on the figure of St. John the Baptist, the Forerunner of the Lord. He also recalled the Armenian and Azeri prisoners, and the suffering of Ukraine, Israel and Palestine.
At today's Angelus, the Pope reflected on the figure of St. John the Baptist, focusing on two aspects: the "desert" and the "voice. The desert, the Pope commented, is an "empty place, where there is no communication, and the voice, the means of speaking, seem to be two contradictory images, but in the Baptist they are combined".
On the desert, Francis affirmed that "John preaches there, on the banks of the Jordan River, near the point where his people, many centuries before, entered the Promised Land", which has a symbolism: "To listen to God we must return to the place where for forty years He accompanied, protected and educated his people, in the desert. This is the place of silence and essentiality, where one cannot allow oneself to be entertained by useless things, but must concentrate on what is indispensable for living".
The Pope affirmed that all this can be applied to our present reality: "In order to proceed along the path of life, it is necessary to divest ourselves of the 'extra', because living well does not mean filling ourselves with useless things, but freeing ourselves from what is superfluous, in order to dig deep within ourselves, to grasp what is truly important before God. Only if, through silence and prayer, we make room for Jesus, who is the Word of the Father, will we know how to free ourselves from the contamination of vain words and idle talk. Silence and sobriety - in words, in the use of things, media and networks - are not only "ornaments" or virtues, they are essential elements of the Christian life".
Regarding the symbolism of "the voice," the Pope said that "this is the instrument with which we express what we think and what we carry in our hearts. We understand then that it is closely linked to silence, because it expresses what matures within, from listening to what the Spirit suggests. Brothers and sisters, if one does not know how to be silent, it is difficult to have something good to say; on the other hand, the more attentive the silence, the stronger the word. In John the Baptist this voice is linked to the authenticity of his experience and the limpidity of his heart".
At the conclusion of the Angelus, the Pope recalled that 75 years ago, on December 10, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was signed. "In this regard, I am close to all those who, without proclamations, in the concrete life of every day fight and pay in person to defend the rights of those who do not count," Francis said.
On the other hand, the Pope expressed his joy "for the release of a significant number of Armenian and Azerbaijani prisoners. I look with great hope at this positive sign for relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, for peace in the South Caucasus, and I encourage the parties and their leaders to conclude the peace treaty as soon as possible".
Francis also recalled the suffering in Ukraine, Israel and Palestine, and assured his "prayer also for the victims of the fire that occurred two days ago in the hospital of Tivoli".
"Simbang Gabi" is a Filipino tradition that consists of a novena of Masses in honor of the Blessed Mother that begins on December 16 (or 15 in the afternoon) and concludes on the 24th, with the Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve.
The season of Advent is a time of spiritual preparation for the celebration of the Incarnation of the Divine Word. With hope, joy and certainty, the parishioners renew their ardent desire for his second coming. In this way, the CatechismThe Church actualizes the expectation of the Messiah.
Throughout history, different cultures have developed many ways of living the Advent season in preparation for the coming of Christ. Christmas. One of them is the "Simbang Gabi", which literally means "Mass at dawn". This devotion, which has its origins in New Spain and the Philippine archipelago in the 16th century, came to the United States with Filipino immigrants. It is the third largest Asian ethnic group in the USA, with about 4.5 million, 65 % of whom consider themselves Catholic. They are present in most U.S. states, but especially in California, Hawaii and Texas.
Meaning and origins
"Simbang Gabi" is a novena of Masses in honor of the Blessed Mother that begins on December 16 (or 15 in the afternoon) and concludes on the 24th, with the Misa de Gallo on Christmas Eve. This devotion has its roots in the 16th century in New Spain. It was brought by missionaries traveling from Mexico to the Philippines, during the time when the archipelago was governed from the Viceroyalty of New Spain.
At its inception, most of the workers who participated in "Simbang Gabi" in the Philippines were farmers or fishermen who started or finished their workday at dawn. Hence, this novena of Masses is celebrated at dawn, between 4 or 5 in the morning. At the ringing of the bells, musical bands invited people to join the liturgical celebration. Families walked to the churches illuminated by candles placed inside small lanterns or star-shaped lanterns made of bamboo and colored paper. During the Mass, the parishioners would enter in procession, dressed in their typical costumes and carrying the lanterns, which were then displayed inside the churches. The ceremony included hymns and local expressions of faith.
At the conclusion of the Mass, families and friends would share their dishes, reinforcing the spiritual bonds and brotherhood. Currently, the "Simbang Gabi" Masses maintain the central elements that gave rise to it; for example, the parishioners attend Mass dressed in typical costumes. At the beginning of the ceremony there is a procession of lanterns. The Mass is celebrated in English, Tagalog or some dialect and at the end of the liturgy people share their dishes, all in a family atmosphere.
"Simbang Gabi" in the U.S.
"Simbang Gabi" takes place in dozens of churches in at least twenty U.S. dioceses. As a devotion that includes Mass during the season of Advent, the ordinaries of each U.S. diocese issue a series of liturgical guidelines for its celebration. For example, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles states that "Simbang Gabi" Masses within this jurisdiction should be in English and Tagalog (language of the Philippines), but may include the use of other dialects spoken in the archipelago, such as Ilocano, or Cebuano.
Likewise, the liturgical color will be purple or pink (on the third Sunday of Advent) and the decorative vestments and sacred music (duly approved by the ecclesiastical authority) should be sober, thus reflecting "the character of Advent, of expectant joy in preparation for Christmas", according to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. In this archdiocese, the first Mass on December 15 will be presided over by Archbishop José Gómez. The ceremony at the cathedral will be attended by delegations representing more than 120 parishes in Los Angeles where the Filipino community is present.
This devotion not only helps parishioners prepare their hearts and souls for the coming of Christ at Christmas, but also enhances the bonds of brotherhood among the Filipino-American community. It is also an opportunity for Catholics of other nationalities to get closer to the rich Filipino culture, not only through faith, but also through the food, music and traditional costumes of the archipelago.
Fray Manuelfrom Jerusalem: "It is moving to see Christians convinced that peace is possible".
Friar Manuel lives in Jerusalem, in a neighborhood in "a rather radical Arab area. However, he affirms that the time of war "impels us, with great force, to live something that is only proper to Christianity: the culture of forgiveness".
Fray Manuel belongs to the Custody of the Holy LandThe Order, founded by St. Francis of Assisi, was entrusted by the Holy See to guard the places that witnessed the Incarnation of Christ. Currently, Friar Manuel is at the Sanctuary of Betfagélocated on the Mount of Olives. From this point, Jesus began his journey to Jerusalem before the Passion, mounted on a donkey and surrounded by a cheering crowd with palm branches.
This friar, who has also resided at Nazareth y Beit Sahour (the field of the shepherds to whom the angel appeared, near Bethlehem), affirms that, although the war has "shaken them with unusual force", they see God present in the midst of all the people of different confessions who congregate to pray for peace.
What was your vocation process like, where are you now and what is your work?
Many years ago, after finishing my studies in Hispanic Philology, I was able to put a name to an interior process that I did not know very well what it consisted of and how it developed. After two years I understood that it was possible to follow Jesus in the path of consecrated life, in the Franciscan way, since St. Francis played an essential role in the whole process. I rendered different services in the former Betica OFM Province and after having lived strong interior experiences with groups of pilgrims in the Holy Land, God gave rise to the desire to come to the land where our salvation began and culminated.
After the union of seven Franciscan provinces into the Province of the Immaculate Conception of Spain, I was granted obedience to serve the Custody. I have lived in Nazareth, Beit Sahour and at present I am in Jerusalem, on the Mount of Olives, at the Shrine of the Palms, in Bethphage, which brings to mind the place from which Jesus departs, mounted on a donkey, with his disciples and group to Jerusalem to live his passion, death and resurrection.
What is the Custody's mission?
In its pastoral ministry, the Custody of the Holy Land covers various fields of action:
-Shrines and care for pilgrims: the Franciscans are present in 50 shrines, places that recall events of the salvation of our Lord or refer to the apostles or Sacred Scripture; in addition, the stones of the shrines and their permanence over the centuries, guarantee the historical truth of what is remembered and celebrated. The friars welcome a multitude of pilgrims from all over the world, accompanying the groups as spiritual assistants, providing everything necessary for the celebrations, listening, sharing and offering a testimony about the place that favors the strengthening of the faith or its consolidation. In addition, the Custody offers pilgrims places to stay for days, called "Casa Nova": hotels or hostels where they work from another perspective.
-Parishes: the parish ministry of the Custody is carried out in 29 parishes, the most prominent or well known being those of Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Yaffo (Jaffa) and Nazareth, with churches in Syria and Lebanon. The Arab parishes are one of the most important activities of the Custody; they were born for the pastoral care of Christians of the Latin rite, a minority in the East, and with the activities of the parishes, the living stones (local Christians) who have kept the faith over the centuries, and feel strengthened and accompanied in their daily pilgrimage.
-Teaching, artistic and intellectual activity: education and culture are other important activities of the Custody, which has 15 schools called "Terra Sancta College" and about 10,000 students in centers in Israel, PalestineJordan, Lebanon and Cyprus. In the schools, coexistence between Muslims and Christians, real dialogue and mutual acceptance are sought from an early age.
This is one of the tasks that contributes most to the search for the path of peace, since, following St. Francis, in the Custody's schools, peace is placed where there is hatred and paths are sought where traces of harmony can be left. The teaching task requires a great effort, because the economic possibilities of Christians are scarce and the Custody welcomes these students free of charge, even in the courses that follow compulsory education. The Custody gives a scholarship to qualified young people so that they can continue their studies at university.
In addition, the Custody has the "Studium Biblicum FranciscanumThe Custody also has the "Muski Center for Christian Oriental Studies" in Jerusalem, which is the Franciscan University, the "Muski Center for Christian Oriental Studies" in Cairo and the "Magnificat" Institute in Jerusalem, which is a conservatory open to Christians, Jews and Muslims; music often brings together people of different faiths and conditions, and the conservatory carries out invaluable work in this field. In the same way, the Custody has a "Christian information center", which offers to the whole world, through the media, the retransmissions of the main events, the news and everything concerning Christian life in the Holy Land.
-The ministry of charity, social work: to support local Christians and other people who come either to Caritas or to its own centers such as homes for the elderly, or the care of children, adolescents and young people from broken homes, as is the case of the "Caritas for the Elderly".Casa del fanciullo"in Bethlehem. The Custody also builds houses for Christians: the most significant example is in the St. Francis neighborhood in Bethphage; in addition, it offers housing with houses, owned by the Custody, in exchange for a symbolic rent, a reality enjoyed by 350 families.
-Pastoral care for migrants: another reality that is found in the territorial scope of the Custody is to care for Catholics from the Philippines, Latin America, Eastern Europe and Africa who come, particularly women, to Israel for work. In particular, the Parish of St. Anthony of Yaffo (Jaffa) serves a large community of Filipinos, not only with liturgical celebrations, but also by offering space for meetings and activities.
With all these activities, the Custody carries out a quiet and daily work in the search for coexistence and peace.
What is it like to live the faith in the Land of Jesus?
Living the faith in the places that contemplated our salvation implies a great responsibility because, on the one hand, you pass through or visit the sanctuaries that recall an event of Jesus, whether historical or resurrected, and this fact makes you feel privileged, since many Christians would like to have the same experience and cannot; on the other hand, you assume the responsibility of being a witness of what you see before others, always seeking coherence of life and walking in the truth.
The traces left by the Master of Nazareth are intense and it is enough to go to the Holy Sepulcher or to Calvary to relive daily the great love with which we have been loved and to discover the beauty of the Gospel, given that the words continually resound: "Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, he is risen" (Lk 24:5-6). This fact makes you a bearer of hope, a messenger of peace and goodness; it urges you to walk with the people and strip yourself of many things in order to console, listen and make credible that the Kingdom is a reality.
To close in on myself, not to be welcoming or not to share the lives of others would go against what I contemplate every day: the stones that remind me of the living stones that make up the Church, in which the Lord continues to teach, heal, encourage and have words of life.
In addition to guarding the Holy Places, the Custody also has an ecumenical role. What steps have been taken with other Christian denominations and what is the current climate?
The Particular Statutes of the Custody of the Holy Land dedicate an entire chapter to ecumenism and relations with other religions. Following the secular tradition of so many Franciscans who, in the Middle East, have worked tirelessly for the encounter and dialogue with the various Christian confessions, the Custody continues its commitment to the search for respect and dialogue with other confessions and their traditions.
Many gestures, small or more significant, are carried out: welcoming other confessions in the sanctuaries and providing the space and the necessary for celebrations and worship (Orthodox and Protestant); organizing concerts, through the Magnificat InstituteThe event, which brings together Jews, Christians and Muslims; Christmas meetings with the patriarchs of the Christian confessions; the signing of joint documents and the making of decisions in the face of adverse circumstances and a host of activities that mark the day-to-day life of this multiform land.
At present, there is a good climate with the other churches, both in the Commission of the ".Status quo"The Custody also participates in the prayer for peace events, which are attended by the faithful as well as by patriarchs and delegates. Finally, the Custody maintains a fluid dialogue with both the Palestinian Authority and the State of Israel, for, as one might say, we are in the same boat.
How do you live your vocation in the midst of war?
The war has shaken us with unusual force and has thrown us into the worst of the human race: confrontation, hatred, violence and discord. If Jerusalem is already living in the midst of attacks, raids, surveillance and all the measures one can think of, during this time of war everything has been altered. The culture of hatred and fear leads me to seek peace and understanding with everyone above all else; I know that this is specific to our Franciscan vocation, but these difficult times in the Holy Land make this dimension emerge even more strongly.
In the same way, the war leads me to an exercise of introspection to see what is really valuable and good in my heart, to know my dark areas and to begin a serious exercise of reconciliation with myself. St. Francis said that if there is no peace in your heart, you cannot give peace to others. Likewise, the time of war impels me, with great force, to live something that is only proper to Christianity: the culture of forgiveness. This is not easy, but I am sustained by a phrase of the Benedictine Anselm Grün: "If you accept to forgive yourself, you will forgive".
In the midst of a conflict like the one we are living through, what hopeful testimonies have you experienced? In what situations have you been able to see the hand of God?
For me, the greatest testimonies have come from the prayer meetings for peace in the Holy Land, because you see people of different faiths unite on the basis of the one thing that is our strength: prayer. In my sanctuary of Bethphage, which has a Christian quarter built by the Custody, and which is located in a rather radical Arab area, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays we meet to pray the rosary for peace. It is moving to see Christians, mostly Palestinians, coming together convinced that peace is possible if we are able to remain united in the God of peace and that Mary, Queen of Peace, is our strength.
Before the manger, let us think "of the drama of the Holy Land," Pope says
The Holy Father received at the Vatican delegations from the places of origin of the Christmas tree and the Nativity that this year evokes the first Christmas representation created 800 years ago by St. Francis of Assisi. "From St. Peter's Square, we will think of Greccio, which in turn takes us back to Bethlehem," said Pope Francis.
Francisco Otamendi-December 9, 2023-Reading time: 2minutes
The nativity scene installed in St. Peter's Square is intended to evoke, after eight hundred years, the Christmas atmosphere of the year 1223 in the Rieti Valley, where St. Francis stopped to rest, explained the Pope to the delegations.
"In his mind was still vivid the journey he had made to the Holy Land, and the grottoes of Greccio reminded him of the landscape of Bethlehem. Therefore, he asked that the Christmas scene be performed in that small village. Several pieces and men and women from the huts in the area also arrived, creating a living nativity scene. Thus was born the tradition of the belen as we understand it," the Pontiff explained.
"This year, therefore, from St. Peter's Square we will think of Greccio, which in turn refers us to. Belen"The Holy Father continued. "And contemplating Jesus, God made man, small, poor, defenseless, we cannot but think of the drama that the inhabitants of the Holy Land are living, showing our closeness and our spiritual support to these our brothers and sisters, especially the children and their parents. They are the ones who pay the real bill for the war".
Silence and prayer. "Mary is our model".
In front of each cribThe Pope emphasized that, even in our own homes, we relive what happened in Bethlehem more than two thousand years ago. "This should awaken in us a longing for silence and prayer in our often hectic daily lives. Silence, so that we can listen to what Jesus tells us from that unique "chair" that is the manger.
"Prayer, to express the grateful wonder, the tenderness, perhaps the tears that the Bethlehem arouses in us. And in all this, Mary is our model: she says nothing, but contemplates and adores." continued Francisco. "In the square, next to the manger, is the tree, whose lights will be lit tonight at the end of the ceremony, the lights will be turned on. It is adorned with edelweiss grown in the plains, to protect those that grow in the high mountains. It is also a thought-provoking choice, highlighting the importance of caring for our common home: small gestures are essential in ecological conversion, gestures of respect and gratitude for God's gifts".
100 Nativity scenes in the Vatican
Yesterday afternoon saw the inauguration of the international exhibition "100 Nativity Scenes in the Vatican", one of the events in preparation for the Jubilee 2025, as part of the "Jubilee is Culture" initiative. Present at the inauguration were Monsignor Rino Fisichella, Pro Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, the Italian Ambassador to the Holy See, Francesco di Nitto, Father Massimo Fusarelli, Minister General of the Order of Friars Minor, and the Mayor of Greccio, Emiliano Fabi.
The exhibition, which features more than 120 nativity scenes from 22 different countries, commemorates the 800th anniversary of the nativity scene that St. Francis created at Christmas 1223, which began the tradition of nativity scenes, as the Pope explained.
Francis entrusts mothers suffering from wars to the Immaculate Conception
Pope Francis prayed yesterday in Piazza di Spagna in Rome to the Immaculate Conception, and entrusted to her the pain of mothers who mourn their children killed by war and terrorism, and that of all women who have suffered violence.
Francisco Otamendi-December 9, 2023-Reading time: 3minutes
After two weeks of reduced activity, due to a lung inflammation, the Pope left the Vatican yesterday. Before going to the Spanish Steps, in the center of the Italian capital, to pray at the foot of the statue of the Virgin Mary, the Pope stopped at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore to venerate the icon of the Madonna and Child. Salus Populi Romani y offer youthe Golden Rose, symbol of papal blessing.
Then, during the traditional prayer, he asked the Immaculate Virgin to turn her "eyes of mercy on all peoples oppressed by injustice and poverty, tried by war: "Mother, look upon the tormented people of Ukraine, the Palestinian people and the Israeli people, once again plunged into the spiral of violence".
"Show us again, O Mother, the way of conversion, for there is no peace without forgiveness and no forgiveness without repentance," the Pontiff prayed. "The world changes if hearts change; and each one must say: beginning with mine."
This is the full text of the Pope's prayer in the act of veneration to the Immaculate Conception in the Plaza de España:
Prayer of the Holy Father to the Immaculate Conception in Rome
"Immaculate Virgin!
We come to you with hearts divided between hope and anguish.
We need you, our Mother.
But first and foremost we want to thank you
because silently, as is your style, you watch over this city
who today wraps you in flowers to tell you his love.
Silently, day and night, you watch over us:
about families, with their joys and worries - you know this well;
on places of study and work; on institutions and public offices;
on hospitals and nursing homes; on prisons; on those living on the streets;
in the parishes and in all the communities of the Church of Rome.
Thank you for your discreet and constant presence
that gives us comfort and hope.
We need you, Mother,
because you are the Immaculate Conception.
Your person, the very fact that you exist
reminds us that evil has neither the first nor the last word;
that our destiny is not death, but life,
is not hatred but fraternity, not conflict but harmony,
is not war, but peace.
Looking at you, we feel confirmed in this faith
that events sometimes put to the test.
And you, Mother, turn your eyes of mercy
on all peoples oppressed by injustice and poverty,
tested by war: Mother, look at the tormented people of Ukraine,
to the Palestinian people and the Israeli people,
plunged back into the spiral of violence.
Today, Holy Mother, we bring here under your gaze
to so many mothers who, like you, are in mourning.
Mothers mourning their children killed by war and terrorism.
Mothers who see them depart on journeys of desperate hope.
And so are the mothers who try to untie them from the bonds of addiction,
and those who observe them through a long and hard illness.
Today, Mary, we need you as a woman,
to entrust all women who have suffered violence to you
and those who are still victims of it,
in this city, in Italy and all over the world.
You know them one by one, you know their faces.
Dry, we pray you, their tears and those of their loved ones.
And help us to make a path of education and purification,
recognizing and counteracting the violence that stalks
in our hearts and minds
and asking God to deliver us from it.
Show us again, O Mother, the way of conversion,
because there is no peace without forgiveness
and there is no forgiveness without repentance.
The world changes if hearts change;
and everyone should say: starting with mine.
But only God can change the human heart
with his grace: the grace in which you, Mary,
you are immersed from the very first moment.
The grace of Jesus Christ, our Lord,
whom thou hast begotten in the flesh,
who died and rose again for us, and whom you always point out to us.
As mentioned in the previous article, Ethiopia is home to several Semitic languages with distinctive characteristics. The oldest and best known is the liturgical and literary language of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tawahedo Church, Ge'ez. It is a South-Arabic Semitic language related to Sabaean and written with an alphabet also called Ge'ez (common to the Amharic, Tigrinya and Tigré languages, its direct descendants, as well as other Ethiopian languages).
A unique culture
Ge'ez seems to derive from an even older language, spoken in the kingdom of D'mt, directly related to Sabaean and written with the same Sudarabic Musnad alphabet. Today, it is practically extinct in spoken form, replaced by Amharic (the official language of Ethiopia at the federal level), Tigrinya, Tigrinya and other Semitic languages, while the other widely spoken language in Ethiopia is Oromo (the Cushitic language of the Oromo ethnic group, the majority in the country). Arabic, Somali, Semitic languages such as Gauga and others are also present, making a total of more than ninety languages and one hundred ethnic groups.
The majority of the population is Christian (more than 62%), mostly adhering to the Tawahedo Orthodox Church. A third of the population, on the other hand, belongs to Islam, which had already arrived in the area during the life of Mohammed (the episode of the reception by the king of Aksum, Ashama, of a few dozen of his companions persecuted in Mecca by the pagans is famous).
Also famous is the presence of a very ancient Jewish community, the Beta Israel (also known vulgarly as Falashah), whose origins are lost in time, and who were almost completely evacuated from Ethiopia. Indeed, during the DERG era, due to famine, discrimination and governmental violence, the Beta Israel migrated to Sudan, also finding there a hostile government. Overcrowded in refugee camps and dying by the hundreds in the long desert crossings between Ethiopia and Sudan, Israel organized a series of secret missions between the 1980s and 1990s, called Operation Moses, Operation Joshua and Operation Solomon, in which some 95,000 Ethiopian Jews, 85% of the community, were airlifted. Today, 135,000 Ethiopian Jews live in Israel (who have also suffered discrimination here over the years) and about 4,000 in Ethiopia.
Another interesting religious phenomenon in the country is that of the Rastafarians (already mentioned in the previous article), who, while accepting the holy books and doctrine of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, venerate the figure of Haile Selassie as "Jesus in his second coming in glory". This doctrine originated mainly as a form of "Ethiopian" nationalism and evolved through the preaching of its leader and founder, the Jamaican Marcus Mosiah Garvey (1887-1940), spreading worldwide mainly through the reggae music of other Jamaicans, Bob Marley (1945-1981) and Peter Tosh (1944-1987).
Rastafarians have a deep respect for other religions, although they reject polytheism, and believe that Haile Selassie I did not die, but simply hid himself voluntarily from the eyes of humanity.
Christianity in Ethiopia
The majority of Ethiopian Christians profess the Tawahedo Orthodox faith. By Orthodox, when we speak of Christian Churches, and not only of the Armenian, Coptic, Ethiopian or other Churches, we are not referring to the Byzantine Orthodox, but to the denomination that a particular Church gives itself. In fact, the term "Orthodoxy", of Greek origin, literally means "right doctrine". We can say, therefore, that every Christian Church calls itself "orthodox", in reference to the others, which are considered "heterodox", that is, partially in error with respect to right doctrine.
The word ge'ez "tawahedo" (ተተዋሕዶ: "made one", "unified") refers to the Miaphysite doctrine that sanctions the unique and unified nature of Christ, that is, the complete union of the human and divine nature (not mixed but not separated either). We speak, in this case, of "hypostatic" union. The non-Chalcedonian miaphysite doctrine is opposed to the Chalcedonian diaphysite doctrine (Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant), which professes the coexistence of two natures in Christ, human and divine. As reported in the articles on Armenian Christians and CoptsThe separation between the Chalcedonian and non-Chalcedonian Churches centered precisely on the Christological question, that is, the nature of Christ, on which the Council of Chalcedon of 451 pronounced itself.
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tawahedo Church is, therefore, a non-Chalcedonian Church: that is, it does not recognize the decrees of the Council of Chalcedon. It was closely linked, from its origins with the abuna (bishop) Frumentius, in the 4th century A.D., to the Church of Egypt, since Frumentius himself was consecrated bishop and sent to Ethiopia by the Patriarch of Alexandria, Athanasius. It currently has about 50 million faithful, mostly in Ethiopia, and constitutes the largest of all the non-Chalcedonian Eastern Churches, including the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Syro-Orthodox Orthodox Church, the Syro-Malankar Orthodox Church of India and the Tawahedo Orthodox Churches of Ethiopia and Eritrea.
According to Ethiopian tradition, Christianity entered the country as early as the first century A.D., with the eunuch official of Queen Candace, baptized by Philip, mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles. This Queen Candace really existed: Gersamot Händäke VII, queen of Ethiopia around the middle of the 1st century AD.
However, we have seen that Christianity became the state religion in 400 A.D., when the young Axumite king Ezanà was converted by Frumentius, who later became the first bishop of Ethiopia (according to Rufinus in his "Ecclesiastical History"). From then on, and until the beginning of the 20th century, it was up to the Patriarch of Alexandria (pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt) to appoint the Ethiopian archbishop (archieparch) and the primate of the Tawahedo Church was an Egyptian Copt. The Ethiopian Church then obtained autocephaly.
The fortunes of the two Churches, Ethiopian and Egyptian, continued to intertwine even under Islamic rule, to the point that in 1507 the Emperor of Ethiopia asked for and obtained the help of Portugal against the Muslims who sought to conquer the country. Later it was the turn of the Jesuits to enter the Abyssinian Empire, encountering strong opposition from the locals.
These were always firmly opposed to foreign influence, to the point that, when in 1624 the emperor Susenyos converted to Catholicism in exchange for the military support of Portugal and Spain and forced his subjects to do the same, he was forced to abdicate and in 1632 his son Fasilides reconverted to Coptic orthodoxy and restored it as the state religion, banishing Europeans, including the Jesuits, from his territories and burning all Catholic books. For centuries, foreigners were not allowed to enter the empire.
The Tawahedo Orthodox Church and the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria only "separated" in 1959, when Pope Cyril of Alexandria crowned Abuna Basilios the first Patriarch of Ethiopia. The Eritrean Tawahedo Church also separated from the Ethiopian Church in 1993, with the independence of Eritrea from Ethiopia.
Today, Ethiopian Tawahedo Christians number about 50 million in Ethiopia, along with 12 million Protestants and a small minority of Catholics. They are mainly concentrated in the north, south and center of the country (in historical Abyssinia, cradle of the Axumite kingdom and the Ethiopian Empire). On the other hand, one third of Ethiopians are Muslims, although the Islam practiced in Ethiopia is also very peculiar, since it has been isolated for centuries under the aegis of the Ethiopian emperors and their xenophobia and has borrowed many elements from Christianity. On the other hand, Ethiopian Christianity is also heavily influenced by Judaism and vice versa.
Jewish influence
The Jewish influence, although not obviously manifest in the veneration of the Trinity (in ge'ez: Selassie), the Virgin Mary and the saints, is particularly evident in the worship. Indeed, only priests are allowed to enter the sancta sanctorum (tabòt, i.e., "ark") of the Church during the celebration, while most of the faithful remain outside the sacred precincts.
It is also evident in the value attributed to Old Testament practices and teachings, such as the observance of Shabbat, along with Sunday, the kashrùt-type dietary rules and the prohibition of pork, the prohibition of women entering the church during their menstrual cycle and the obligation that they always cover their heads with a cloth called shamma, as well as occupy a place separate from that of the men.
In addition, great importance is given to ritual purity: only the faithful who feel pure, who have fasted (ritual fasting involves a program of periodic abstinence from meat and animal products and/or sexual activity for a total period of 250 days per year, based on the autonomous choice of the faithful or imposed by the liturgy) and maintained a conduct in conformity with the commandments of the Church receive the Eucharist. Thus, generally only children and the elderly receive communion, while persons of sexual age usually abstain from communion.
Some curiosities
Just as Muslims do when entering a mosque, Ethiopian Christian worshippers remove their shoes when entering a church. In addition, they kiss the ground in front of the door, as the church is a sacred place. Compared to other Christian churches, more importance is given to the practice of exorcism, performed in special meetings in the church.
The liturgical language is still Ge'ez (which is a bit like Latin for Catholics), although since the 19th century, and especially in the time of Haile Selassie, the Canon of the Holy Scriptures has been translated into Amharic and other common languages, which are also used for sermons and homilies. The Canon consists of the same books as other Christian Churches, with the addition of some typical books, such as Enoch, the Jubilees and the I, II and III Meqabyan (Ethiopian Maccabees).
Pilgrimage is also of great importance, especially to Axum, Ethiopia's holiest city, and Lalibela, famous for its monolithic churches (carved in one piece in the rock) that are usually built from top to bottom by digging into the ground, so they are not visible from the outside.
A final curiosity is the Ethiopian tradition according to which the Ark of the Covenant is located inside the Tabot Chapel of Axum, to which only priests have access, so no one else has had the opportunity to see and analyze the sacred object so far.
The authorGerardo Ferrara
Writer, historian and expert on Middle Eastern history, politics and culture.
Numerous people paid homage to the Immaculate Conception today in Rome. Among them, Pope Francis, will pray this afternoon before the statue of Our Lady in Piazza di Spagna inaugurated by Pius IX in 1857. In addition, the Pope briefly reflected on the figure of Mary during the Angelus.
Today is the Immaculate Conception of Mary and many people have come to Piazza di Spagna in Rome to venerate the statue of the Virgin Mary inaugurated by Pius IX in honor of the Immaculate Conception a few years after proclaim the dogma.
This morning, the Pope prayed the Angelus in St. Peter's Square, in which he recalled that the Angel Gabriel, in greeting the Virgin at the Annunciation, does not call her "Mary": "He does not call her by her name, Mary, but by a new name that she did not know: full of grace. Full of grace, and therefore empty of sin, is the name God gives her and which we celebrate today. (...) Preserving our beauty entails a cost, it entails a struggle. In fact, the Gospel shows us the courage of Mary, who said "yes" to God, who chose to take God's riskand the passage of Genesis, concerning original sin, speaks of a struggle against the tempter and his temptations".
The Pope also remembered the victims of countries at war and asked for the gift of peace.
Rome pays homage to the Immaculate Conception
In addition, other tributes to the Mother of God are planned throughout the day: at 3:30 pm, Francis will donate a Golden Rose to the image of the Virgin Salus Populi Romani.
Afterwards, around 4:00 p.m., the Pope will go to the Spanish Steps in Rome to venerate the image of the Virgin, a tradition that dates back to 1857, when Pope Pius IX inaugurated this statue in homage to the Immaculate Conception.
The column of the monument is 12 meters high and was designed by the architect Luigi Poletti. On top of it is the bronze statue of the Madonna, created by the sculptor Giuseppe Obici.
Upon his arrival, Francis will be received by Cardinal Angelo De Donatis and the civil authorities, he will pray before the image and lay flowers at its feet.
This statue receives numerous visits throughout December 8, both from individuals and organizations. First of all, as is tradition, the fire department comes to the Plaza de España at 7 a.m., since it was they who inaugurated the monument in 1857. The Order of Malta, the Vatican Gendarmerie Corps and the Spanish Ambassador to the Holy See, among others, will also pay tribute to her.
For its part, the Basilica of the Twelve Holy Apostles houses the oldest novena to the Immaculate Conception in Rome. Today, for the conclusion of the novena, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re will celebrate Mass.
"100 Nativity Scenes in the Vatican".
This afternoon will also see the inauguration of the international exhibition "100 Nativity Scenes in the Vatican", one of the preparatory events for the Jubilee 2025, as part of the "Jubilee is Culture" initiative. The inauguration will be attended by Monsignor Rino Fisichella, proprefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, and the Italian Ambassador to the Holy See, Francesco di Nitto.
The event will also be attended by Father Massimo Fusarelli, Minister General of the Order of Friars Minor, and the Mayor of Greccio, Emiliano Fabi.
The exhibition, which features more than 120 cribs from 22 different countries, commemorates the 800th anniversary of the crib that St. Francis created at Christmas 1223 in the town of Greccio, located a few kilometers from Rieti, which began the tradition of cribs.
The Immaculate Conception of Mary: Origins and Tradition
In 1854, Pope Pius IX proclaimed the Immaculate Conception a dogma of faith. However, this doctrine has its roots in the tradition of the Church and had already been embraced by Christians since ancient times.
The Immaculate Conception is an ancient feast of the Church celebrated on December 8. Below, we review the main characteristics of this feast, the origin of the dogma and why Spain has had a special relationship with this doctrine.
The party
The Immaculate Conception makes reference to the conception of Mary in the womb of St. Anne: by a special grace, Mary was conceived without the original sin with which every person is born as a consequence of Adam's. This doctrine has no relation with the virginal conception of Jesus in Mary's womb, contrary to what many people still believe. This doctrine has no connection with the virginal conception of Jesus in Mary's womb, contrary to what many people still believe.
Precisely because it refers to the conception of Mary (and not of Jesus), this feast has been celebrated since ancient times on December 8, nine months before the feast of the Nativity of Mary, which is commemorated on September 8.
The color of the feast is light blue. Although the date always falls in the Advent season, Spain and Hispanic countries can celebrate this day with light blue as the liturgical color thanks to a special privilege granted by Pope Pius IX in 1864 (Decree 4083 of the Sacred Congregation of Rites).
In Spain it is a holy day of obligation, since the Immaculate Conception is the patron saint of Spain (but not the Virgin of Pilar, which is the patron saint of Spain).
The dogma
On December 8, 1854, Pope Pius IX proclaimed the Immaculate Conception a dogma of faith. Although it had not been proclaimed dogma until then, it was a doctrine in which the Church believed since the dawn of Christianity, and in fact there were already since ancient times confraternities, congregations, monasteries and temples with this name, in addition to the Immaculate Conception holding different patronages.
The proclamation of the dogma was made through the apostolic letter "...".Ineffabilis Deus". As Pius IX pointed out in this text, "the Catholic Church, which, instructed by the Spirit of God, is the pillar and foundation of truth, has always held as divinely revealed and as contained in the deposit of heavenly revelation this doctrine concerning the original innocence of the august Virgin, which is so perfectly in harmony with her marvelous holiness and with her eminent dignity as Mother of God; And as such she has not ceased to explain it, to teach it and to favor it more and more each day, in many ways and with solemn acts".
Pius IX also recalled in "Ineffabilis Deus" that in the Council of Trent (1545-1563), when defining the dogma of original sin, which affects all men, it was specified that the Virgin Mary was not included in this "all".
Immaculate Conception and Spain
Pope Clement XIII declared the Immaculate Conception patroness of Spain in 1760, by means of the bull "Quantum Ornamenti", at the request of King Charles III. The king ratified it by means of the law "Universal Patronage of Our Lady in the Immaculate Conception in all the Kingdoms of Spain and the Indies". This date does not mark the beginning of the relations of the Immaculate Conception with Spain, since it was an important feast from centuries before.
John Paul II, in a homily delivered in Zaragoza on November 6, 1982He recalled the efforts of Spain throughout history for the proclamation of the dogma: "In your history, Marian love has been the leaven of Catholicity. It impelled the people of Spain to a firm devotion and to the intrepid defense of the greatness of Mary, especially in her Immaculate Conception".
In fact, in the apostolic letter "Ineffabilis Deus," Pope Pius IX recalled a text of Pope Alexander VII (1599-1667) in which he spoke of the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception and the work of a particular king of Spain, Philip IV: "Therefore, accepting the petitions and supplications presented to Us by the said Bishops, by the chapters of their churches, and by King Philip and his kingdoms, We renew the constitutions and decrees issued by Our predecessors the Roman Pontiffs, and especially by Sixtus IV, Paul V, and Gregory XV, in defense of the sentence which holds that the soul of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in her creation and infusion into the body, had the gift of the grace of the Holy Spirit and was preserved from original sin, and in favor of the feast and cult of the conception of the same Virgin Mother of God, understood according to the pious sentence above set forth, and We order that these constitutions and decrees be observed in their entirety, under pain of incurring the censures and other penalties provided for in these constitutions."
Spain has always been a country with a markedly Marian tradition, but devotion to the Immaculate Conception also has historical roots.
The miracle of Empel
"In 1585, four thousand hardy Spanish soldiers narrowly escaped total annihilation." Thus begins a Dutch Military Academy Museum articlewritten by Dr. C. M. Schutten.
The event of this miracle is framed in the 80 Years' War (1568-1648), specifically in the year 1585, when part of the Dutch population rebelled against the Spanish Empire. The curious thing about the episode of the miracle of Empel is that it was recognized not only by Catholics, but also by Protestants, although the latter considered it "an unfortunate coincidence," according to Schutten.
The story took place on the island of Bommel, between the Meuse and Waal rivers. The rebel army destroyed some dikes, which flooded the whole area and the company of Field Master Francisco Arias de Bobadilla was trapped on the mount of Empel. They were surrounded by enemy ships and seemed to have no escape.
The soldiers began to dig trenches in order to resist and die fighting (they decided to do so, since there seemed to be no chance of getting out alive). While digging, one of the soldiers found a buried image of the Immaculate Conception. Since it was December 7, 1585, the eve of the feast, the company interpreted it as a sign and entrusted themselves to the Virgin.
That night, a sudden icy wind froze the waters around Empel. This prevented the rebel ships from advancing, and they had to retreat so as not to run aground. "When the rebels were passing downriver with their ships, they told the Spaniards, in the Castilian language, that it was only possible that God was Spanish, because he had used a great miracle on them, explains Captain Alonso Vázquez (c. 1556-1615) in "The events of Flanders and France in the time of Alexander Farnese".
Today, a Catholic chapel still stands in Empel commemorating this miracle. In 1892, Queen Maria Christina declared the Immaculate Conception patron saint of the Spanish infantry, although de facto she had already been considered as such before.
Priest Damian O'Connell, of St. Patrick's Cathedral, writes this letter to Omnes readers inviting everyone to recover the true meaning of Advent and Christmas.
What do we expect from Advent? What do we think is coming?
When we were children, we experienced the four weeks leading up to Christmas as a period of anticipation, filled with anticipation, of the upcoming celebration of Christ's birth. The Advent wreath and Advent calendar, the preparation of special breads and Christmas cookies heightened our anticipation of the coming celebration and were milestones in a time that seemed endless.
As adults, we learn that Advent is more than just a preparation for the celebration of a past event: the birth of Christ. It is, moreover, a time to turn our attention to the preparation for the future coming of Christ in glory. For the faith of the Church is that the one who came to us as the poor homeless child of Belen will come again as the triumphant Lord of all creation.
Advent is thus a period that looks back and recalls the historical longing for the coming of Christ and the event of his birth. Advent also looks with faith to the future, to Christ's return and glory. During the four weeks of Advent, we remember God's actions throughout human history that prepared for the coming of the Savior and look forward to the stories being completed with the Savior's return.
The presence of God in Advent
Advent is one of our favorite times of the year. Its music, its colors, its minor and somber hues, its sights, sounds and smells have great evocative power. Although not all of God's promises have yet been fulfilled in this Advent season, we have a heartfelt conviction that, even in the experience of incompleteness, God's great promises will be fulfilled.
Moreover, it is a time full of sure signs and confident hope that Christmas will come; and with Christmas the promise of God will be born among us. In all the years of our life that hope has never been disappointed. Christmas has always come.
Now is the time to decide to act according to our faith and to play our part in Jesus' mission for the sake of the world. United with Jesus, we are God's instruments to bring the peace and joy of God's Kingdom to all whose lives we touch.
Now is the time to recognize that it is not we who wait for God to act. It is God who is waiting for us to let Him act. Let us not wait a moment longer.
Watchfulness in waiting, with the Virgin Mary and St. John: Preface II of Advent
Within the liturgy of Advent, Preface II of the Holy Mass prepares for the first coming of Christ, and recalls the figures who have awaited him in history. A central place is occupied by Mary, his Mother, and St. John the Baptist.
Giovanni Zaccaria-December 7, 2023-Reading time: 3minutes
From December 17 to 24, close to the liturgical celebration of the feast of ChristmasThe Church invites us to pray with a specific preface, Preface II of Advent, which emphasizes the contemplation of the events surrounding the first coming of Christ, inviting God's people to joyful vigil and exultation in praise.
"Quem prædixérunt cunctórum præcónia prophetárum, Virgo Mater ineffábili dilectióne sustínuit, Ioánnes cécinit affutúrum et adésse monstrávit. Qui suæ suæ nativitátis mystérium tríbuit nos præveníre gaudéntes, ut et in oratióne pervígiles et in suis invéniat láudibus exsultántes".
"For whom all the prophets proclaimed, the Virgin awaited with ineffable motherly love; John proclaimed him already near and then pointed him out among men. The Lord himself grants us now to prepare ourselves joyfully for the mystery of his birth, so that when he comes, we may find ourselves watching in prayer and singing his praise".
It is a newly composed text, based on a very old preface, dating back to the 4th-5th centuries and preserved in the Veronese Sacramentary. Some elements of this ancient text have been added to others from other sources, to give shape to a very beautiful and balanced text.
It consists of two parts; the first has Christ as its subject, who is the object of the announcements of the prophets ("cunctorum praeconia prophetarum"), is the object of the ineffable love of the Virgin, who awaits him and carries him in herself, and is the object of the preaching of John the Baptist, who also had the task of pointing him out as the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world (cfr. Jn 1, 29).
Compendium of salvation history
Here too, as in the first Advent preface, we find ourselves before a kind of compendium of salvation history, which is summarized through some particularly illuminating points.
The preparation for the coming of Christ in the flesh begins with the prophets, as the Letter to the Hebrews reminds us: "In many and various ways God spoke of old to the fathers by the prophets. In this final stage, he has spoken to us through the Son" (Heb 1:1-2). The first readings of the Mass for the days between December 17 and 24 contain prophetic pericopes, such as the famous prophecy of Is 7:14 ("Behold, the Virgin is with child and bears a son, and she shall call his name Emmanuel"), but also the birth of figures who are types of Christ, such as Samson, Samuel, etc. The human adventure of the Son of God is inscribed in an ancient history characterized by the expectation of the Messiah.
Within this story of waiting, a prominent place is occupied by the Virgin Mother: it is not even necessary to say her name, because in this being the ever Virgin Mother of God is the figure of Mary's greatness, who with unspeakable love was willing to bear the sweet burden of pregnancy in order to give birth to the Messiah.
Finally, in last place among the prophets of the Old Covenant, mention is made of John the Baptist, who with his prophecy (cf. Mt 3:11) and his pointing out of Christ present in the world (cf. Jn 1:29-31.34) closes at the same time the old time and inaugurates the new.
The second part of the Preface, on the other hand, is characterized by Christ as the subject, and the dominant theme is the preparation for the reception of Christ by his people. Thus we move from the contemplation of the historical expectation of the Messiah to an indication of the attitude proper to those who today await the liturgical celebration of the coming of the Savior. The theme of vigilance returns here, as in the Preface of Advent I, but here the emphasis is on the prayer that must accompany the expectation (cf. 1Pt 4:7) and the theme of joy, typical of Christmas time (cf. Lk 2:10), is also present.
In this article, the author reviews three figures: Anselm of Canterbury, Richard of St. Victor and Thomas Aquinas, examples of vast culture and strong faith.
December 7, 2023-Reading time: 6minutes
Anselm of Canterbury, Richard of St. Victor and Thomas Aquinas form three examples of intelligence, study, reasoning and faith that have given rise to distinguished schools of thought and whose influence traverses history to the present day.
Anselm of Canterbury
Anselmo of Canterbury was born in Aosta (northern Italy) in 1033 or 1034. Son of noble parents, descendants of a Germanic people, the Longobard; after the death of his pious mother he began a dissipated life and had a conflict with his father that caused him to leave his father's home. Attracted by the fame of Lancfranco, a teacher at a school in Normandy, he joined the school and, in 1060, entered the Norman abbey of Bec as a monk. In 1078 he was elected abbot of Bec, succeeding Lanfranc. In 1093 he was ordained to the archbishopric of Canterbury, where he died in 1109.
Following in the wake of Augustine, he defined Theology as faith that seeks to understand. He is known in good measure for his famous argument, which is at the beginning of his work Proslogion and which was qualified by Kant as ontological because it seeks to demonstrate the existence of God from the very idea of God, without resorting to creation, nor to Sacred Scripture, nor to the patristic tradition:
Therefore, O Lord, You who give the intelligence of faith, grant me, insofar as this knowledge may be useful to me, to understand that You exist, as we believe, and that You are what we believe.
We believe that above You nothing can be conceived by thought. It is a question, therefore, of knowing whether such a being exists, for the fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." But when he hears it said that there is a being above whom nothing greater can be imagined, this same fool understands what he heard said; the thought is in his intelligence, even if he does not believe that the object of this thought exists. For it is one thing to have the idea of any object and another to believe in its existence. For, when the painter thinks beforehand of the picture he is going to make, he certainly possesses it in his intelligence, but he knows that it does not yet exist, since he has not yet executed it. When, on the contrary, he has painted it, he not only has it in his mind, but he also knows that he has done it. The fool must agree that he has in his spirit the idea of a being above which no greater thing can be imagined, for when he hears this thought enunciated he understands it, and all that is understood is in the intelligence: and no doubt this object above which nothing greater can be conceived does not exist only in the intelligence, for, if it did, it might at least be supposed that it also exists in reality, a new condition which would make a being greater than that which has no existence except in pure and simple thought.
Therefore, if this object above which there is nothing greater were only in the intelligence, it would nevertheless be such that there would be something above it, a conclusion that would not be legitimate. There exists, therefore, in a certain way, a being above which nothing can be imagined, neither in thought nor in reality.
Ricardo de San Victor
Richard of St. Victor was a native of Scotland and lived from 1110 to 1173. Incorporated in Paris to the Abbey of Saint Victor, he was elected vice prior in 1157, later succeeding his master Hugo as prior, a position he held until his death. Dante Alighiere, in his Divine Comedy, placed Richard in Paradise, in the fourth sphere, where he placed the wise men. In his tenth Canto Dante says:
Look also at the flaming spirit/ of Isidore, of Bede and of Richard/ who to consider was more than man.
Richard of St. Victor uses three ways to prove the existence of God:
First. - The temporality of perceived beings supports the need for an eternal Being.
Second. - In the beings that we perceive by the senses, an increase of perfection can be observed among one another, which makes necessary the existence of a Being that is all perfection.
Third. - Starting from the beings that are grasped by the senses, it is possible to deduce the essences that make them up and that find an exemplary model in the essence of God.
Augustine of Hippo, in his work De Trinitatesays: If you see Love, you see the Trinity. Richard of St. Victor, in his work De Trinitate, developed this vision of the divine Trinity proposed by St. Augustine. He tries to answer three great questions about the one and triune Christian God:
Why the divine unity implies at the same time plurality.
2ª.- Why this plurality is of three.
3rd: How these three Persons are to be understood.
In order to respond, it starts from Love as a fundamental category:
There is no true love without otherness. Love for oneself is not true love. If the only God is perfect love, he must be several Persons.
2º.- Three Persons and not two because perfect love does not close in duality, but is directed to a third: the Condilectus, the common Friend of the other two Persons.
Ricardo de San Víctor reviews the concept of Person, a category used for the understanding of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
a) Person is, above all, the subject of oneself. Only in the possession of oneself can the essence, that is to say, nature, be personalized (nature is the quid, what I am, and person is the quis, what I am): as a person, I possess myself and can act as the master of my own reality.
b) Person is what he is according to his origin. Being master of oneself, one must specify the way in which one is. The Father is master of his own divine nature as inborn. The Son is master of his own divine nature received from the Father. The Holy Spirit possesses the same nature that he receives from the Father and the Son.
c) Person is communion: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit possess their divine nature insofar as they give, receive and share it; they possess themselves insofar as they give themselves in love.
The Trinity, then, is one and the same divine nature that is realized in three Persons. The God revealed to us in the Gospel is a trinitarian God. A solitary and pretrinitarian God, without internal love, is inconceivable to the Christian eyes of Richard of St. Victor. According to the Gospel, God is Love and the process of realization of that Love is the Trinitarian mystery, Life as surrender, reception and encounter, shared existence.
Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas was born in Roccasecca, near Aquino, in the north of the Kingdom of Naples, around 1225. In 1244 he took the habit of St. Dominic in Naples. He studied with Alberto Magno in Paris and Cologne. In 1252 he returned to Paris where he became a master of theology. He died in Fossanova in 1274 before he was 50 years old. He was canonized in 1323. His most important work is the Summa theologica.
Thomas affirms that, just as theology is founded on divine revelation, philosophy is founded on human reason. Philosophy and theology must be true: God is the same truth and there can be no doubt about revelation; reason, used correctly, also leads us to the truth. Therefore, there can be no conflict between philosophy and theology. He demonstrates the existence of God in five ways, which are the famous five ways:
By movement: there is movement; everything that moves is moved by a motor; if this motor moves, it will in turn need another motor to move it, and so on, until it reaches the first motor, which is God.
2ª.- By the efficient cause (cause that has the power to achieve a certain effect): there is a series of efficient causes; there must be a first cause, because otherwise, there would be no effect, and that first cause is God.
3ª.- For the possible and the necessary: generation and corruption show that the entities we observe can be or not be, they are not necessary. There must be a necessary entity by itself, and it is called God.
By the degrees of perfection: there are various degrees of all perfections, which approach more or less to the absolute perfections, and therefore are degrees of them; there is, therefore, an entity that is supremely perfect, and is the supreme entity; this entity is the cause of all perfection and of all being, and is called God.
By the government of the world: intelligent entities tend to an end and to an order, not by chance, but by the intelligence that directs them; there is an intelligent entity that orders nature and impels it to its end, and that entity is God.
The idea that animates the five ways is that God, invisible and infinite, is demonstrable by his visible and finite effects.
Isabel Sanchez: "The apostle friend doesn't make marketing"
Isabel Sánchez, director of the Central Advisory Office of Opus Dei and one of the speakers at the 11th St. Josemaría Symposium, speaks in this interview about friendship, the apostolate and the role of the laity in the Church.
When her book "Mujeres Brújula" (Compass Women) went on sale, some called her "the most powerful woman in Opus Dei". A title that Isabel Sanchez continues to laugh at. This fragile-looking laywoman is the director of the Central Advisory Office of Opus Dei. Opus Deithe governing body of the Opus Dei for more than 50,000 women in 70 countries around the world.
A few weeks ago, Sanchez changed the capital of the Tiber for the olive-growing Jaen. There he participated in the XI St. Josemaría International Symposium which, in its eleventh edition, focused on the theme of friendship with speakers such as Enrique García MáiquezLuis Gutiérrez Rojas or Ana Sánchez de la Nieta.
"Friends of God and of men" is how St. Josemaría liked to define the faithful of the Work, a reminder of those "strong friends of God" of St. Teresa of Jesus. Isabel Sanchez speaks to Omnes about friendship, apostolate, youth of heart, and the whole panorama, which is very broad, of the "friends of God and men. lay people in the construction of the Church.
Before talking about anything, we need to be clear about the concept. What do you understand by friendship?
- I like to define it as a finding of the heart. It is the affectionate relationship that arises from a chance encounter with someone in whom we find full acceptance, a certain inner harmony and disinterested help, to face the world together, in some of its aspects.
Through relationship and habit, this relationship can become deeper, stronger and more powerful. By the way it arises (it is found) and by the way it affects our life (it enriches it), we can say that friendship is a human treasure.
One of St. Josemaría's best known works, in fact, Friends of God. We talk a lot about "friendship with God", but perhaps, we do not know how to be friends with "men" and even a disinterested friendship seems "suspicious" to us... Do we have a starting problem?
- I am pleasantly surprised that you say that we talk a lot about friendship with God. The truth is that, in my environment, with my friends, I have not seen that it is so common to talk about it: rather I come across a certain indifference to the religious or, in the best of cases, with a desire to reach an intimate relationship with God without knowing how to connect with Him ...
In any case, since God became Man, the circle is closed: every friendship with another man has something divine about it and every friendship with Jesus Christ enhances and ennobles friendship with men. The only starting problem could be self-centered individualism or what Pope Francis calls the globalization of indifference.
If we close in on ourselves, we make ourselves incapable of friendship, both with others and with God. St. Josemaría invites us, putting this invitation in the mouth of Jesus Friend: "Come out of this narrow life, which is not life" ("...").It is Christ who passes", n. 93)
Today's youth will live friendship the way we adults teach them to live it.
Isabel Sanchez. Secretary General of Opus Dei
In the St. Josemaría Symposium Do you think that young people conceive and live friendship in a completely "surrendered" way?
- Youth is a vital stage in which one goes out, so to speak, from home to the world. It is a time of exploration of the human universe in which friends take on a special relevance. Friends are those with whom one goes out to navigate life.
Young hearts are always ready to give their all, but this is a learned art. Today's young people will live friendship the way we adults teach them to live it: our example counts a lot; the models we show them in series, movies, novels; the life and narrative of the influencers...
One of the first things that digital natives must learn is to distinguish between friends and followersFriendship requires presence, time and applying the logic of gratuity, not that of the market.
Speaking of disinterested friendship, St. Josemaría used to say that "out of a hundred souls we are interested in a hundred" How can we combine friendship and genuine apostolic vocation without instrumentalizing friendship?
- The genuine apostolic vocation starts from a total respect for the freedom of God - who seeks friends, not slaves -, for one's own freedom - recognized as a great gift that cannot be used to subdue others - and for the freedom of the friend, whom one loves in all his dignity.
The apostle friend proclaims Christ, illuminates the way to Him and does everything possible to kindle in the friend a desire for God. It is a help to enkindle within the person a divine spark that he or she already has, even if sometimes obscured or distorted. It does not market an external good, but helps to discover an inner treasure that belongs to the other, but that he has to decide whether to welcome and cultivate.
The apostle, like Jesus, does not give in order to receive; he simply gives himself, running the risk of freedom.
Isabel Sánchez (right) during the meeting with the youth of the XI St. Josemaría Symposium.
A friendship is a reciprocal act... and in the case of God completely asymmetrical. What does man "contribute" to God?
- This is a great mystery, but God himself has told us what he wants from us: "Give me your heart, my son" (Prov, 23:26).
What man brings to God is nothing more and nothing less than free correspondence to his Love. Each small act of love is a beautiful and joyful novelty in Creation; that is why we are all important to Him.
As a numerary of Opus Dei, you live and work like any normal layperson, following the spirit of St. Josemaría. How did St. Josemaría live this friendship with "heaven and earth"?
- With a heart of flesh, noble, generous and undivided. With the same heart with which he loved his parents tenderly, his friends strongly, his children unconditionally, the world passionately, with that same heart, he loved Jesus Christ madly. For him, charity and friendship were fused into one and the same thing: divine light that gives warmth (Forge, 565).
And all this with great grace: divine grace, which led her to give herself with great generosity to God and to others, and human grace, made up of a smile and good humor.
Is there still a long way to go inside and outside the Church in the understanding of a 100% relationship with God on the part of the laity?
- It seems to me that there is still a long way to go before we understand the power of the millions of lay people who make up the vast majority of the Church. We can delve even more deeply into the transforming power of simple baptism, which enables us to reach the highest intimacy with Christ, even to the free and exclusive surrender to Him in the midst of the world, and that of the sacrament of confirmation, which gives us a genuine apostolic impulse, arising from the configuration with Him and the power of the Holy Spirit.
But the Holy Spirit, the great Master, is raising up many examples of this "sanctity next door", as Pope Francis has called it, so that we can see through our eyes to what heights of spirituality the simple baptized are called to. It is enough to think of Carlo AcutisChiara Corbella, Guadalupe Ortiz de Landázuri and many others: a whole chain of young friends of God.
The forerunner of the Lord. Second Sunday of Advent (B)
Joseph Evans comments on the readings for the Second Sunday of Advent (B) and Luis Herrera offers a short video homily.
Joseph Evans-December 7, 2023-Reading time: 2minutes
The figure of John the Baptist is very present in Advent. We are awaiting the coming of Christ and John was sent to prepare Israel for the coming of our Lord. However, we need to be prepared, open to God's grace. Today's first reading puts it all in context. Israel had sinned (and let us remember that we too are the new Israel in our sinfulness) and had been punished by God.
But the Lord, through Isaiah, offers a message of consolation. How appropriate this is for Advent: what could be more consoling than the coming of the almighty God as a small, helpless child in need of our affection?
God wants to comfort us if we are willing to be comforted. "Your sin is atoned for." and God prepares a way for the exiles in Babylon to return to their own land (part of the punishment for Israel's sins was exile in this great pagan city). A straight road is prepared for Israel, with mountains and hills lowered and cliffs smoothed.
We do not have to understand this literally, as if God is gardening to help the people of Israel return home. It is simply that God is simplifying everything for the people to return to Him.
It is we who complicate things. In fact, part of our conversion this Advent may well be the effort to be more simple and straightforward, to try to avoid double dealing and insincerity.
John deliberately presents himself as an Elijah-type figure, ministering in the same area and even wearing the same kind of rough clothing that the prophet used to wear nine centuries before Christ, a camel-skin garment.
All those centuries before, Elijah had been sent to convert Israel from their double-dealing, when they attempted to worship both God and the false fertility god Baal, whose worship permitted numerous forms of immorality.
By acting in this way, the Baptist was fulfilling the ancient prophecies that Elijah would return. Elijah-who had been taken to heaven apparently alive in a chariot of fire-was expected to return. He did not return in person, but Jesus explained that John fulfilled this prophecy: he himself was like a new Elijah.
John points to the greater power of the one he awaits, Jesus Christ, who baptizes with the Holy Spirit, with God, because he himself is God. The readings want to make us more aware of God's power, also in the course of time. The second reading teaches us that God is totally beyond our limited concept of time: "To the Lord, one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.".
We are invited to be aware of God's saving power, also so as not to fall into pessimism or despair, as if our situation were hopeless. God can act to save us, and he is ready to do so: he just wants a little honesty on our part.
Homily on the readings of the Second Sunday of Advent (B)
The priest Luis Herrera Campo offers its nanomiliaA short one-minute reflection for these Sunday readings.
On the eve of the Immaculate Conception, Pope invokes the Holy Spirit
In his catechesis today, Pope Francis encouraged us to invoke the Holy Spirit every day, so that he may be "the breath of our proclamation, the source of our apostolic zeal". He also encouraged us to learn from Mary's "yes", very close to the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, and prayed for the people of Ukraine, Israel and Palestine.
Francisco Otamendi-December 6, 2023-Reading time: 3minutes
In a Paul VI Hall at the Vatican filled with many pilgrims from Italy and other countries, the Pope focused his catechesis of the day on the Audience Wednesday, the feast day of St. Nicholason the theme "The proclamation is in the Holy Spirit".
Francis said he felt "better", but let his words be read, except for the first few words, standing up, and the last ones in Italian, which he said himself.
These were to not forget to "pray for all those who suffer the tragedy of war, especially for the peoples of Ukraine, Israel y Palestine". These, as he usually does, with the addition that "war is always a defeat" and "nobody wins, everybody loses, only the arms manufacturers win".
The Church announces the "Gift" of the Holy Spirit
"We have seen in the previous catecheses three characteristics of the proclamation of the Gospel: it is
joy, for everyone and for today. On this occasion, we reflect on one last aspect: the
The protagonist of the proclamation is the Holy Spirit," the Holy Father began his meditation.
"Without the Holy Spirit, apostolic zeal would be in vain, it would become ours alone and would not bear true fruit. The Church does not proclaim herself, but she proclaims a grace, a gift, precisely the 'Gift of God', with capital letters, which is his very Spirit," he added.
Mission with creativity and simplicity
The Pope stressed that the Holy Spirit "inspires mission with creativity and simplicity; two distinctive features that we too are called to live. First of all, pastoral creativity, to proclaim Jesus in every circumstance and always seek new evangelizing paths that go out to meet the men and women of our time".
"And also simplicity, so that, enlightened by the Holy Spirit, we may know how to return to the sources of the first proclamation and transmit the essentials of our faith, with freshness and enthusiasm."
"It is the fire of the Spirit that makes us believe in Jesus Christ, who with his death and resurrection reveals and communicates to us the infinite mercy of the Father," he added.
"Come, Holy Spirit."
"Brothers and sisters," the Pontiff encouraged, "let us allow ourselves to be captivated by the Holy Spirit and let us invoke him every day: let him be the beginning of our being and of our action; let him be the beginning of every activity, meeting, gathering and proclamation. He enlivens and rejuvenates the Church: with Him we need not fear, because He, who is harmony, always keeps creativity and simplicity together, stirs up communion and sends out on mission, opens to diversity and leads back to unity. He is our strength, the breath of our proclamation, the source of apostolic zeal. Come, Holy Spirit!".
"Maria responded with her yes."
In its summaryThe Pope said: "Let us ask the Holy Spirit, through the intercession of our Immaculate Mother - whose Solemnity we celebrate next Friday - to precede and accompany us in each of our apostolates and to renew our apostolic zeal, granting us pastoral creativity and evangelical simplicity. May Jesus bless you and the Holy Virgin watch over you".
In his words to the pilgrims of different languages, the Pope recalled the Virgin Mary. "We are approaching the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. Mary "believed in the love of God and responded with her 'yes'. Learn from her the full trust in the Lord to bear witness everywhere to the goodness and love of the Gospel".
To the Polish-speaking faithful, Pope Francis expressed his special greetings to the artists participating in the concert "Psalms of Peace and Thanksgiving", commemorating the beatification of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Ulma family.
He also mentioned that "this Sunday will be celebrated in Poland the Day of prayer and material aid to the Church in the East. I thank all those who support the Church in those territories with their prayers and offerings, especially in the tormented Ukraine. I bless you from my heart".
St. Nicholas, seminary formators, English-speaking families
In his greeting to the Italian-speaking pilgrims, the Pope gave "a cordial welcome to the seminary formators participating in the course promoted by the Dicastery for Evangelization. Dear priests, may you be accompanied by the Lord's constant assistance, so that these days of study may enliven your service to the Church".
"Dear brothers and sisters, today is the memorial of St. Nicholas, Bishop of Myra. Firmly professing his faith in Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, he always worked for the most vulnerable in society. Let us follow his example in order to live well this time of Advent"The Holy Father said to the German-speaking pilgrims.
The Pope also welcomed "all the English-speaking pilgrims, especially the groups from Malta, Australia, Malaysia, Japan, Indonesia and the United States of America. Upon all of you and your families, I invoke the joy and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ. May God bless you.
Mexicans, support for Acapulco victims
Before praying the Our Father and giving the Blessing to the pilgrims, the Pontiff remembered the victims of the recent hurricane and asked for support. "I greet the members of the Telethon Foundation of Mexico. Dear Mexicans, I invite you to collaborate for the victims of Acapulco; I invite you to include all persons with disabilities in Mexico. Let us fight against the society of waste, let us defend the dignity of each person," he encouraged.
The Legend of St. Nicholas: the origin of Santa Claus
Christmas is the time of family, lights and chocolates. It is a time of tales, legends and true stories. One of the best known stories of these dates is that of Santa Claus, whose origin goes back to Saint Nicholas of Bari.
The vast majority of people know that this Christmas, as in all previous ones, there will be a moment dedicated to storytelling. Whether it's family stories, tales for the little ones or that romantic movie on TV, storytelling is a typical element of Christmas, along with the polvorones, gifts and decorations.
There is a character from this period who is known practically all over the world, even though he is not the really important one, who is Christ, but a good friend of his: Saint Nicholas of Bari. If the name doesn't quite fit, maybe it sounds more like his pseudonym: Santa Claus.
Before the bearded man conquered the shop windows, the figure of Santa Claus was much more reminiscent of St. Nicholas, a 4th century bishop who inspired folklore to create the legend of Santa Claus.
The origin
Little is known about the real life of Nicholas of Bari. He was born under the rule of the Roman Empire and some say that he attended the First Council of Nicaea. It seems that he came from a well-to-do Christian family and that he was named bishop almost by chance. With more certainty it can be affirmed that he was a very generous man and at his death people were already very devoted to him.
Bishop St. Nicholas of Bari (Wikimedia Commons)
After Nicholas' death, Emperor Theodosius had a church built on the site of his episcopal see to venerate his relics. However, the saint's bones were moved several times, as merchants and devotees moved his remains from city to city. The current location of the body of St. Nicholas of Bari is a controversial matter that is in the hands of archaeologists.
But how can it be that a person we know so little about has become one of the most recognizable figures of Christmas? This is where the legend comes into play.
The story goes that St. Nicholas of Bari rescued three young women whose father was in ruins. Unable to arrange marriages for lack of money or means to survive, the three women were destined for prostitution. Upon learning of this, the bishop threw a bag of gold coins out of a window of the house, unnoticed by anyone. When the father found it, he was able to marry the eldest daughter because he had a dowry. Shortly after, Nicholas of Bari repeated the gesture. The second daughter was also able to celebrate her marriage.
In his third act of generosity, the benefactor did not manage to go unnoticed. The father noticed and could only kneel before the bishop to thank him for his gesture. St. Nicholas asked the man not to tell anyone about the origin of the three gifts. That is why today it is the most famous story of the saint.
Santa Claus and Saint Nicholas
The figure of Santa Claus is based on part of this story. Some variations of the story tell that Saint Nicholas dropped the coins down the chimney of the house (just as today Santa Claus goes down that narrow channel), so the gold fell into some stockings that the young girls had left to dry (and that is why the socks have to be hung in the chimney every year).
The saint is also said to have rescued several children. Apparently, during his lifetime, he resuscitated three little ones who had died after falling from a tree. He also interceded to bring back to life some children murdered by a cruel innkeeper. He even rescued a child during World War II. The child's mother lost sight of him during a bombing raid on the city of Bari. Hours later, the little boy appeared at the door of the house completely unharmed, explaining that a St. Nicholas had protected him and helped him to return.
But the bishop's relationship with the Christmas is not something new. Since the Middle Ages it has been customary to give gifts to the little ones, for whom St. Nicholas clearly watched over, on the eve of his feast day, December 6.
San Nicolás today
This beautiful reminder has taken its present form through the influence of other European figures and legends. These include "Father Christmas," a character from a 15th century English poem; "Sinterklaas," a majestic old man who wears a cloak and draws from the culture of the Netherlands, Switzerland and Belgium; and "Mikulás," a legendary character of the Hungarian people.
With the passage of time, the memory of St. Nicholas of Bari, his gifts and his appreciation for children has been deformed. The Santa Claus we know today came through reinterpretations of European traditions in the United States. Little by little, the Christian saint was transformed from a cartoonist's drawing to the old man dressed in red and white (that the colors are due to a well-known brand of beverages is also part of the legend).
Some countries consider Santa Claus to be the result of taking God away from Christmas, making this season lose its essence. For others, it is a commercial claim that invites consumption. However, no one can take away from Catholics their Saint Nicholas, who functions as a precursor of the most important day of these dates and who, as a good student of his Master, brought to life that famous phrase: "Let the little children come to me" (Matthew 19,14).
Although pagan predecessors can be recognized in the Advent wreath, such as the torches that were lit at the dark time of the year in a kind of incantation to the sun god for his return, its authentic history is relatively recent.
The Protestant theologian Johann Hinrich Wichern (1808 -1881) founded a kind of village in his native Hamburg to "rescue neglected and difficult-to-educate children" - the "little children" who populate the literature of the 19th century - the so-called "Rauhes Haus". With a revolutionary educational concept for the time, they learned to read and write, but also to leave their past behind. Those who entered the "Rauhes Haus" "had to forgive everything completely and forever".
Wichern placed the first Advent wreath in that house in 1839, hanging it from the prayer room to prepare his pupils for Christmas. The "original" or also called "Wichern's" wreath consisted of a wagon wheel covered with spruce branches, with four large white candles, symbolizing the Sundays, interspersed with smaller red ones, representing the working days. The first candle was lit on the first Sunday of Advent and the last one on December 24.
The "Wichern wreath", with its four white and 20 thinner red candles, is still used in some particularly significant buildings such as the Bundestag or German Parliament, the Hamburg City Hall or "Sankt Michaelis", the most important evangelical church in the same city. However, mainly for practical reasons, it was soon replaced by four candles, one for each Sunday of Advent.
At the beginning of the 20th century, what was a custom in the Protestant world also spread to the Catholic world: in 1925, an Advent wreath was placed for the first time in a Catholic church in Cologne; in 1930, Munich followed suit.
The attempted Nazi destruction of the Advent wreath
During the National Socialist era (1933-1945), Nazi ideologues tried to take over Christmas and transform the Christian Christmas into a "German Christmas", "Yule" or "Winter Solstice Festival".
The Advent wreath came to represent the four seasons. In addition, instead of the classical wreath of spruce branches, alternative forms were added to the supporting structure, such as the wheel of the sun or Viking decorations symbolizing the Germanic origin; in other cases, a base in the form of a swastika was used. It was also attempted to substitute a special pagan symbol: the "Julleuchter" ("Yule Candlestick"). This clay candlestick, decorated with Germanic runes, was associated with the "winter solstice festival"; although it is an ancient symbol, it was appropriated by Nazism.
The close relationship between this pagan symbol and the National Socialist terror led to their almost total destruction after 1945. Surprisingly, perhaps because of the current efforts to distort the Christian character of Christmas, such candlesticks are again being produced today.
Despite these efforts, the Advent wreath was already so widespread that the Nazis were unable to displace it. Although nowadays they can be made in all shapes -not only in a circle-, with other types of support, such as wood or metal, and with candles of different colors, the traditional Advent wreath has a circular shape, with the green support formed by spruce branches and the red or white candles, at least this way in private houses or also in stores, etc.
Advent Wreath today
For liturgical use; that is, in churches, the Advent wreath can have the candles in the color of the liturgy, violet or purple. In this case -following also the liturgical use-, the third one has a lighter color or even pink, as it is the color of the ornaments used in the third Sunday of Advent, or "gaudete" Sunday. In some cases a white candle is added, in the center of the wreath, which is lit on Christmas Eve.
Less frequently, Advent wreaths with candles in the four liturgical colors of white, green, red and violet can be seen in churches. However, even in German churches, traditional wreaths with red candles are still predominant.
The most famous Advent wreaths
The world's largest hanging Advent wreath - at least traditionally considered so - is on the fountain in the main square of the Austrian town of Mariazell. It has a diameter of 12 meters and weighs six tons. It is inspired by the original Wichern Advent wreath and decorated with 24 lights: four for Advent Sundays and 20 for weekdays.
Mariazell Advent Wreath
However, since this one is made of artificial materials, the largest "real" Advent wreath in the world is in Kaufbeuren: it is placed on the Neptune Fountain from the first Sunday of Advent until the Feast of the Three Wise Men and has a diameter of eight meters.
This wreath is made with real fir branches and decorated with wax candles almost two meters high.
Advent wreath from Kaufbeuren
Symbolism of the Advent wreath
The Advent wreath has several symbols; the fact that, as each candle is lit, the light increases symbolizes the coming of the one who is the "light of the world".
Its different elements also have a certain symbolism: the circular shape - the circle has no beginning and no end - recalls the unity and eternity of God.
The green branches represent the living Christ, since green symbolizes hope and life, and already refer to the Christmas tree.
Even the color of the candles has its symbolism: the most usual, red, symbolizes that Jesus Christ gave his life for mankind; we have already referred to violet candles as a symbol of Advent.
In a hurry and jumping over obstacles. Collection for the Second Sunday of Advent
For the second week of Advent, there is a collect prayer taken from the old Gelasian sacramentary, which we know was also used during Advent. It replaced another prayer, which was in force until the 1962 missal, and which was transferred to another day within this same liturgical season.
Carlos Guillén-December 6, 2023-Reading time: 3minutes
As we can read below, the theme of going out to meet Christ continues to be strongly present in this part of Advent:
"Almighty God, rich in mercy, let not earthly cares hinder us when we go forth with courage to meet your Son, so that, learning from heavenly wisdom, we may share fully in his life."
"Omnípotens et miséricors Deus, in tui occúrsum Fílii festinántes nulla ópera terréni actus impédiant, sed sapiéntiae caeléstis erudítio nos fáciat eius esse consortes."
The structure of this collect, in its Latin version, consists of a rich invocation, followed by a petition composed of two opposing parts. On the other hand, it does not have the element known as "anamnesis", a reference to a salvific action of God that is remembered, resembling in this respect the one we have already analyzed on first Sunday.
God is in a hurry, are you?
The addressee of our prayer is God the Father, but we have recourse in a special way to his Almighty Power and Mercy. After all, "God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent not his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world through him might be saved" (Jn 3,16-17).
The first words of the petition ("in tui occúrsum Fílii festinántes") place us in continuity with the way the liturgy proposed to begin Advent last Sunday, that is, by going out to meet the Son of God who is coming. What is new, however, is the emphasis placed on the participle "festinántes", which conveys the idea of haste (although it has been somewhat blurred in the Spanish translation).
We have come across this word before, when studying the collections of the Lenten season (fourth Sunday). It is interesting to see the role it plays in making the faithful aware of the succession of time. After all, the weeks are passing quickly and the time we are waiting for is getting shorter and shorter.
But we cannot only consider it in its chronological sense. It also describes the attitude of the Virgin when she goes to visit her cousin Elizabeth (Lk 1:39) and the attitude of the shepherds who approach Bethlehem looking for the Child after the announcement of the angels (Lk 2:16). Therefore, it also intends to portray the interior attitude of the faithful, who are called to give greater priority to living their faith, to the encounter with the mystery of God.
Only in the Collect of the morning Mass on December 24 does the Church dare to ask this haste of God himself, rather than of her faithful: "Make haste, Lord Jesus, we ask you, do not delay". It is very surprising how confident we can be as a Church to address God with a request that sounds almost like a demand. But, evidently, if anyone is in a hurry to love, to give himself, it is God.
The divine ways of the earth have been opened.
As the first part of the petition points out, the Christian's prompt response to God's love encounters possible opposition in earthly concerns ("actus terreni"). Therefore, we ask for help so that they will not be an impediment to our will to go out to meet the Lord. These "earthly" concerns can remind us of the different "types of soil" on which the seed falls, according to another well-known parable of Jesus (Mt 13). That is to say, the different possible responses to the Word of God and the different fruit that it bears in the life of each person.
But we should not think of abandoning our daily occupations in order to generate a spiritual life parallel to the daily realities in which we have to occupy ourselves. The Incarnation of Christ, his hidden life in Nazareth and his work, show us that the problem is not in the materiality of these actions (which in themselves do not prevent us from encountering God) but in our lack of the Spirit of Jesus, capable of turning every moment into a dialogue with his Father and every act into a demonstration of obedience and love.
Therefore, what we oppose to this possible lack is the heavenly wisdom ("sapientiae caelestis eruditio") with which we wish to fill ourselves. If we allow ourselves to be instructed by the Spirit of Wisdom and apply it to the ordinary life in which God Himself has placed us, we will succeed in turning it into a path of holiness that will make us coheirs (spouses) together with the Son. Advent is, then, a time of spiritual enrichment and a new call to hasten the pace. All Christians who live and work in the midst of the world are called to convert their daily achievements into works that are valuable in the eyes of God. As St. Josemaría taught: "There is something holy, something divine, hidden in the most ordinary situations, which it is up to each one of you to discover" (Homily "Passionately Loving the World").
Holy Land. Unattainable peace, the theme of the December issue of Omnes magazine.
The December 2023 Omnes print magazine focuses its dossier on the Holy Land, the origins of the conflict, its history and idiosyncrasies and first-hand testimonies. Alongside this theme, Nagorno-Karabakh and the summary of the Omnes Forum with Jacques Philippe.
The Holy Land, the land of Jesus, where the historical events of the incarnation, life and death of Christ took place, is the central theme of the number 734 of Omnes.
The new conflict in the area, following the Hamas surprise attack on Israeli citizens last October 2023 and the subsequent declaration of war, has once again attracted worldwide media, political and religious attention.
The dossier begins with a comprehensive and well-documented historical introduction by Gerardo Ferrara explaining the historical origins of the tensions in the Holy Land, as well as their political and religious branches.
The issue also explores some of the Christian institutions present in the area, especially the work and history of the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land, which ensures the Christian presence in key places such as the Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem or the Basilica of the Agony, located in the Garden of Olives.
Two women, one Israeli and one Palestinian, also share their different views on the events as well as the lessons that society can learn from the war.
10 years of Evangelii Gaudium
Our editor in Rome, Giovanni Tridente, takes stock of the presence of the key themes of the apostolic exhortation. Evangelii Gaudium in the latest speeches of Pope Francis.
This document, which inaugurated the pontificate of Pope Francis, remains today one of the key texts of the pontiff's magisterium, who makes specific references to this text on numerous occasions.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
The section dedicated to The World this month, the focus is on the conflict, barely known from Nagorno-Karabakh. This enclave, historically linked to Armenia but located on the border with Azerbaijan has seen the practical disappearance of the Christian Armenian presence as a result of the 2020 and 2021 wars and the latest attacks by the Azeri army.
What was once the first Christian nation in the West is today facing the disappearance of its religious and cultural legacy.
Christian philosophy and Jacques Philippe
For its part, Juan Luis Lorda sets out in its Twentieth Century Theology the influence of Christianity on philosophical development, contributing, for example, an idea of the person, of what love and the family are, of the natural order of the world, of the sense of human freedom and responsibility, of the ideals of justice and fraternity, in accordance with human dignity.
The author argues that our democratic culture is based on them. They are issues that can be dealt with by reason, but, to a large extent, they have been established by the impulse of faith.
In addition, the magazine includes an extensive report dedicated to the Omnes Forum, held on November 24 in Madrid and was attended by the well-known spiritual author Jacques Philippe.
At this meeting, attended by more than 200 people, Philippe spoke about the consequences of the "traumatic" death of God in today's society. Among other things, he recalled that by scorning God, we have already "there is no peace or solace". Without hope, without mercy and without the opportunity for forgiveness, man cannot even love himself.
The content of this magazine is now available to Omnes subscribers. The December 2023 issue of Omnes is now available in its digital version for Omnes subscribers. In the next few days, it will also arrive at the usual address of those who have this type of subscription. subscription.
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Pope donates a Golden Rose to the image of the Virgin Mary Salus Populi Romani
Pope Francis has announced his decision to donate a new Golden Rose to the icon of the "Salus Populi Romani", which he visits before and after every trip or hospital stay.
After two historically important but lost copies, Pope Francis has decided to donate a new Golden Rose to the icon of the Salus Populi Romani which is venerated at the Basilica of Santa María la Mayor, to which the Argentine Pontiff is very attached, so much so that he visits her from the day after his election, at the beginning and end of every trip abroad, or at the end of hospital stays.
The homage will take place on the afternoon of Friday, December 8, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, before the Pope goes - as has always been his tradition, even during the tragic moment of the pandemic - to pay his respects to the statue of Our Lady in Piazza Mignanelli, next to the Spanish Steps.
A millenary link
"After 400 years, the Pontiff wanted to give a tangible sign of his devotion to the venerated icon," reads a note from the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, "reinforcing the millennial bond between the Catholic Church and the city of Rome."
In fact, there are already two Roses attributed to the Salus Populi RomaniThe first was donated by Pope Julius III in 1551 and the second by Pope Paul V in 1613. The first pontiff was very attached to the Basilica, to the point that he celebrated his first Mass on the altar of the Crib. Paul V, for his part, donated it on the occasion of the transfer of the Icon of the Virgin to the new Pauline Chapel, erected expressly to house it and where it is still preserved today. No trace remains of both Roses, and it is assumed that they were lost in 1797 (Treaty of Tolentino), after the Napoleonic invasion of the Papal States.
Commenting on the gift, the extraordinary curator of the Basilica of St. Mary Major, Monsignor Rolandas Makrickas, described the Holy Father's gift as a "historic gesture" that confirms the Pontiff's bond "with the Mother of God". Moreover, through it "the people of God will be further strengthened in their spiritual and devotional bond with the Blessed Virgin Mary".
The Rosary for Peace
At the end of last year's Marian month, Pope Francis chose the Basilica of St. Mary Major to pray the Rosary of Peace - especially for the tormented Ukraine - before the Icon of the Salus Populi Romani, together with the shrines of various countries around the world connected by streaming.
And on that occasion he invoked: "grant the great gift of peace, that war, which for decades has been ravaging various parts of the world, may soon cease". And again: "intercede for us before your Son, reconcile the hearts full of violence and revenge, straighten the thoughts blinded by the desire of easy enrichment, make your peace reign over the whole earth".
Unfortunately, these are current words that continue to call for the intervention of prayer.
Homage to the Immaculate Conception
There is no doubt that the Pope will also mention it before the image of the Immaculate Conception in Mignanelli Square, which he will visit on December 8 in the afternoon.
A purely "Roman" tradition that the Pontiff has never wanted to lose. Last year, Ukraine remained at the center of his thoughts: "I would have liked to bring you today the gratitude of the Ukrainian people for the peace that we have been asking the Lord for so long. Instead, I have yet to bring you the plea of the children, of the elderly, of fathers and mothers, of the young people of that tormented land that suffers so much".
Today, unfortunately, we are thinking of the Holy Land, tragically affected by a sudden and disproportionate conflict that is claiming thousands of innocent victims. May once again: "over hatred may love triumph, over lies may truth triumph, over offense may forgiveness triumph, over war may peace triumph". A hope that now becomes an absolute necessity for the whole world.
The author proposes as a reading "In Praise of Thinking", by Professor Ricardo Piñero, in which, using various works of art as a common thread, Piñero reflects on dignity, connectivity, solidarity, sustainability and perfectibility.
Juan Ignacio Izquierdo Hübner-December 5, 2023-Reading time: 3minutes
What book would you recommend for someone going into college? That's what a friend who is buying Christmas presents asked me. I didn't hesitate: the latest book by Ricardo Piñero (Professor of Aesthetics and Theory of the Arts at the University of Navarra): In praise of thinkingwhich could also have been titled "Five keys to thinking with a magnanimous heart".
"Thinking is a way of getting to know, to taste, it is a way of tasting, of learning to discern, of accepting and denying, of protesting and admitting, of sharing what we are in order to be, among all of us, better". In other words, thinking is not something obvious.
Through works of art, entertaining writing and quotations from philosophers, the author puts us in front of five themes that underpin the reflective attitude: dignity, connectivity, solidarity, sustainability and perfectibility. All in 109 pages that are quickly finished and leave the impression that the brevity was deliberate.
Piñero writes to enliven your curiosity, stimulate your spirit and invite you to stay around the topics; he only puts the ladder of the plane, but after you climb it, it's your turn to be the pilot.
Why think about these issues? Because although we know they are unavoidable, we avoid them. This is the drama of our century. We need to be more aware of how valuable and worthy we are; we have forgotten that the best ideas require us to relate to others.
We have let ourselves be... perhaps it is because as soon as we glimpse discomfort we lose the desire to explore, but then what are we living for? It is time to wake up, because if we decide to exercise our thinking and participate in the great conversations of our time, then we will be able to sow and bear fruit. Fruits, many fruits, why can't we fill the world with fruits? I love chestnuts, especially in winter when they are freshly roasted in those magical carts of Pamplona.
The thinking that the author proposes is one committed to people and the common good, even well-humored; it resembles the heart knowledge of Pascal, the emotional knowledge of Scheler or the cognitive force of love of Augustine and Bonaventure. Will we be able to think like this, with the heart? Yes, because we have first been loved by the Lamb.
In praise of thinking
AuthorRicardo Piñero Moral
Editorial: Word
Pages: 112
Year: 2023
That same Lamb is represented in the lower right corner of the book's cover, crouching next to John the Baptist. The painting is by El Bosco (1489) and Piñero comments on it in the last pages of the book: "John has his eyes closed, but he sees everything clearly and teaches us where to follow, he quietly shows us what we have to choose, that not everything is worth the same, but that there is a path, a firm way, which is before us, even if it appears as simple and humble as that white lamb huddled among the vegetation, but which is pure light, which is the Truth of which he is the messenger...".
In summary, In praise of thinking is a good book to give as a gift. Just over an hour to climb the ladder and fly the plane.
Brief chapters to rebel against the dry life proposed by so many unwary people and to foster the desire to bear fruits of service, confident that the Lamb is the Light that shows us the path and also the destination of our journey.
Thinking with a magnanimous heart is a gift that we owe to Him and that the world is crying out for. That is why I said to change the title to "Five keys to think with a magnanimous heart", and that is why I am so grateful to teachers like Ricardo Piñero who teach us to live and think with quality.
The authorJuan Ignacio Izquierdo Hübner
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Our society demands rights, which is legitimate of course, but there is suffering when we expect them to be respected in the direction of ourselves but not in the direction of others. This reality is aggravated when, in addition, we call our desires rights.
With the emergence of various initiatives for the defense of human rights, we seem to have forgotten that they go hand in hand with duties. Our society demands rights, which is legitimate of course, but there is suffering when we expect them to be respected in the direction of ourselves but not in the direction of others. This reality is aggravated when, in addition, we call our desires rights.
Recently a mature woman came to my office experiencing distress at the imminent arrival of her mother-in-law. She sobbed and asked herself: "Why does she have to come? I have the right to be happy.
I empathetically accompanied her feelings and little by little we opened up to a deep reflection on love in the family. At one point in the conversation she revealed what was in her heart and in her conscience:
"All my life I have been rejected by my mother-in-law and now that she is ill, I don't feel like seeing her. But I love my husband and I know it would be precious to him if I showed some compassion. I know he is hurt by my coldness and I wouldn't want to be like that, but deep in my heart I don't feel like getting close. What can I do?"
In his letter to the Romans, St. Paul exhorts us to make our faith come alive with certain basic attitudes: "Be of the same mind toward one another, do not be haughty in your thinking, but be condescending to the little ones. Do not be wise in your own opinion. Never repay anyone evil for evil. If possible, as far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men" (Rom 12:16-18).
This, which seems utopian, can be achieved with personal determination: "I will do the right thing even if I don't feel like it". Today, thanks to advances in neuroscience, it is confirmed that it is possible to change our feelings and attitudes, modifying our behaviors and thoughts. That is to say that we should not make the actions we take depend on our feelings; we can all choose our reactions thinking about the consequences and selecting the best response to any circumstance.
The German neurologist Eduard Hitzig, already at the end of the 19th century, designed what we know today as the emotional alphabet. He detected a correlation between certain feelings and attitudes.
He claimed that "R" feelings generate "D" attitudes:
According to Dr. Hitzig's observations, our brains can be molded: the brain is an easy 'muscle' to fool; if you smile it thinks you are happy and makes you feel better.
So it will be necessary to put a good face on bad weather and go ahead doing the right thing even if we do not originally feel like it, this will give us emotional maturity. Let us strive to practice human virtues, this has been the walk of the saints, and we are called to be saints.
When the Word of God asks us to return good for evil, it is because knowing our human nature, it recommends us to do what is best for us, and not what our resentments dictate.
Listening to the voice of the Creator and obeying it makes us truly free and happy.
On November 30, Pablo Blanco and Francesc Torralba received the Ratzinger Prize from Cardinal Parolin. Afterwards they were able to greet Pope Francis.
Both laureates emphasize that the thought and legacy of Joseph Ratzinger will illuminate with great force the Church of the present and the future.
AhNow you can enjoy a 20% discount on your subscription to Rome Reports Premiumthe international news agency specializing in the activities of the Pope and the Vatican.
Children place candles as they prepare an Advent wreath at St. Charles Borromeo Church in New York. The Advent Wreath is one of the typical traditions of this liturgical season.
The day-to-day life of the rector of St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York City
The rector of St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York, Enrique Salvo, feels a great connection with the Latino Catholic faithful, since he himself is from Nicaragua. In his daily work, in addition to gladly serving the community, he tries to promote devotion to the Divine Mercy, of which he is particularly fond.
There is no mundanity when you are the rector of Saint Patrick's Cathedral and running The Basilica of Old Saint Patrick's.
"No two days are alike," shared father Salvo, and "There is no routine because every week provides another focus and something else is going on, and so that keeps it exciting... and I don't have to have a set routine of how many hours I am going to be at my desk…and Church." He continued, "These days, we have more flexibility to get our work done from so many places," which is something Father Salvo appreciates.
Having this "flexibility" is helpful because it allows him "to prioritize each day according to the needs of each day, which is very different, and is part of the excitement of this place," said Father Salvo.
At the beginning of Father Salvo's tenure, all of the faithful congregation were eager and excited to welcome their new rector, wish him well, and pray for him; some, however, had one or two friendly suggestions that were personal to them. The new rector was gracious, willing, and happy to listen to his new flock. One in particular is Madeline, who is 93 years old and has been a daily parishioner for over 55 years. Madeline has praised Father Salvo for many reasons. She said he was very eager to help her get situated in a Catholic home and for his decision to resurrect the image of the Divine Mercy, which had been in storage before his rectorship. Like many Catholics, Madeline is devoted to the Divine Mercy; coincidently, Father Salvo and his family also have an ardent devotion.
The Divine Mercy
Before Father Salvo's rectorship, a beautiful image of the Divine Mercy remained in storage in Saint Patrick's Cathedral. He told Omnes how it was made especially for the Cathedral in Krakow at the Divine Mercy Shrine and was donated by a former and very faithful parishioner who was very active in the Cathedral. She is now deceased.
"Madeline helped me to think about it, and she gave me a smaller image to remind me" to make it visible in the Church, recalled Father Salvo. He did and created a shrine in the Cathedral. Father Salvo agrees it's beautiful but said," ... the most important thing of all is to believe in the messages, which, of course, we are invited to, and something that the Church encourages." He is also aware of the many people who have this devotion and spoke of Saint John Paul II and how "he made sure that we all knew that this all happened, and that it's real, and that it is something for us to trust." He also said that we should remember what Jesus said: "Amongst things, He asked from us, including…the great feast of the Divine Mercy on the Second Sunday of Easter… is that He wanted that image to be propagated because it's not just an image that helps us to pray because it's beautiful…"
The interior of Saint Patrick's Cathedral is a sight to behold and has a host of statues from which one can choose to say a prayer, do a Novena, or light a candle. Father Salvo appreciates all of the imagery and statues, along with our Blessed Mother that are in the Church, "…and they are all sweet and beautiful, and we have Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, and then we have the Crucifix…" acknowledges Father Salvo, however, he appreciates having "one of Jesus that isn't crucified or on the Cross." He says, "It's beautiful to see an image of Jesus as he is portrayed in the Divine Mercy," which we rarely see.
"We also have the Pieta," said Father Salvo, but reiterated the importance of the Divine Mercy and how Our Lord said, "He wanted that image to be propagated, so how much more beautiful is it then that we get six million people from all over the world that come each year through the Cathedral…" "I see people almost all day long taking pictures of it, and now everyone posts everything…, so I think Saint Patrick's Cathedral is helping that mission in a very special way because to propagate that image, which is an anointed image, of a reminder of how much we are to trust in Him."
Nicaragua And The Divine Mercy
Father Salvo was born in Nicaragua and shared that he has a family history connected to the image of the Divine Mercy. He told Omnes that the image has been close to his family for a long time. His real estate developer uncle developed one of two mountains to form a bay in Nicaragua's most popular beach town, San Juan del Sur. His uncle had "this miraculous and beautiful moment with Jesus the Divine Mercy and began a great devotion to Him." And he was inspired to build "a beautiful" statue on top of the mountain, so wherever you are in the town, you see the great statue of Jesus, and people go up on pilgrimages”, shared Father Salvo.
There is also a chapel at the base of it, where Rector Salvo celebrated the first Mass. The colossal statue is one of the highest statutes of Jesus in the world, and when cruise ships arrive in Nicaragua, the first thing that they see is the Divine Mercy. What a way to welcome everyone!
Jesus, I Trust In You
Father Salvo said he is grateful to his uncle who influenced him to have a devotion to the Divine Mercy, and he appreciates "the opportunity to propagate it, not only as a Catholic priest but also as someone from a family that has this devotion." His uncle has since had a stroke and is not in optimal health, but fortunately, he has a nephew who prays for the man who instilled the love of the Divine Mercy every time he passes the image in Saint Patrick's Cathedral.
Viva los latinos católicos
Hispanics comprise more than 48% of the Archdiocese of New York, and many of the faithful rejoiced when Father Enrique Salvo began his rectorship. They were excited to welcome their excellent new rector and having the first Hispanic was memorable and historic.
Father Salvo said that Hispanics are the "life of the Church." And they are all making a mark in their faith community here. The rector spoke of Bishop Joseph Espalliat, who was ordained a bishop last year and is the first bishop of Dominican descent; his parents were born in The Dominican Republic.
We are witnessing Hispanics "making a mark in their faith community here, and it's beautiful to be part of that," said Father Salvo.
While most liturgies are done in English, Saint Patrick's has a Spanish Mass every Sunday at 4:00 p.m., which Father Salvo says he "loves doing," and says "it's a nice combination of people that I see there every Sunday, and people that come from all over the world because there are a lot of tourists from Latin America here in New York."
Look out for more of my interview with Father Enrique Salvo soon.
The United Arab Emirates is currently hosting the COP28 International Summit. A meeting that focuses its objectives on the difficult negotiations for the gradual abandonment of some types of fuels.
198 countries are participating in this meeting with the mission of outlining social and economic measures and actions to achieve a transition to other renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, hydroelectric or geothermal energy. Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary General, urged the international community to eradicate fossil fuels in his opening message.
The Pope was scheduled to attend, but - as is well known - he cancelled his participation a few days ago due to health problems. Neither the President of the United States, Joe Biden, nor the leader of the People's Republic of China, Xi Jinping, countries that together generate 40% of annual global greenhouse gas emissions, were present.
Although the pontiff does not attend personally, he has not wanted to leave behind his interest and attention to these problems. Proof of this are some of the latest messages he has shared on the social network X: "Now we are asked to take responsibility for the legacy we will leave behind after our passage through this world. If we do not react now, climate change will increasingly damage the lives of millions of people".
The Pope also sent a video message to this meeting, in addition to the address delivered by Cardinal Parolin, Secretary of State, who heads the Holy See Delegation - already present in Dubai during COP28 - and who inaugurated, together with Cardinal Ayuso, Prefect of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, the Faith Pavilion, the Holy See's pavilion at the conference.
Cardinal Parolin has not hidden his regret at the impossibility of having the Pope present at Saturday's scheduled bilateral meetings with several heads of state and government present at the event. "There were many political personalities who wanted to see the Pope," the cardinal revealed before traveling to Dubai. "At the heart of the Pope - has assured the Secretary of State - is the awareness of the need to act for the care of the common home, the urgency of courageous positions and a new impetus to local and international policies so that man is not threatened by partisan, short-sighted or predatory interests."
As is well known, COP28 is called upon to provide a clear response from the political community to decisively address the current climate crisis within the urgent timeframe indicated by science.
The Pope - in Parolin's words - explains that "with the passage of time... we do not react sufficiently, as the world that welcomes us is crumbling and perhaps approaching a breaking point."
Not only do scientific studies highlight the serious impacts of climate change caused by anthropogenic behavior, but it is now a daily occurrence throughout the world to witness extreme natural phenomena that seriously affect the quality of life of a large part of the human population.
The authorAntonino Piccione
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Contemplare Foundation. Showing the richness of the contemplative life
They were dedicated to the world of business, chemistry or entrepreneurship, but they were united by a fascination for the contemplative life and, above all, by a common idea of helping, in whatever way necessary, one of the 725 monasteries of contemplative life that still exist in Spain.
Spain is one of the world's "first powers" in contemplative life with more than 8,000 monks and nuns of contemplative life. They, with their prayer, support the world and this group of lay people decided, through the foundation Contemplareto help the monasteries that they could in the needs that they presented.
Alejandra Salinas, director of the foundation Contemplareis one of those businesswomen who "threw her hat in the ring" and put her professional knowledge at the service of this cause.
Today, the foundation Contemplare collaborates with more than a hundred of these monasteries helping, on the one hand, in their different needs and, above all, being a current, online and universal showcase of products made by nuns and monks from all over Spain.
Alejandra Salinas, director of the Contemplare Foundation,
How did they come to create what some have called "the Amazon of the monasteries"? Alejandra Salinas points out that "the idea was not to cold call the monasteries saying 'we are a foundation based in Madrid to help you', because that is cold and, in addition, they have been deceived many times. So we decided to trust everything to Providence.
The contact with each monastery is personal: through a priest, because they give us the reference from another monastery, by someone who knows them and, of course, also through the federations".
Thus they have been weaving a relationship that "is a slow burner, explaining to them what we do, seeing how we can help them, etc. They are very perplexed that there are lay people, with high heels, who want to help them... although those who take care of us are these monasteries that pray for the world," Alejandra Salinas points out with conviction.
Sisters, what do you need?
The question they are addressing, from Contemplare to each of the monasteries they contact is always the same: "Sisters, brothers, what do you need?
As Salinas points out, "the needs are many, but we realized that what they asked for most was help in selling the handicraft products made in each of these communities. These products, the fruit of their ora et labora, are what help pay the bills.
The expenses of the monasteries are high, in spite of the poverty and austerity with which they live. Contemplare He points out that "it is not only the electricity bill, which is always very high in a monastery, but also the social security expenses, because they are self-employed, or important repairs to the buildings... But, as Salinas also points out, it is not only a question of covering a need but also of honoring this life of prayer and work by making it known".
An antechamber to the monasteries
Contemplare is not only a way of selling some products, but it is a prelude to the monastery: "We want everyone to know what contemplative life is and what it means, the life of a monastery, of these men and women who enclose themselves and pray for us. We invite people to come to the monasteries because that is our objective: to show the richness of the contemplative life".
That is why its physical store "la casita", located in Aravaca (Madrid), is a small oasis of silence and austerity in the middle of the city. There, as in the webIn the monasteries, you can see everything that these monasteries produce: jams, Christmas pastries, religious imagery, but also liqueurs, cheeses, pâtés or baby clothes.
The online store developed tremendously during the pandemic period, recalls Alejandra Salinas: "We created a marketplace with the products of these monasteries that had been directly affected by the impossibility of moving and were in a desperate situation".
It's personal, not just business
Unlike the famous phrase "It's not personal, It's strictly business" from the film of The Godfatherthe work of the foundation Contemplare always goes beyond the mere professional level. This is also a vocational issue for the members of the foundation and those who collaborate with it.
Salinas states that "those of us who work in Contemplare we are personally enriched. We know we have extraordinary suppliers. You never have a superficial conversation with a cloistered nun, even for two minutes. Those of us who are there are ecstatic at every moment because it's circumstances, conversations, stories that come up ... Being around these people makes you look at life differently."
In fact, as she herself, a businesswoman by profession, points out, "the fact that their mission on earth is not to 'make mantecados', changes everything. They always comply and are concerned about complying, but there is something that is above all that. We, who are in the world, live 'on deadlines' and, really, we are out of our minds. The fact that they situate you, that they tell you, 'Alejandra, sit down and remember what you are here for', as a nun told me, changes everything".
With this product, you support a monastery
Thanks to the foundation Contemplare there are many and varied companies and individuals who, for example, at Christmas time, help one or more monasteries by purchasing their Christmas baskets or by including a product from a monastery in the company's basket.
The foundation acts as a "bridge": "One of our tasks is to make contact with large companies that, for example, make Christmas hampers, and we offer them a product from a monastery in those hampers. We have done this for some time with Inditex. Or we make the complete basket, which can be standard or, in the case of companies with a high volume, there is the possibility for them to order their own baskets from us, with a specific budget, etc."
On the one hand, says Alejandra Salinas, "anything that is handcrafted, handmade in a monastery, is very attractive, because they are things of quality and, in addition, many people feel the desire to help the monasteries, even if they are not practicing or convinced Catholics. It is also a way of letting them know that these people who pray for us still exist".
Christmas is always a time of high sales volume, but the foundation also helps them to "deseasonalize" income. In this endeavor, they have organized cooking courses together with the Cordon Bleu The program also offers them advice on trends in baby clothes sold at flea markets or through the web.
The key is summarized in the phrase that accompanies each of the products "with this product you help a monastery", although perhaps, as Salinas repeats, "you understand that, although you are saying 'Here I am to help', in reality, it is the other way around".
Monastic products fair
Among the foundation's initiatives ContemplareThe first edition of the I Monastic FairThe event will bring together, in the central Casa de la Panadería in Madrid, almost a thousand products from 80 convents.
In this space you will be able to buy up to 650 different types of Christmas sweets, directly from the bakery.
In addition to this gastronomic showcase, there will also be cribs, Christmas figures, carvings and icons for sale: 300 different artistic objects molded and painted by the contemplatives. But also baby clothes, natural cosmetics and table linen embroidered in the old style.
In addition, each evening there will be a time for listening and dialogue with nuns and monks from the monasteries that Contemplare supports, surprise concerts of sacred music, and opportunities for personal dialogue.
Pope Francis has prayed the Angelus this first Sunday of Advent from Santa Marta. Although his state of health continues to improve, as reported by the Holy See, doctors recommended the Pontiff to accompany the faithful in this prayer from inside his residence.
In his brief meditation, Francis stressed a concept that Christ repeats up to three times in today's Gospel: vigilance. Before elaborating on it, the Holy Father warned that this is not "an attitude motivated by fear of imminent punishment, as if a meteorite were about to fall from the sky and threaten to crush us, if we do not turn away in time."
On the contrary, the vigilance preached by Jesus relates to the servant, to "the 'trusted person' of the master," the Pope explains. The servant of the Bible is the one with whom "there is a relationship of cooperation and affection." Therefore, vigilance is a virtue based "on longing, on waiting to meet the master who is coming".
This is the expectation that Christians must have, Francis points out. "Whether it be at Christmas, which we will celebrate in a few weeks; whether it be at the end of time, when he returns in glory; whether it be every day, when he comes to meet us in the Eucharist, in his Word, in our brothers and sisters, especially in those most in need."
The house of the heart
The Holy Father invites everyone to "carefully prepare the house of the heart, so that it may be orderly and welcoming". This is what evangelical vigilance really means, "to be prepared in heart. It is the attitude of the watchman, who in the night does not let himself be tempted by weariness, does not fall asleep, but remains awake waiting for the light that will come".
The two best preparations, says Francis, are prayer and charity. "In this regard, it is told that St. Martin of Tours, a man of prayer, after giving half of his cloak to a poor man, dreamed of Jesus dressed precisely in that part of the cloak he had given." The Pope considers that in this event the Christian finds an exemplary model for living Advent. So much so that he encourages Catholics to "find Jesus who comes in every brother and sister who needs us, and to share with them what we can".
Pope prays for the world
Finally, the Holy Father encourages us to avoid useless distractions and constant complaints, and to turn to the Virgin Mary, "woman of waiting". At the end of the Angelus, Francis called for a new cease-fire in the war between Israel and Palestine, whose truce has already ended. On the other hand, he remembered the victims of the attack during a Mass in the Philippines.
The Pope also made an "appeal to respond to climate change with concrete political changes", since this weekend the COP 28 is taking place in Dubai, which he was unable to attend due to health reasons. Finally, he invited everyone to welcome people with disabilities on this International Day, which has become a special echo of this month of December.
Esperanza and José Ángel: "You can no longer live without your Down children."
Four Spanish families have adopted two children with Down syndrome each, and they agree that "they are a gift". They can no longer live without them, because they make their families happy, and they see their happiness. On the eve of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, which the Church in Spain celebrates with the slogan "You and I are Church", Esperanza and José Ángel talk to Omnes.
Francisco Otamendi-December 3, 2023-Reading time: 6minutes
The eight parents are Beatriz and Carlos, who spent eleven years trying to become biological parents without success; Antonio and Yolanda, who have six children, all of them adopted, the last four through adoption offers of special difficulty, and of which two have Down syndromeWe have also had the pleasure of talking to Ana and Carlos (fictitious names), whose first five adopted children, in phases, are Russian; and Esperanza and José Ángel, with whom we spoke.
It is known that, in the West, the majority of children with Down syndromewhose trisomy (three chromosomes in the 21st pair) is detected during pregnancy, "do not make it to birth... and we all know why," explain Esperanza and José Ángel. Between the years 2011 and 2015, in Europe, 54% of babies who were detected with this genetic anomaly were aborted. And in Spain, the percentage reached no less than 83%, according to data provided by the Ibero-American Down 21 Foundation, the parents add.
In March of this year, 2023, a report from BBC World reported that a group of experts had concluded that in Europe, in the last decade, 54% of pregnancies in which the fetus had Down's was terminated. The paper by De Graaf, Buckley and Skotko, which was published in the European Journal of Human Genetics (European Journal of Human Genetics) in 2020, and updated at the end of 2022, noted that the proportion of selective abortions was higher in Southern European countries (72%) than in the Nordic (51%) and Eastern European countries (38%).
We talked to Esperanza and José Ángel about some of the reflections and testimonies of these adoptive parents.
You have studied the work of Brian Skotko, director of the Down Syndrome Program at Massachusetts General Hospital and an associate professor at Harvard Medical School. Can you add any more data?
-Dr. Brian G. Skotko coordinated a team that interviewed 2,044 parents about their relationship with their Down syndrome child in 2011. Well: 99% of them said they love their son or daughter; 97% of those parents were proud of them; 79% felt their outlook on life was more positive because of them; 5% felt embarrassed by them; and only 4% regretted having them. Parents reported that 95% of their sons or daughters without Down syndrome have good relationships with their siblings with this disability. The vast majority of parents surveyed indicated that they are happy with their decision to have them and indicated that their (Down) sons and daughters are a great source of love and pride.
Why this contrast between the happiness expressed by people with Down syndrome and that of their families, and the current option of abortion for the majority?
-These four Spanish families, including ourselves, have each adopted two children with Down syndrome. They all have their own story. But they all agree, we all agree, on at least one thing: they can no longer live without their children. Because they make those around them happy, first and foremost their parents and siblings. Because they see that their children are happy. And because it is very difficult to meet one of these people and not love them. And love - to love and be loved - is what makes human beings happy, first and foremost their children.
And that in the stories of these families there is also sacrifice and hard times. There are demands and pain. Raising and educating a child with Down syndrome requires a lot of effort and there may be situations -although not necessarily, not always, not all at the same time- of health problems, learning difficulties, behavior disorders, disruptive behaviors.
But we are absolutely normal people, "not heroes", who encourage other normal people to have their children with Down syndrome. And to parents who do not want or cannot take care of them - for whatever reasons, which we will never judge - we encourage them to give them up for adoption.
Tell us a flash of your case, how was the decision?
-We could not have biological children, and there was suffering. However, a series of circumstances aligned until we made the final decision, after a process of discernment, to embark on the adoption of a child with Down syndrome. Christian faith also played an important role in that decision: "Whoever receives one of these little ones in my name, receives me", "whatever you do to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you do it to me".
When they shared the decision with their family and friends, most of them received the news with joy and excitement, the same that they already felt. However, we know of a couple who offered to adopt a child with Down syndrome, and when they told the family, they were shocked and tried to dissuade them by all means: that they would not be happy, that it would be a burden for the siblings....
The truth is that the opposite is true. For all siblings of children with Down syndrome, the arrival of their sibling has been an enormous enrichment. In addition, the siblings acquire a special sensitivity with this type of person: you can see it in their gentleness, their patience, their affection when they see one of them...
What did you perceive when you met your two children?
-Immense happiness and emotion. The second adoption was awarded to us because the social services of the Community did not have any other family candidate or with the suitability required by the Administration.
Since then, a journey has begun, not without sacrifice and effort, with sleepless nights or little sleep, with illnesses, with slow progress in development, with day-to-day difficulties -the battles to dress them, wash them, feed them...-, with the uncertainty of not knowing if we are doing well as parents....
But above all that "there is love and love can do anything". Their adoption is "the best thing we have ever done in our lives.
Any anecdotes about these marriages that you know?
-Carlos, initially, in a context of some difficult circumstances they were going through, said no to Beatriz's proposal. But in the end he gave in. On one occasion they were called to offer them a child with Down syndrome, three months old, with a heart condition for which she has to undergo surgery. In addition, the Administration required them to move the whole family to their city and wait for her to reach the right weight to be operated on. The little girl had already gone through three critical moments. All this made them hesitate and in the end they rejected the adoption: "For us, saying no was like an abortion," explains Carlos. "My heart was crushed, we rejected our baby," says Beatriz.
However, she asked the Lord that this child would have the arms of a mother in heaven or on earth. And nine months after she said no, they called them again: that she had been operated on, that she had survived the operation and that they wanted to go for her. "We had to fly," Beatriz says with emotion.
About Antonio and Yolanda?
-Antonio recalled that "the Lord questioned us because in the adoption process documents there was a box that, if you checked it, you offered to adopt a child with a disease or disability. In the first two adoption processes, we did not check it, but that decision marked us.
It was in the context of a pilgrimage that they saw him calling them to "be parents of a son with difficulties. It was not easy but He, who is a gentleman, whispered it to us". And so came our third child," the first with special needs. Antonio explains that "when we already had this last one, he invited us again to open ourselves to life, and the fourth child arrived, who was born with hypoxia and brain damage. It was a great gift for us.
A final thought...
-As Jesús Flórez and María Victoria Troncoso have pointed out in Our TimePeople with Down syndrome give to society much more than what they receive" Maria Victoria insists: "The world would be much worse without people with Down syndrome".
To all these human beings with this genetic alteration, to whom today's society so often discriminates -is there any greater discrimination than not allowing them to be born?- we can apply the words that Jesús Mauleón dedicated to his friend Genaro, with Down syndrome, in a poem: "And when you go out into the street, you make the world better/ and you make the air you breathe deeper".
I hope that today's society realizes this because, as I was saying Jerôme LejeuneThe quality of a civilization is measured by the respect it shows to the weakest of its members. There is no other criterion by which to judge it".
María Jesús Pérez: "Fair Trade is based on a spirituality of life that, together with the Creator, cares for and generates life with dignity".
This missionary Franciscan Sister Estigmatina, a native of León, is one of the founders of "Maquita", one of the oldest and most important Fair Trade organizations in the world.
Marta Isabel González Álvarez-December 2, 2023-Reading time: 9minutes
Black Friday, seasonal offers and sales, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Valentine's Day and of course Christmas... Even if we want to live soberly, it is difficult to escape the wild consumerism of our time. However, there is an alternative that respects people and the environment, helps the development of countries and promotes fair trade relations: Fair Trade.
We interviewed in Quito (Ecuador) the missionary Franciscan Sister Stigmatina, María Jesús Pérez, executive director and co-founder, together with the Italian Father Graziano Masón, of "Maquita", one of the oldest and most important Fair Trade organizations in the world. She explains her steps and the inspiration that has led her from the Diocese of Astorga (León) to Ecuador, where next year it will be forty years since her arrival.
María Jesús Pérez was born in Regueras de Arriba, La Bañeza (León) on July 20, 1955. In 1975 she began her formation with the Stigmatine Franciscan Sisters in Astorga (León) and completed her novitiate in Italy, from where she returned and spent eight years with the Stigmatine communities of Sueca (Valencia), Ponferrada and Astorga (León).
She felt well, but something different was being born in her: the desire to know the journey of the church in Latin America and to experience life walking with groups seeking justice and dignity of life from a liberating faith committed to life. She asked to join the pastoral work of her congregation in Ecuador, and arrived in August 1984, living in the peripheral neighborhood of Santa Rita (Quito). There he coordinated pastoral actions with several religious communities from other neighborhoods, priests and lay people, forming a pastoral team very committed to the causes of the poor.
In those years, Ecuador suffered the consequences of strong neoliberal measures imposed by international organizations, which caused misery, hunger, exclusion and strong persecution of both civil and religious organizations, resulting in deaths and disappearances of leaders. In this context, the Ecuadorian church, in the light of the of the Puebla Document of the Latin American EpiscopateThe Christian commitment to the document Pastoral Options which states, among other things: "May the pain and aspirations of the people and particularly of the poor make us feel deeply their needs and problems, so that we may share them and seek together the light for the way and possible models for a more just society" (OP I, 3).
As she herself says, this was the beginning of "a new way of knowing, listening and living from a spirituality of life rooted in the culture of the impoverished people; where community, organization, care for "Pachamama" (mother earth) and other values, make sense in daily life. Where the Word of God strengthens life and illuminates action in strong solidarity and commitment." And with all this the foundation of Maquita.
But what is a nun doing founding and leading a Fair Trade cooperative like Maquita? What does all this have to do with the Church?
-Everything is born from a deep desire to live, in the concrete reality of the people, in following the ideals of the Kingdom that Jesus of Nazareth lived and left us as a life option. The forms of constituting and living in community are diverse and all are necessary to follow the path that He left us traced out: a model of society transformed into the Kingdom of God here in this world, in the world that God the Father and Mother gave us and dreamed of: "a paradise of human and cosmic fraternity".
Pope Francis, today's prophet, urges us to go out to the peripheries, where people live and suffer, to live with them and like them, in the style of the first missionaries of the Christian communities.
The strategies, the actions that are deployed are different and all of them are impregnated with the spirituality of the life that Jesus led along the roads of Israel. Fair Trade is a philosophy of life that is put into practice from the care of the earth and the products it offers us, through the dignity of work and the respect and service with which we exchange products; products full of life stories, of love for all creation, following in the footsteps of Francis of Assisi.
According to the State Fair Trade CoordinatorFair Trade is an international movement that strives for greater global economic, social, human and environmental justice. It has developed a business model that protects human rights and the environment. Its organizations comply with ten principles How do you define Fair Trade and why should we support and promote it?
-Fair Trade is a way of life proposal that seeks to influence society and economies, proposing a form of care and protection in the way of producing, transforming, trading and consuming in a sustainable, sustainable, inclusive, supportive and fair way with people, the planet and everything created. It is a proposal of life that considers humanity, the planet and the economy from a fair and sustainable trade with a responsible and conscious consumption.
For me, the important thing about Fair Trade is that it is based on a spirituality of life that, together with the Creator, cares for and generates a dignified and just life for all in each of its actions.
I am participating in this movement because, based on its principles, it harmonizes faith and life, in the light of Jesus of Nazareth, who saw the needs of the poorest, felt compassion and acted to free them from suffering and give them a dignified life.
Another important area of Fair Trade is that from their trade relations for the benefit of all persons involved in the chain (from production to conscious consumption) also makes a prophetic commitment to denounce the "exploitations" of the market and impacts with concrete actions for the respect and fair recognition of labor rights, the value of products and productions that respect and care for the planet.
But what is Maquita? Tell us more about its creation, its achievements and its current challenges.
-In the desire of families to "to seek models of a more just society"In 1985, a consumer movement was born, led by women's groups, young people, Basic Ecclesial Communities (CEBS) and peasant organizations, which markets directly from the countryside to the city in order to respond to the right to healthy food.
In an assembly reading the Gospel Mk 6:35 "feed them yourselves" will The result was a concrete action: the creation of an organization with participating families from the outskirts of the city (mostly made up of rural migrants) and rural organizations: "Maquita Chushunchic Comercializando como Hermanos" (Maquita Chushunchic Marketing as Brothers). Two words that in the Kichwa language mean: let's shake hands and trade like brothers.
We were born from the impulse of the Word of God and throughout these 38 years it has been the Light that has illuminated the way and given us the strength and simplicity to be "yeast that leavens the dough". Our achievements are measured by the level of organization and solidarity to move forward together, each person contributing what he/she can and knows. In this journey we have been accompanied in strong alliance and generosity by European institutions that believe and work for a more just society, for a fraternal society such as: Manos Unidas, Proclade, Ecosol, Entrepueblos, ADSIS, among others.
It is important to highlight women's leadership and their great capacity to seek and develop work initiatives to generate income and improve the conditions of their families and themselves.
We articulate ourselves in Social and Solidarity Economy Networks, so that organizations can exchange knowledge and collect products to be able to sell them together in local, national and international markets through the World Fair Trade Organization .
The organization currently coordinates and facilitates work in 20 of Ecuador's 24 provinces.
We have two lines of Social-Solidarity Economy Marketing and Fair Trade: Maquita Products,Maquita Agro and the Community Tourism Operator Maquita Tourism All of them work through two areas: Social Productive and Commercial Solidarity. The following chart defines the functions of both and their unique purpose of leading networks of organizations' enterprises, with collection centers for primary products (quinoa, cacao, beans, corn, etc.), community tourism centers, agro-industrial enterprises (jams, honey, etc.), handicraft workshops and bio-inputs production centers.
The work teams that accompany the organizations are 114 people, professionals and technicians who, grateful for the education they have received, have decided to work and walk in this organizational process giving meaning to their lives and as an option that promotes processes of dignity of life and against the established system that generates so much exclusion, "environmental deaths" and poverty.
Our 12 principles, inspired by the spirituality and commitment of Jesus, guide our journey and encourage us to move forward in the midst of so many difficulties:
We live a liberating ecumenical faith, which provokes the practice of solidarity, commitment and mysticism with the impoverished people, in the style of Jesus of Nazareth.
We practice transparency and honesty, with austerity and simplicity.
We consider the family as the pillar of the community's organizational journey.
We facilitate the empowerment of women and their positioning in the family and society.
We support the active participation of young people based on their identity and work proposals.
We promote gender, ethnic-cultural, generational, territorial, environmental and socio-economic equity.
We practice active non-violence and encourage dialogue between the different stakeholders.
We do non-partisan political, social and economic advocacy.
We walk in a network with the active participation of people and organizations.
We value the cultural identities and ancestral knowledge of the people.
We respect the rights of Mother Nature and care for the environment.
We practice equity and solidarity in the production, transformation, commercialization and responsible consumption of healthy products.
What connections does Maquita have at the international level, what aid and from which organizations have you been receiving support?
-It is a gift of the Spirit that has provoked and given rise to so many organizations whose mission and purpose is to work for justice, the redistribution of goods and against the shameful accumulation of wealth and depraved consumerism.
Over the years there have been many organizations with which we have worked in strong alliance in Italy, Holland, France, Germany, among others, currently, our main allies are: Bread for the World, Manos Unidas, Ecosol, Entrepueblos, Proclade, SETEM, ADSIS, Caritas of Bilbao together with their allies: autonomous governments, Spanish Agency of International Cooperation for Development, EU, etc.
Its participation is of closeness, guidance in the work and support for investments that promote the improvement of production and management of work initiatives with the different strategies of social and solidarity economy that, focused on the dignity of life of people and care of the planet, different work axes and strategies are implemented according to the needs of the territory.
Could you tell us about a case or anecdote that you remember in which you clearly felt that what you were doing really helped people?
-When I want to share some shocking story in my life, my mind and heart are filled with so many faces... women and men with calloused hands and faces marked by discontent and the harshness of life... so I am going to share with you the experience of the women's population. When they join the movement, they are marked by experiences of violence, exploitation and saturation in the burden of domestic work, animal care, land, market exploitation in the payment of the product, and often alone in the education of children.
When you talk to them today, they tell you that they educate their daughters and sons equally, that there is collaboration in household chores, that they no longer sell their products at the middlemen's fairs and how their organization pays them a fair price, but also delivers a healthy and better quality product, that they participate in social and local government spaces demanding works for their sector. Most importantly, they feel that they are valuable women, eager to continue growing and knowing that they also have the right to take care of themselves and to rest.
It is exciting to see that, in the commercial production chain, they no longer submit to what is established by the market, they know how to respect and value their work and, faced with the difficulties that the market poses (price manipulation, weight and devaluation of quality), they are defining organizational alternatives to reduce the intermediation chain and reach the families with agroecological products that are well cared for throughout the process.
They have very much in mind the God who denounces exploitation in the marketplace as the prophet Amos 8:4ff narrates when he says: "You think only of stealing from the pound or overcharging, using poorly calibrated scales. You gamble with the life of the poor and the wretched for some money or for a pair of sandals..." And in all these situations also today, they live and struggle knowing that they are accompanied by the Divine strength and protection.
How do you see the situation in Ecuador at the moment and how can it affect your cooperative's ability to continue helping?
-Ecuador has been deteriorating very strongly in recent years, due to governments that have not known how to administer and govern in favor of the people, but rather in favor of the large national and international economic sectors. Maquita is affected as much as the territories where we collaborate and therefore we try to promote hope and organization to defend the land against mining and oil companies.
We are paying special attention to the opportunities that young people can have to stay on their land by generating momentum for agroecological proposals to produce sustainably and offer healthy products to support food security.
Migration due to the major problems experienced, among other insecurities caused by narco-criminal gangs and the lack of government attention to the rural population, also affects in the sense that leaders who have been trained as social promoters and who provided transfers and agricultural assistance to families in their communities and other services, are forced to migrate.
Working mainly with the rural sector, the proximity of the "El Niño" climate phenomenon with heavy flooding will affect agricultural production, but also access to products in the family basket, and therefore the population's food supply.
The crisis of the European society also affects us because it diminishes the cooperation that boosts production and work and decent living conditions for the impoverished population.
Throughout these 38 years, we have lived through very hard times and economically on the verge of bankruptcy, but always in the most critical moment there have been actions, people, institutions that unexpectedly have been present and have pushed us to move forward, so we always trust in God who walks with his people and when it is necessary to free them, He does it with "the Moses" of today. Therefore, every day we wake up trusting in Him and feeling His presence in the building of the Kingdom.
The authorMarta Isabel González Álvarez
D. in journalism, expert in institutional communication and Communication for Solidarity. In Brussels she coordinated the communication of the international network CIDSE and in Rome the communication of the Dicastery for the Service of Integral Human Development with whom she continues to collaborate. Today she brings her experience to the department of socio-political advocacy campaigns and networking of Manos Unidas and coordinates the communication of the Enlázate por la Justicia network. Twitter: @migasocial
Bravo! 2023 Awards recognize Manuel Garrido, "Libres" and ACdP
The Spanish Episcopal Conference has made public the names of the winners of the Bravo! 2023 Awards. Among them are well-known names, such as Pedro Piqueras or Ana Iris Simón.
The Bravo! 2023 Awards already have winners. This was communicated by the Spanish Episcopal Conference on December 1 in the afternoon, publishing in its web page the names of the winners, among which are such well-known names as Pedro Piqueras, Manuel Garrido and Ana Iris Simón.
The award ceremony will take place on January 29, 2024 at the conference headquarters, but the Episcopal Commission for Social Communications has already given the names of the awardees.
These awards, as expressed in its norms, seek to recognize "on the part of the Church, the meritorious work of all those professionals in the field of the Church". communication in the various media, who have distinguished themselves for their service to human dignity, human rights and evangelical values".
Bravo! 2023 Awards honorees
The winners of this edition, according to categories, are:
In Music: the recycling music orchestra promoted by the company "Ecoembes";
In Advertising: the campaign of the Catholic Association of Propagandists "#QuenotelaCuelen";
From Comunicación Digital; Israel Remuiñán, for his podcast "Benedicto XVI, el Papa de la tormenta";
In Institutional Communication: Manuel Garrido;
In Diocesan Communication: Juan José Montes, from the Diocese of Mérida Badajoz.
Jury of the awards
The jury of the Bravo Awards is chaired by Monsignor Salvador Giménez Valls, by delegation of the President of the Commission. The members of the jury are:
Francisco Otero, director of "Ecclesia" magazine;
Irene Pozo, director of socioreligious contents of "Ábside Media";
Ulises Bellón, director of the press department of the Episcopal Commission for Social Communications (CECS);
Juan Orellana, director of the CECS film department;
José Gabriel Vera, director of the CECS information office and secretariat.
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The Pope promotes with a motu proprio a renewed theology
