Evangelization, a Christian's mission, is the theme of the September issue of Omnes magazine.
The September 2023 issue of Omnes is now available in its digital version for the magazine's subscribers. In the next few days, it will also arrive at the usual address of those who have this type of subscription.
Evangelization is part of the deepest identity of the Church. It is a mission that every Christian, by virtue of his or her Baptism, must have in his or her life. This is the theme of issue 731 of Omnes magazine.
The magazine includes an extensive reflection on the urgency of evangelization in today's world, the examples and the constant appeal of Pope Francis in this year's catecheses, in which he has successively placed before the eyes of the baptized various examples of holiness and evangelization, as well as a dissertation on some of Benedict XVI's evangelizing lines, in three areas: reason, art and beauty, and culture and dialogue.
This issue also reviews other examples of evangelization and Christian commitment in today's world, especially in the area of civil and working life of most Christians, and in the area of charity, with examples such as Christ in the cityThe project is a volunteer project in the cities of Denver and Philadelphia, in the United States, and also includes missionary experiences in Tanzania and Uganda and the beginnings of the faith in these areas of Africa.
WYD messages
WYD in Lisbon takes up a large part of the pages of this magazine. Thus, the issue of Omnes echoes the IV International Congress on the Care of Creation that took place at the end of July at the Portuguese Catholic University, within the framework of the World Youth Day in Lisbon. The congress resulted in a manifesto highlighting the need to make truly political decisions, with special attention to the most vulnerable and with long-term projects adapted to the needs of each local reality, while in the economic sphere, selfish and unsustainable decisions must be overcome.
The Pope's teachings The key points of Pope Francis' speeches to the participants of the World Youth Day in Lisbon are collected, as could not be otherwise, in the following pages. These speeches highlight the call to go together, living the spirit of communion and co-responsibility, building a network of human, spiritual and pastoral relationships, as well as "finding ways for a joyful, generous and transforming participation for the Church and humanity".
The Chosen, beyond a job
Derral Eves producer of the TV series, has given an interview to Omnes in which he highlights how being a part of the TV series The Chosenhas changed her life and how "collaborating with such talented people, all united by a shared vision, has reaffirmed my faith and deepened my commitment to using media as a force for good and inspiration." Eves further emphasizes in this interview that working in The Chosen"it's not just a job; it's a vocation that I feel privileged to have responded to."
Juan Luis Lorda, for his part, addresses in the section Theology of the 20th century the renewal of morality that took place in the 20th century and in which fertile inspirations converged with some perplexities and difficult contexts.
Church movements
The section of Experiences brings, in this issue, an interesting article, signed by the priest and professor of the San Dámaso Ecclesiastical University, José Miguel GranadosThe parish should be informed about ecclesial movements and groups and the proper integration of the various ecclesial groups, associations, communities and movements into parish life.
Among other things, he emphasizes that the parish insertion of groups and movements, if well channeled, can greatly enrich the parish community and its evangelizing action, which, thanks to them, is often filled with enthusiasm, commitment, strength and vitality.
This will also be the theme of the next Omnes Forum, which will be held in Madrid on September 20 and about which we will provide detailed information in the coming days.
Faced with the temptation of nostalgia, we must ask for the gift of hope. It is not easy to obtain, because we tend to resist grace. We prefer to settle in and stay in our comfort zone.
September 1, 2023-Reading time: 3minutes
The... end... of... the... summer... No song like this one by the Dynamic Duo manages to arouse that bittersweet feeling that one feels on days like today, when the sorrow of leaving the time of rest mixes with a strange illusion of returning to the necessary routine.
For days, newspapers have been publishing interviews with psychologists and psychiatrists who explain how to avoid the so-called post-holiday syndrome, how to adapt to the change of activity or how to cope with the return to school, which this year will be "the most expensive in history" due to the galloping inflation.
Nostalgia is envy towards oneself, towards the "I" of the past. It is a feeling that basks in contemplating the good things I had that I can no longer have. There is a certain perverse taste in those tears of self-pity, in that licking one's wounds as if one were the center of the world. "Poor me," the nostalgic person consoles himself, "that I have to endure a cosmic conspiracy against my happiness. Turning our life into drama has even become a fashion on social networks. It is the so-called "sadfishing" consisting of sharing publications or videos in which the aim is to give pity in order to get the public's sympathy and, therefore, more followers.
Faced with the temptation of nostalgia, we must ask for the gift of hope. It is not easy to obtain, because we tend to resist grace. We prefer to settle down and stay in our comfort zone. Abraham, the father of the faith of more than half the inhabitants of the planet, serves as a model for us in the face of sedentary lifestyles. Obeying the voice of the Father: "Go forth from your land", he set out on his journey, without fear of the future, supported only by a promise. Lot's wife, on the other hand, turned into a pillar of salt for looking back, warns us of the danger of not wanting to let go, of not trusting that God is already ahead of us, preparing the way. For the second time, Abraham went out of himself, taking his son Isaac with him, and went up Mount Moriah with him, ready to sacrifice him, convinced that, in God, there is no room for evil.
On so many occasions, the Word of God speaks to us of trusting, of hoping against hope, of not longing for the past like the people of Israel when they missed the onions of Egypt, for that is not God's desire. In the face of this feeling, the beatitudes speak to us of a great reward for those who hope and trust in God. Why worry about starting a new stage? Do we distrust the one who gave his life for us?
I am not naïve. I know that the difficulties we face throughout our lives are many and sometimes very hard, but He has promised to be with us, every day, until the end of the world. In His company, the yoke is soft and light.
Returning to work, to study, to domestic or pastoral tasks may make us lazy, but there He is waiting for us. The Holy Spirit is always alive, on the move, drawing us out of the cenacle and taking us to the rooftops, less safe zones where it is He, and not us, who speaks in languages. Like the golden snitch of J. K. Rowling's universe, its fluttering is capricious and swift, not easy to follow and not easily caught. So many times it baffles us when we see how it throws down our plans and tells us: "come on, start again". Couldn't everything be as easy as it was in summer, couldn't we go back to the way things were before?
In order not to deny his nudges that pull us out of lukewarmness, we must have a faith like Abraham's. He would see opportunities and challenges where others see insurmountable obstacles or enemies bent on annoying us. He would see opportunities and challenges where others see insurmountable obstacles or enemies bent on annoying us; he would feel God's call to get up and go to a better place where others feel dread, clinging to our structures like a child clinging to his mother on his first day of school; he would look forward to the future when we are depressed at not being able to return to the past.
The end of summer is here, our activity changes, but the Lord gives us a promise for this new course and that is that "I will never, never forget you".
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.
Subscribe to Omnes magazine and enjoy exclusive content for subscribers. You will have access to all Omnes
Mongolia: This is the nation that welcomes Pope Francis
In early September, Pope Francis set foot on Mongolian soil. What was once an immense empire during the 13th century is today a country of contrasts and characterized by a wide plurality of tribes and traditions.
It will be a short and unusual trip. Pope Francis opens September with a visit to Mongolia. This vast nation, where the endless steppes meet the deserts and mountain ranges of the north, hosts a small Catholic community, shepherded by the youngest cardinal in the Church today, Msgr. Giorgio Marengo.
A rich history of tribes and ancient empire
The golden age of Mongolian history is inextricably linked to the name of Genghis Khan, whose empire, in the 13th century, came to occupy regions of what is now China, Eastern Europe, and parts of India and Russia, among others. The population of what was then the great Mongol empire reached over 100 million inhabitants.
A century later, the Mongol empire would begin a decline that would be accentuated by China's conquest of the throne. In the 17th century, China gained total control of Mongolia. The empire was divided and the presence of the Chinese Qing dynasty would be a constant until the beginning of the 20th century.
The fall of the Qing dynasty led to a very brief period of independence for the central and northern parts of Mongolia, but in 1918, these areas would return to Chinese control.
In 1924, supported by the Soviet Union, the Mongolian People's Republic was formed. It was then that the city of Ulan Bator (literally in Mongolian "Red Warrior") was established as the capital.
During its communist period, Mongolia remained close to the Soviet orbit and not in the Chinese communist bloc. The Soviet government took advantage of this situation to use Mongolia as a base to "control" its Chinese counterpart.
The communist system in Mongolia lasted until 1990, when the communists relinquished control of the government. In 1992 a constitution was adopted that created a hybrid presidential-parliamentary state.
Mongolia is characterized by the multitude of nomadic tribes that, since ancient times, have roamed and inhabited its vast landscapes. A history of diverse traditions and coexistence, marked in recent times by the search for peace, in Bruni's words.
Catholicism in Mongolia
At present, Catholicism represents 0.04% of the religion of the inhabitants of Mongolia. A nation dominated by Tibetan Buddhism, traditional shamanism and Islam (to a lesser extent). In recent decades, Mongolia has seen the growth of Christian communities, Catholic, Evangelical and other Protestant denominations. This multiplicity of denominations will be present at the ecumenical and interreligious meeting.
The history of Catholicism in Mongolia is linked to the history of the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (or Missionaries of Scheut), founded by the Belgian Theophilus Verbist. This missionary history is one of the characteristics of his Catholic community, as he wished to emphasize in the briefing for the press, the director of the Sala Stampa, Matteo Bruni.
Verbist would be one of the first missionaries to enter the Asian nation. This charism of apostolate among non-Christians, characteristic of the Missionaries of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, led other members of the congregation to Mongolian lands over the centuries. In fact, in 1863 the Congregation of Propaganda Fide entrusted to this congregation the administration of the mission in Mongolia.
Theophil Verbist died in Laohoukeou, a town in Inner Mongolia, on February 23, 1868. The presence of the community has been a constant until today, both in its female and male branches.
In Soviet times, the prohibition of religious practice was particularly harsh on Christian denominations whose presence, at least in official figures, was practically nil.
In 1991, Mongolia and the Holy See established diplomatic relations and a community of Missionaries of the Immaculate Heart of Mary was once again established. Wenceslao Selga Padilla arrived there and was appointed ecclesiastical superior of the mission sui iuris of Urga (former name of Ulan Bator).
Father Wenceslao would be named the first prefect of Ulaanbaatar by St. John Paul II in 2002, when this prefecture was established. Padilla, is one of the figures most remembered and loved by the Mongolians, his special attention and care for street children, the homeless, the disabled and the elderly, was a constant until his death in 2018 and without him the reestablishment of Catholic worship in the Mongolian capital is not understood.
At present, the Vatican Pontifical Yearbook lists 1,394 Catholics throughout the country. They are distributed in 8 parishes that are served by 25 priests (6 diocesan and 19 religious priests). Together with them, there are 5 non-priestly male religious, 33 religious sisters, 1 lay missionary and 35 catechists. An encouraging fact is that Mongolia currently has 6 major seminarians.
A small community faithful to Rome to whom the Pope will address words of encouragement.
The papal trip
On August 31, the Pope begins this papal trip, the 43rd of his pontificate, to Mongolia. A long journey that, together with the Pope's somewhat delicate health, will mean that the events, except for the official welcome at the airport, will begin a day after the Holy Father's arrival in the country.
Among the events of this trip, whose agenda The meeting with the bishops, priests, missionaries, consecrated men and women and pastoral agents in the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul stands out, as can be seen on the Vatican website. This temple, built in the last decade, is reminiscent in its structure of the traditional Mongolian yurts and its silhouette is part of the official logo of the trip.
The following day, the Hun Theater will host an ecumenical and interreligious meeting, one of the highlights of the trip. Representatives of almost all religions present in the country will attend: Tibetan Buddhism, traditional shamanism as well as various Protestant denominations.
Perhaps one of the most striking issues of this trip is the total absence of Orthodox representatives at this meeting. The Orthodox community has a small presence in Mongolia, located in Ulan Bator, and depends on the Russian Orthodox Church, led by the Patriarch of Moscow. In this regard, Mateo Bruni, during the briefing of presentation of this trip to the press, emphasized that "the door is always open".
Sunday afternoon, September 3, will be the time for the celebration of the Holy Mass at the Steppe Arena. Pilgrims are expected not only from Mongolia but also from China, Russia, Macao, South Korea, Vietnam, Kyrgyzstan and other countries.
The finishing touch: the Misericordia house
Undoubtedly, one of the most anticipated points of this trip will be the meeting that will put the finishing touch to this visit: the inauguration of the Casa de la Misericordia.
This project, which began four years ago, will especially serve women and minors who are victims of domestic violence. It also has an area set aside for homeless people and will also serve as a temporary shelter for immigrants.
A significant final touch, as Mateo Bruni pointed out, was to conclude this trip with a call to "care for the poorest".
Subscribe to Omnes magazine and enjoy exclusive content for subscribers. You will have access to all Omnes
It is the 60th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous "I have a dream".
August 28 marked the 60th anniversary of the event that marked one of the most important moments in the struggle for civil rights in the United States: "The March for Jobs and Freedom".
August 28 marked the 60th anniversary of the landmark event that marked one of the most important moments in the struggle for civil rights in the United States in Washington D.C.The March for Jobs and Freedom. On that occasion, 250,000 people marched from the George Washington Monument to the esplanade of the Abraham Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall to protest against racial discrimination and to support what was then only a civil rights bill to be passed in the U.S. Congress.
That August 28, 1963 call was launched by the group known as the "Big Six" of the U.S. civil rights movement: James Farmer, John Lewis, A. Philip Randolph, Roy Wilkins, Whitney Young and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Participants in the march demanded equality before the law for all: whites, blacks, Asians, Hispanics, without distinction. This event was one of the cornerstones that shaped the struggle for civil rights in America. A battle that had already begun in the 1950s, but which would come to fruition with a series of key events. First, the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in the historic verdict known as "Brown v. Board of Education" in 1954.
The Court ruled that laws establishing racial segregation in public schools were unconstitutional, even when such institutions were governed under the principle of "segregated but equal." This verdict thus overruled the 1896 "Plessy v. Ferguson" decision declaring racial segregation to be constitutional. The Brown v. Board of Education case began when in 1951 a public school in Topeka, Kansas, refused to enroll the daughter of an African-American named Oliver Brown in school. His family and twelve others filed suit in Kansas District Court. The ruling was negative and so Brown, along with Thurgood Marshall appealed the ruling by introducing it to the Supreme Court. Marshall would later become one of the greatest American jurists and the first African-American to be elected to the Supreme Court.
The bus boycott
Another event that would mark the history of the struggle for civil rights was the so-called "Montgomery Bus Boycott", Alabama, initiated by Rosa Parks, an American woman who was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a public transportation bus to a white person. Until the early 1950s, African Americans were only allowed to sit in the back of the bus. She was jailed and fined for this behavior. This prompted a boycott of Montgomery's public buses, a protest led by a little-known Baptist pastor, Martin Luther King Jr.
The Alabama demonstration was to be followed by another on the East Coast, the so-called "Greensboro Sit-ins". In 1960 a group of African American college students went to a Woolworth chain store in Greensboro, North Carolina to purchase items and then decided to stay for lunch at the counter. Seeing them comfortably seated and ready to order food, the waitress told them emphatically, "I'm sorry. We don't serve blacks here." And they were asked to vacate. At the students' refusal the manager intervened. However, they persisted and remained seated ("sit-in") on the counter stools until the store closed. This same sit-in action was repeated in other similar stores in the region. Although many of those who participated in these sit-ins were taken to jail for "disorderly conduct" and "disturbing the peace," their actions had an impact that would transcend the borders of North Carolina, as a few months later Woolworth and other public establishments would eliminate their segregationist policies.
The August march
The struggle for civil rights reached its peak with the "March for Jobs and Freedom" on August 28, 1963 in Washington, D.C. The event was attended by several personalities, including Bob Dylan and several civil rights fighters such as Rosa Parks and Myrlie Evers, among others. Martin Luther King Jr. at the foot of the Abraham Lincoln Memorial, the president who in 1863 had proclaimed the emancipation of three and a half million enslaved African-Americans. Martin Luther King Jr. said: "I have a dream: that one day on the red hills of Georgia the children of former slaves and the children of former slave owners may sit together at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream: that one day even in the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream: that one day down there in Alabama...black boys and black girls will be able to hold hands with white boys and white girls, as sisters and brothers."
A year after this historic march, the U.S. Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited civil and employment discrimination based on sex or race. From that date until now, there have been advances and legislative victories in civil rights.
A struggle that continues
However, there is still much work to be done, as acknowledged by the Archbishop of Baltimore William E. Lori in a message he delivered on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington, D.C.: "Perhaps we take comfort in the progress we have made thus far. Or perhaps we have a false belief that we have arrived at a post-racial society, in which, as Dr. King pointed out, people are not judged by the color of their skin. However, one need only look at the social inequalities in health, wealth and prosperity among racial groups in the U.S. to see that we are not there yet".
Those social disparities, Lori said, are the lingering consequences of the racism that prevailed in the country for decades and that some have called one of America's original sins. In light of this, Bishop Lori said that a continual conversion of heart is necessary. To do so, it is necessary to turn to the Church's social teaching, rooted in the dignity of the human person. "The peaceful and compassionate society that Dr. King dreamed of requires God's grace and our commitment to teach, learn and practice nonviolent actions to foster social change." Archbishop Lori urged reflection on racism from two pastoral reflections he authored called, "The Enduring Power of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Principles of Nonviolence," from 2018 and "The Journey to Racial Justice: Repentance, Healing and Action" from 2019.
The consequences of decades of racial segregation are still being felt 60 years after the historic march in the nation's capital. Dr. King's dream has yet to be realized as he envisioned it. "And when this happens and when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every town and every village, from every state and every city, we can hasten the coming of that day when all God's children, white men and black men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual (chant), "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty! We are free at last.
The cross as the way of salvation. 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)
Joseph Evans comments on the readings for the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time and Luis Herrera offers a brief video homily.
Joseph Evans-August 31, 2023-Reading time: 2minutes
The world's great religions have tried to address the problem of suffering in different ways. Buddhism proposes an ascetic way of trying to free ourselves from all passions, aspiring to such a radical detachment from them that we can be indifferent even to suffering. The summit of Jewish and Islamic thought is to recognize how little we know and that suffering is part of a greater divine plan that we can never, and should never even attempt to, comprehend. We must only accept it. We see this approach in the Old Testament book of Job. But Christianity, based on the life of Jesus and the prophecy of Isaiah announcing a Messiah who saves people through suffering (something ancient Israel could never accept), came to see in suffering a path to salvation, ours and that of others. In today's Gospel, Jesus announces this way to the apostles, but Peter, still too influenced by his Jewish background, is scandalized by this possibility.
"From that time Jesus began to tell his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and there suffer much at the hands of the elders, chief priests and scribes, and that he must be put to death and be raised on the third day. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him: 'Far be it from you, Lord! This cannot happen to you.
Peter makes such a big mistake that Our Lord has to rebuke him publicly. "He said to Peter, 'Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, because you think as men do, not as God does'". In trying to turn Jesus away from his Passion, Peter was acting, albeit unknowingly, as an instrument of Satan, because it is through suffering that Christ would save us. It is a mystery that we will never fully understand. But at least we can perceive that evil necessarily causes suffering and that, by accepting its "sting" in loving union with God, we can turn something bad into something good. The poison of sin brings suffering, but we can accept this suffering and overcome it through the "antidote" of love. Thus insists Our Lord: "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me". We must be willing to lose this life, he explains, in order to gain the next. With the same vision, St. Paul exhorts us to present "the way of the Lord.your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God; this is your spiritual worship". Accepted with love, suffering can become a form of worship, bodily at least, even if our mind is not lucid enough to pray. The prophet Jeremiah, in today's first reading, though he does not fully grasp the saving power of suffering, glimpses it in his determination to continue to proclaim God's word even though he suffers ridicule for it. It is worthwhile to do so faithfully even when "the word of the Lord has been a daily reproach and contempt to me".
Homily on the readings of the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)
The priest Luis Herrera Campo offers its nanomiliaA short one-minute reflection for these Sunday readings.
Pope exalts Catherine Tekakwitha, first Native American saint
This morning the Holy Father Pope Francis praised St. Francis Catalina Tekakwitha, first The Pope praised her "great love for the Cross in the face of difficulties and misunderstandings," "a definitive sign of Christ's love for all of us. The Pope encouraged "that we too may know how to live the ordinary in an extraordinary way".
Francisco Otamendi-August 30, 2023-Reading time: 4minutes
One day before beginning his apostolic journey "to the Asian continent, to visit the brothers and sisters of Mongolia"The Pope asked you to "accompany me with your prayers," and this morning the Roman Pontiff resumed the series of catecheses on "The Passion for Evangelization: the Apostolic Zeal of the Believer. The subject of his reflection was the first native saint of North America, Catherine Tekakwitha.
In his first words in the Paul VI Hall, packed with faithful from different countries, Pope Francis recalled in his address to the Pope that General Audience some features of the biography of the American saint. As mentioned by OmnesCatherine Tekakwitha was born in 1656 at Ossernenon, which was part of the Iroquois Confederation. This union of nations had its capital in present-day New York State. Catherine was the daughter of a Mohawk chief and an Algonquin Indian (from eastern Canada). Her mother was a Christian, but her father was a pagan, so the young Indian did not really come to faith until she was eighteen.
"Many of us," the Pope stressed, "were also introduced to the Lord for the first time in the family setting, especially by our mothers and grandmothers. Evangelization often begins in this way: with simple, small gestures, like parents who help their children learn to speak to God in prayer and speak to them of his great and merciful love. The foundations of Catherine's faith, and often also for us, were laid in this way".
When Catalina was four years old, a severe smallpox epidemic struck her village. Both her parents and her younger brother died and Catalina herself was left with scars on her face and vision problems. "From that moment on Catherine had to face many difficulties: certainly the physical ones due to the effects of smallpox, but also the misunderstandings, persecutions and even death threats she suffered after her Baptism on Easter Sunday 1676," the Pope recalled.
"A holiness that attracted."
"All this made Catherine feel a great love for the cross, the definitive sign of the love of Christ, who gave himself up to the end for us. Indeed, witnessing to the Gospel does not consist only in what is pleasing; we must also know how to carry our daily crosses with patience, trust and hope," Pope Francis noted.
Her decision to be baptized "provoked misunderstandings and threats among her people, so she had to take refuge in the Mohican region, in a Mission of the Jesuit Fathers. These events aroused in Catherine "a great love for the cross, which is in turn the definitive sign of Christ's love for all of us. In the community, she distinguished herself by her life of prayer and humble and constant service" to the children of the mission whom she taught to pray, to the sick and to the elderly.
At the Jesuit mission near Montreal, Catherine "attended Mass every morning, spent time in adoration before the Blessed Sacrament, prayed the Rosary and led a life of penance," "spiritual practices that impressed everyone at the Mission; they recognized in Catherine a holiness that attracted because it was born of her deep love for God," the Holy Father said.
"Living the ordinary in an extraordinary way."
Although she was encouraged to marry, the Pope continued, "Catherine, on the other hand, wanted to dedicate her life completely to Christ. Unable to enter the consecrated life, she made a vow of perpetual virginity on March 25, 1679, the Solemnity of the Annunciation. Her choice reveals another aspect of apostolic zeal: total dedication to the Lord. Of course, not everyone is called to make the same vow as Catherine; however, every Christian is called to commit herself daily with an undivided heart to the vocation and mission that God has entrusted to her, serving Him and her neighbor in a spirit of charity," she said.
Francis pointed out that "in Catherine Tekakwitha, therefore, we find a woman who bore witness to the Gospel, not so much with great works, because she never founded a religious community or any educational or charitable institution, but with the silent joy and freedom of a life open to the Lord and to others. Also in the days before her death, which occurred at the age of 24, on April 17, 1680, Catherine fulfilled her vocation with simplicity, loving and praising God and teaching those with whom she lived to do the same. In fact, her last words were: 'Jesus, I love you'".
"In short," the Pope concluded, "she knew how to bear witness to the Gospel by living the ordinary with fidelity and simplicity. May we too know how to live the ordinary in an extraordinary way, asking for the grace to be - like this young saint - authentic followers of Jesus".
Canonizations in France and Poland
In his greeting to the French-speaking pilgrims, the Pope made special reference to "the Sisters of the Presentation of Mary, who are celebrating their General Chapter, in light of the recent canonization of their foundress, Marie Rivier". And among the English-speaking,
greeted "the cyclists who have come all the way from England, with the assurance of my prayers for their commitment to the fight against cancer", and in particular those from Malta and various groups from the United States.
In Poland "they are impatiently awaiting the imminent beatification of the Ulma family. In many parishes the novena, which will begin the day after tomorrow, will be a spiritual preparation for the event. May the example of this heroic family," the Holy Father added, "who sacrificed their lives to save the persecuted Jews, help you to understand that holiness and heroic acts are achieved through fidelity in the little things".
Ukraine and second Laudato si'
Greeting the Italian-speaking pilgrims, among other recipients, the Pope renewed "our closeness and our prayers for the beloved and tormented Ukraine, so tried by great sufferings".
The Pope recalled the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, which will be celebrated this Friday, September 1. And he reiterated that he intends to publish a second edition of the Laudato si' October 4, feast of St. Francis of Assisi. In an audience with jurists on August 21, Francis revealed this upcoming exhortation.
The Ulma family: a normal life, the basis of their extraordinary dedication
Ahead of the upcoming beatification of Józef and Wiktoria Ulma and their seven children, which will take place on September 10 in Markowa, the Polish Bishops' Conference sent a pastoral letter to the faithful. This is an unprecedented beatification. The whole family will be brought to the altars, including the baby that Wiktoria was expecting when she was murdered.
The facts are well known: during the Second World War, all members of the Ulma family were killed for hiding Jewish families in their possessions. The eldest son was eight years old and the youngest one and a half years old. The mother was expecting a son who was already seven months old.
Together with them, eight Jews from the Szall and Goldman families were murdered, including the latter's little daughter. In the letter published before this beatification, the Polish bishops emphasize that the Ulma family "is an inspiration for modern marriages and families. Their heroic attitude is a testimony that love is stronger than death," reads the letter of the episcopate.
Martyrs
The heroic act of the Ulma family was recognized by the Catholic Church as a martyrdom for the faith. It is logical to ask: Why martyrs? The motivation for this martyrdom is clear and eloquent: a manifestation of the Christian faith is the loving defense of the life of one's neighbor. In this case there were no doubts at all, everything was made easier thanks to the innovative decision of St. John Paul II on the canonization of Maximilian Kolbe. It was then that the Polish Pope affirmed that in order to recognize someone as a saint it is enough to demonstrate that the candidate for sainthood gave his life for another person.
The beatification of Maximilian Maria KolbeThe canonization process, carried out by St. Paul VI in 1971, for various reasons, including political ones, was as a defender of the faith, not as a martyr. John Paul II broke with tradition and decided that giving one's life for a man in the Auschwitz camp was sufficient reason for canonization as a martyr, without requiring the process of a new miracle. This gesture of forty years ago opened the way for all the beatifications and canonizations that take place with this extended formula, that is, to give one's life for another man, as a consequence of the Christian faith lived is an act of witness of faith, it is to be a martyr.
"In preparing for the beatification ceremony, we want to contemplate his holiness and draw from it an example for contemporary marriages and families. It will be an unprecedented beatification, because for the first time the whole family will be elevated to the altars and for the first time an unborn child will be beatified," the bishops wrote.
The bishops emphasized that Józef and Wiktoria Ulma show the beauty and value of marriage based on Christ. "Their love, realized in everyday life, can also motivate them to open themselves to life and take responsibility for the education of the young generation. The heroic attitude of love for one's neighbor should impel us to live not so much for our own comfort or the desire to possess, but to live as a gift of ourselves to others.
"As we await beatification, let us look at the example of an extraordinary family who achieved sainthood in ordinary life circumstances. It is an inspiration for contemporary marriages and families."
Extraordinary holiness in the ordinariness of life
"You must decide to be a saint! Saints must be brought down from the clouds and become a normal, everyday ideal for believers." (Rev. F. Blachnicki. Letters to the Prisoner, Krościenko 1990, pp. 15-16).
The family of Józef and Wiktoria Ulma lived at the beginning of the 20th century in Markowa, Podkarpacie. They had seven children. As head of the family, Józef combined caring for his loved ones with hard work on the farm. At the same time, he was open to development and knowledge. Despite the effort he put into running the farm, he was able to find time to enjoy his passion for photography, beekeeping, silkworm breeding, bookbinding and horticulture. He built himself a camera and a windmill, which he used to generate electricity.
Józef's passion for photography was used to record not only the lives of his loved ones, but also local events, churches and family celebrations. He also took commissioned photos, portraits for documents, thanks to which he became known throughout the area. She inspired others not only with her knowledge and skills, but also with her constant willingness to help and give advice.
Wiktoria Ulma, née Niemczak, was an exemplary wife and mother, caring with great care and love for the good Catholic education of her children. She came from a home where the principle was that no man who asked for help could be refused. She was always a support for her husband, and at the transcendent moment, when they had to decide to take in the Jews threatened with death, she gave testimony of her love for others. She tried to introduce a kind and friendly atmosphere in the home, emphasizing that the family should be based on mutual respect, kindness and devotion.
Józef and Wiktoria were married on July 7, 1935 in the local church. Soon the family began to grow. Stasia, Basia, Władzio, Franuś, Antoś and Marysia were born, and at the time of his tragic death, Wiktoria was in a state of bliss with another son.
The Ulma family treated their marriage as a community of people who trust, love and strive for holiness through the faithful performance of their daily duties. In their lives, the essence of the sacrament of marriage was realized, in which Christ himself "Abides with them, gives them the strength to follow him by taking up their cross, to rise after their falls, to forgive one another, to bear one another's burdens." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1642).
Their human love was purified by the grace of the sacrament of marriage, brought to fullness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit permeated their lives with faith, hope and love.
The daily life of their marriage was based on real and concrete gestures through which God dwells in this diversity of gifts and encounters. They lived the promises made on their wedding day, fulfilling every day the covenant of faithful married love.
As Pope Francis stated during the audience of November 28, 2022, the family of Józef and Wiktoria Ulma must be "an example of fidelity to God and his commandments, love of neighbor and respect for human dignity."
Looking at the example of the married life of Józef and Wiktoria, it is worthwhile to perceive our homes as places where God's love is visible and personal, where it manifests itself in concrete deeds, and Christ is present in the sufferings, struggles and joys of every day. He strengthens and enlivens love, reigning with his joy and peace.
Ulma marriage, open to life
"The fundamental task of the family is to serve life" (John Paul II, Familiaris Consortio, 28).
Józef and Wiktoria discovered a vocation to a special participation in God's creative work through the lives of their seven children. Despite the difficult conditions, they did not fear adversity. They trusted in God's Providence. They believed that God, in giving life, also gives strength to fully realize the vocation to motherhood and fatherhood.
They were concerned about the good education of their children, based on gospel values. They lived a life of faith under their own roof. They transmitted a living faith to the children through the example of life and the teaching of prayer. The children learned to talk to God by watching their parents do so. In family prayer they found strength to make daily sacrifices and witness to Christ. The Ulma's taught their children to worship God both in church and at home. They introduced us to experience the Holy Mass and to practice love of neighbor.
Wiktoria, as a loving mother, devoted time to her children, helping them to learn, taking care of their upbringing and education. From eyewitness accounts, we know that she taught the children housework and cleanliness in and around the home, caring for younger siblings and caring for each other. She enjoyed the loving atmosphere between siblings. He observed how they formed a community as they worked, played, walked and prayed. Józef, for his part, taught his children how to work on the farm and in the garden and answered their many questions.
Merciful love
"Love begins at home and develops at home" (Mother Teresa of Calcutta), but it does not end there. It must radiate to others.
The life of the Venerable Servants of God Józef and Wiktoria consisted of countless sacrifices and deeds of love every day. The fruit of adopting this way of life was the heroic decision to help the Jews condemned to extermination. It was not hasty, but was the result of reading the Word of God, which molded their hearts and minds and, therefore, their attitude towards their neighbor. For them, the Bible was the authentic book of life, as is confirmed by the outstanding fragments of the Gospel, especially the parable of the Good Samaritan.
The Ulmas, trying to live like Christ, implementing the commandment of love on a daily basis, were willing to give their lives for their neighbor. Józef and Wiktoria decided to take in eight Jews, despite the threat of the death penalty from the Germans for helping to hide Jews. Three families took refuge in the attic of their small house: the Goldmans, the Grünfelds and the Didners. For many months, they provided a roof over their heads and food, which was a real challenge during the war.
Their selfless attitude came to a tragic end on March 24, 1944. Then the German Nazis broke into their house, cruelly shot the Jews they were hiding and then Józef and Wiktoria were murdered in front of the children. The tragedy was the murder of children. Józef and Wiktoria Ulma, fully aware of the risk, sacrificed their lives to save Jews in need. Their heroic attitude is a testimony that love is stronger than death.
Markowa: a people of the righteous among the nations.
It is not about trying to beatify a nation, nor to expose the positive side of a large part of Polish society during the Great War. It is to prepare a beautiful ceremony of beatification of a family who sacrificed their lives to save the Jews.
The database of the Institute of Polish Memory has on file the names of some six thousand people who paid with their lives for hiding Jews during the Second World War. So the Ulma family is no exception.
The Christian-inspired role of the peasant movement in shaping the attitudes of Józef and Wiktoria should be noted (Józef was, among others, chairman of the Agricultural Education Committee of the District Youth Board of the Republic of Poland "Wici").
There is a list of people from Markowa who hid Jewish families. They were Michał and Maria Bar, Antoni and Dorota Szylar, Józef and Julia Bar, Michał and Katarzyna Cwynar, Michał and Wiktoria Drewniak. In addition to the Ulma family, about 9 families participated in the help. Thanks to this probably 21 Jews were saved in Markowa. The families who took in Jews, including children, amounted to almost 36 people.
Some described Marków as "the town of the righteous among the nations". It is better to say that it was a town where many Righteous lived. However, those who actively participated in helping the persecuted Jews did not constitute the majority of the inhabitants, because at that time the town numbered about 4,000 people, ten percent of whom were Jews. Of course, this is not surprising, because heroism is not an attribute of the majority of society. It is always the great heroes who are in the minority, which is why they are so highly esteemed.
Among the Poles there were also people who handed over Jews to the Germans, or informed on Polish families hiding Jews, or even participated in those murders. The occupier encouraged them. However, on the occasion of the Ulma's beatification, we want to remember that there were other families in Poland who, contrary to German law, helped Jews. There were many Poles who dared to help. The Ulma family is the most famous, but there were many others and thanks to this beatification the world can discover that human and Christian behavior up to heroism is not the property of a few.
What is the Ulma family telling us today?
The Ulma family is an example of a "very large phenomenon" that was the rescue of Jews by the Poles during World War II. Not tens, not hundreds, not thousands, but hundreds of thousands of people participated in this activity. 'Save the Jews' can be said to have been a motto for many Poles. This activity was systematically organized and carried out by the Polish underground state and government-in-exile. Helping Jews was officially one of the goals of the underground state.
The Ulma family and their behavior is seen today as a special ethical attitude that should be maintained in Poland. The Ulma attitude, in which today we see the greatest heroism, could have been perceived differently during the war.
At the time, many did not see it as heroism. It is necessary to know the context of prewar Polish antisemitism-both popular antisemitism and elite antisemitism-and the context of the cruel German law prohibiting aid to Jews.
The Ulma family should be a model for the world, their example must continue to be present in Poland. In pre-war Poland there were anti-Jewish attitudes, there was a real conflict of national and economic interests, but never to the point of legal discrimination as in the Third Reich. Even people with anti-Jewish attitudes before the war, like Zofia Kossak-Szczucka, asked for help to the Jews persecuted by the Germans.
It is worth noting that the Ulmas are an example of holiness in everyday life, a holiness that history has put to the test. It should be known that in Markowa normal and neighborly relations prevailed between Poles and Jews. It is impossible to understand the history of the Ulma family without knowing the history of the people of Markowa.
As we await beatification, let us look at the example of an extraordinary family who achieved sainthood in ordinary life circumstances. It is an inspiration for modern marriages and families. Józef and Wiktoria Ulma show, above all, the beauty and value of marriage based on Christ, where God's grace is the foundation of everything.
Their love realized in daily life can also motivate them to be open to life and to take responsibility for the education of the younger generation. The heroic attitude of love towards our neighbor should stimulate us to live not so much for our own comfort or the desire to possess, but to live as a gift of ourselves to others.
Pope focuses on those living on the margins of society
The World Network of Prayer of Pope Francis has published the video of the month of September. On this occasion, the Pope asks for prayers for those who "live on the margins of society".
The video of Pope Francis with his prayer intention for September has already been made public. During this month, the Pontiff asks Catholics to pray for those "living on the margins of society".
The Pope denounces the widespread indifference. He puts the emphasis on the media, where the situation in which more than 700 million people live is not denounced. The "throwaway culture", says Francis, "dominates our lives, our cities, our way of life".
In the face of this situation, the Holy Father asks that "we stop making invisible those who are on the margins of society, whether for reasons of povertydependencies, mental illnesses or handicaps". In this way, we can move from a culture of discarding to a "culture of welcoming".
Therefore, the Pope asks that "we pray that people who live on the margins of society, in subhuman living conditions, may not be forgotten by institutions and may never be discarded".
José Ángel Saiz Meneses: "The brotherhoods have more and more an evangelizing conscience".
He has been shepherding the archdiocese of Seville since 2021. He arrived in Seville from Terrasa, which meant a substantial change in the profile of the diocese. Seville is also one of the great epicenters of the Spanish Holy Week, one of the most deeply rooted manifestations of popular piety and, in just over a year, the archdiocese will host the II International Congress of Brotherhoods and Popular Piety.
– Supernatural Twitter account of the Archbishop of Seville, Jose Angel Saiz Meneses (Sisante (Cuenca) August 2, 1956) reported a fact: last August 12, the Auxiliary Bishop of Sydney, Mons. Richard Umbers and a team from his diocese visited Seville for several days to learn, in the field, about the Brotherhoods and Confraternities. In addition to being amusing, the anecdote is revealing: popular piety is, at present, the main brake on secularization in Western nations.
This year also marked the thirtieth anniversary of the visit of theSt. John Paul II to the village of El Rocío. There, in the heart of one of the most beloved popular devotions in Spain, the Holy Father encouraged Catholics to delve into "the foundations of this devotion, to be able to give these roots of faith their evangelical fullness; that is, to discover the profound reasons for the presence of Mary in your lives as a model in the pilgrimage of faith.
Recalling this event and with a view to the undeniable strength of popular piety, the bishops of the dioceses of southern Spain published the Pastoral Letter "Mary, Star of Evangelization. The evangelizing power of popular piety."in which they affirm how popular piety "gathers the best of each culture and converts it into a living expression of faith".
In this interview with Omnes, Bishop Saiz MenesesThe president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, who is already preparing the congress on popular piety, emphasizes how the "Brotherhoods are a transversal reality, like the Church itself" and popular piety is undoubtedly "a dike of containment of secularization".
You have been able to become immersed in the importance of popular piety in a diocese as outstanding in this aspect as Seville. Is it really a dike to contain secularization?
-I arrived at Seville two years ago. I come from Catalonia. In Tarrasa, I accompanied 24 "rocieras" brotherhoods that could not go to the Rocío and celebrated their pilgrimage there, with much affection. That was like a little plant of popular piety. Here in Seville it is a whole forest. In this diocese we have Sisterhoods with thousands of brothers, some with more than 16,000. In these years, I have not seen a single case of suppression of any brotherhood; on the other hand, there are continual requests for new brotherhoods. Therefore, it is a growing phenomenon.
I have been able to verify that the southern half of Spain is less secularized than the northern half and this, in good part, is due to this world of the Brotherhoods and Confraternities. Why? Because the transmission of the faith, which is something so important in the life and pastoral work of the Church, continues to be done in a natural way in the Brotherhoods.
When talking about this natural wayWhat are you referring to specifically?
-Faith is transmitted in the Sisterhoods as if by osmosis. It is lived. During Holy Week, I usually take the opportunity to go to the exit of the processions that I can, especially in neighborhood parishes. It attracts my attention to see mothers dressed as Nazarenes, with children in their arms, who are not walking, also dressed as Nazarenes, and that child, when he starts to walk, will go with his mother accompanying the Virgin or Christ.
Saiz Meneses with Pope Francis.
Last June, I traveled with the executive committee of the II International Congress of Sisterhoods and Popular Piety to see Pope Francis and I remembered this example. The Pope commented that mothers use a "maternal dialect" to transmit the faith, that they are the ones who speak to their young children of the Virgin, of Jesus... that they carry them along with them, in their arms to this faith.
This is lived, naturally, in the Brotherhoods and explains this brake on secularization.
There are those who, even today, pigeonhole popular piety as a mere display of "sentimentality"?
-In two boxes: that of sentimentalism and that of low culture. Years ago, above all, it seemed that popular piety was typical of people with little culture. That it belonged to people with little education who "could not aspire to more". This is not so.
I receive many governing boards of fraternities that come to present their actions and projects and I meet businessmen, company directors, many professors and university professors. Along with them, self-employed, workers, employees... The Brotherhoods are a transversal reality, like the Church itself.
Popular piety is not for illiterate people, it is a way of encountering God: the via pulchritudinis which is not only perfectly valid for the encounter with God, but is complementary to a more speculative way. There are many very educated, very cultured people, for whom this way is the one that most helps them to encounter God.
Do you think that progress is being made in the area of formation in the confraternities?
-The Brotherhoods are governed by rules in which there are three pillars: worship, formation and charity.
The cults are solemn celebrations, which are very well done.
Formation, indeed, is the area that costs the most, but as it costs priests and bishops the ongoing formation. Many times we have so many pastoral urgencies that prayer is hardly enough, let alone in the case of lay men and women, fathers and mothers of families....
Finally, charity. The brotherhoods have an impressive social and charitable work, so what more can we ask for?
How is the manifestation of faith, personal commitment, promoted in this area?
-In addition to the three dimensions already known, we are gradually seeing a fourth dimension gaining importance in the lives of women and men. Sisterhoodsmission awareness and evangelization.
In November 2021, shortly after my arrival in Seville, the mission of the Gran Poder took place. The statue visited the poorest neighborhoods of the city, it was in each of the parishes. I attended everything I could, especially the transfers. That was impressive: the faces, the looks on the faces of the children, the young people, the elderly, the sick?
The carving of Nuestro Padre Jesús del Gran Poder has, in itself, a great aesthetic beauty and, above all, a spiritual and religious strength that could be felt just by passing by. "The Lord of Seville who comes to see me", people said... That was something very great.
Now other brotherhoods are carrying out these missions. This dimension is being strengthened, because the human being is sensitivity, feeling, heart; is reason, understanding; and is faith and spirituality. The three levels are necessary and complementary, not exclusive. So why exclude this level that helps people so much? It is a pastoral task that is gaining strength.
How does popular piety fit into parish, community and daily life?
-When I explain the Archdiocese of Seville to people who do not know it, I point out to them: 264 parishes, most of them very active throughout the diocese, 125 communities of active life, 34 monasteries and convents of contemplative life. Together with them, all the ecclesial realities: Opus Dei, Neocatechumenal Way, Cursillos de Cristiandad, Focolarinos, the Work of the Church, Catholic Action..., etc., etc. All with great presence and vitality. And together with them, 700 brotherhoods.
Faced with this reality, the first thing to do is not to fall into complacency and, above all, what we must do is to grow in ecclesial communion and synodality. Thus, united, the pastoral and evangelizing effect will multiply.
In the case of the Brotherhoods, for example, their spiritual directors are usually pastors of the village churches, they are united to many parishes and, therefore, they are united to this parish life. For example, the catechetical itineraries are done in the parishes, they are not duplicated.
The bishops of the South have published an interesting pastoral letter on popular piety. How can we prevent it from being forgotten?
-Certainly, with all official documents there is a danger that they go from the printing press to the bookshelf. In Seville, in preparation for the II International Congress of Brotherhoods and Popular Piety in December 2024, the ongoing formation of the Brotherhoods will deal, this year, with this letter. I myself always give a conference to the older brothers at the beginning of the course and we will talk about this letter.
How has the Pope welcomed this II International Congress of Brotherhoods and Popular Piety?
-Last June, I presented the congress to the Pope. He spoke to us about the importance of evangelizing culture and inculturating the faith. He stressed the importance of popular piety as that personal, familiar, close piety that is transmitted in the home, through the mother's dialect.
He urged us to strengthen this area, to accompany him and to be very welcoming. In addition, the Pope asked us to take care of the "faith of the simple" and of everyone. He advised us to give content and formation to all this area and to strengthen this evangelizing dimension.
He also insisted on coherence of life, that we help all the faithful to live a coherent social, professional and ecclesial life.
At dusk, when the intense summer heat was already waning, I came across a group of girls, maybe 14 or 15 years old, dancing in front of a tripod with a phone. They were rehearsing a simple choreography to the background music of a song from the 90s, but at a higher speed: a "speed-up" of something by Alanis Morrisette. The group's composition and the spirit with which they undertook the challenge for Tiktok were commendable. And they were clearly putting into practice Seneca's advice: "There is no smooth road from the earth to the stars" ("Hercules furens"). Since time immemorial, each generation has faced unique challenges that define its era. However, that timeless truth, expressed by the philosopher Seneca in the words "Non est ad astra mollis e terris via".reminds us that there is no easy path from earth to the stars. This is the journey that our young generation, those souls between the ages of 15 and 20, are beginning to travel, and as they do so, the challenges they face are both universal and specific to their time. But how low the bar is set, if social media dancing is the ultimate difficulty for this generation" ... we might think. Indeed, if they are only facing the drama of the number of likes, it is low aspiration. Nothing to do with a world (or civil) war or with the hunger and poverty of other times.
Current challenges
But it is that the future of our society suffers from a silent and deeper epidemic. The challenges of this generation are somewhat more invisible and pernicious. And here I would like to present the three clearest effects of the plague that is decimating them: the fear of being unique, the hindrance of indifference, and the drama of short-sightedness.
This is not a pessimistic view. Every generation has its challenges and its glories. History has shown us that in every epoch there emerge references that, despite their youth, manage to have a profound impact on the collective conscience. The Renaissance, for example, was a golden age where young people like Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo raised the human spirit with their insatiable curiosity and passion for discovery and creation. Not unlike what young people of faith, such as St. Sebastian and St. Thérèse of Lisieux, did by showing unwavering conviction in their beliefs, even in difficult times.
While the cultural references of the past can offer us lessons, current circumstances also have their own peculiarities. In this globalized world, technology has brought with it a double sword: on the one hand, it has democratized access to information and enabled interpersonal connections across geographical barriers, but on the other hand, it has magnified a culture of instantaneousness and constant social comparison. Social networks, despite being powerful communication tools, can often be a source of pressure, especially for younger people, who may feel an overriding need to conform to certain molds and seek constant external validation.
Today's young revolutionaries
Carlo Acutis, a young Italian who left this world at the tender age of 15, is an inspiring example of how one can combine faith, passion and technology to leave a lasting impact. Carlo, who was beatified in 2020, used technology to create a virtual exhibit on Eucharistic miracles around the world. His mantra, "we are all born originals and die as copies," is a profound reflection on the importance of embracing our uniqueness in a world that often favors conformity.
The reality is that while every generation has faced the challenge of finding its identity, our youth today do so in a scenario flooded with stimuli and distractions. Often, in their search for belonging, temptations can arise. One of these is the temptation to be uncomplicated, or in other words, to seek the path of least resistance in a culture that favors instant gratification. Lasting rewards, those that truly matter, require time, effort and, sometimes, facing adversity. This is where the analogy of building a tower, stone by stone, takes on meaning. Every effort, every small accomplishment, is one more step toward the culmination of a larger goal.
Another challenge they face is the "drama of ignorance and short-sightedness". Disinterest often stems from a lack of exposure to the world in all its diversity and wonder. Therefore, it is essential to promote in them an explorer mentality, where the desire for discovery becomes an engine for learning and growing. Sabrina Gonzalez Pasterski is a living testimony to this spirit. From building her own airplane at age 14 to being recognized for her work in theoretical physics, Sabrina embodies the power of dedication and passion for learning.
For all these reasons, it is crucial that we not only identify these challenges, but also act. Young people, with all their potential and energy, need mentors, guides to help them navigate this complex landscape. As a society, it is our duty to provide them with tools, not only to overcome obstacles, but also to build a better world for all. I envision a world where spaces are created, such as mentoring groups or community workshops, that foster intergenerational dialogue. Where the experiences and wisdoms of past generations merge with the freshness and momentum of youth.
Ultimately, facing the challenges of raising a new generation is no easy task, but with love, mutual support and conscious action, we can help them chart their own path from the ground to the stars. Because, at the end of the day, our collective responsibility is to ensure that the future is in capable hands, and who better than our young people to lead us to a brighter tomorrow? I invite everyone to join in this mission and to be, at every step, the beacon that guides the next generations toward a future filled with promise and hope.
Russian Catholic youth gather in St. Petersburg after WYD in Lisbon
From August 23-27, 2023, the 10th National Meeting of Catholic Youth of Russia took place in St. Petersburg, which this year was an extension of WYD Lisbon 2023.
The 10th National Meeting of Young Catholics of Russia has been held since 2000. In 2023, the first time it is being held in St. Petersburg, it has attracted some 400 participants from 54 Russian cities and the four Catholic archdioceses of Russia. On August 25, Pope Francis addressed the event by videoconference, delivering a speech on the theme of the event. speechHe listened to the testimonies of the young people and answered some questions. His participation lasted a little over an hour.
A Russian WYD
On this occasion, the event has been conceived as an extension of the WYD Lisbon 2023 and followed a similar structure, with Masses in common and catechesis every morning in groups of 25-30 people based on the same themes that were discussed in Lisbon. The five bishops of the Russian Bishops' Conference participated: Paolo Pezzi, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of the Mother of God of Moscow (the main archdiocese of Russia), and Auxiliary Bishop Nikolai Dubinin; Clemens Pickel, of St. Clement of Saratov; Joseph Werth, of the Diocese of the Transfiguration in Novosibirsk; and Kirill Klimovich, of St. Joseph of Irkutsk.
In addition to young Russians, foreign students from Armenia, Azerbaijan, India and Colombia, among other countries, as well as religious and catechists also participated in the event.
The days opened in the parish of the Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth in St. Petersburg, echoing the motto of WYD Lisbon, "Mary arose and departed without delay" (Lk 1:39). In addition to Masses, catechesis and prayer evenings, the meeting included festive moments and personal and communal prayer. As in Lisbon, the pilgrims were welcomed by parishes and Catholic families from St. Petersburg.
Catholics in Russia: less than 1 % of population
Oksana Pimenova, deputy director of the St. Thomas Institute in Moscow and one of the organizers of the meeting, told Fides Agency that "although the Catholic Church in Russia is made up of small communities scattered over a vast territory, we are united by a 'chain of handshakes': we do not all know each other directly, but we often have acquaintances in common, and moments like this help us to grow in communion and friendship with one another. Being together with people so different in origin and vocation means being able to recognize ourselves as part of a large family that knows no boundaries, whose members, despite their diversity, are called to be together".
During the day, two young Russian Catholics, Alexander and Varvara, gave their testimonies. After listening to them, Pope Francis gave a speech in Spanish, taking up some reflections on the theme of WYD Lisbon 2023.
Called and outbound
First of all, the Pope indicated that "God commands us to go out and walk (...) We are all chosen and called (...) before the talents we have, before our merits, before our obscurities and wounds, before everything we have been called. Called by name, you to you. God does not go to the heap, no. God goes from you to you.
Elizabeth, who was barren, and Mary, the Virgin: two women who became witnesses to the transforming power of God. God transforms. It is that experience of God's overflowing love that cannot fail to be shared. That is why Mary got up and left without delay, she was quick. She has to get up in a hurry. When God calls, we cannot sit still".
"God always welcomes".
The second idea that the Pope emphasized was that "God's love is for everyone and the Church belongs to everyone. God's love is recognized by his hospitality. God always welcomes, creates, creates space so that we all have a place and sacrifices himself for others, he is attentive to the needs of others. Mary stayed three months with Elizabeth, helping her in her needs. These two women are creating space for the new lives that are born: John the Baptist and Jesus.
But they also create space for each other, they communicate. The Church is a mother with an open heart, who knows how to welcome and receive, especially those who need more care. (...) Admission is free. And then let each one feel the invitation of Jesus to follow him, to see how he stands before God; and for this journey there are the teachings and the Sacraments. Let us remember the Gospel: when the master of the banquet sends for the crosses on the road, he says: 'Go and fetch everyone' (cfr. Mt.22, 9)".
Young and old
Thirdly, Francis stressed that "it is vital that young people and the elderly open up to each other. The young, in meeting with the elderly, have the opportunity to receive the richness of their experiences and their experiences. And the elderly, in meeting with the young, find in them the promise of a future of hope. It is important, you young people, to dialogue with the elderly, to dialogue with grandparents, to listen to grandparents, to listen to that experience of life that goes beyond that of parents.
The meeting point between Mary and Elizabeth is dreams. They both dream. The young dream, the old dream. It is precisely the dream, the ability to dream, the vision of tomorrow that has kept and sustains generations together (...) Elizabeth, with the wisdom of the years - she was old - strengthens Mary, who was young and full of grace, guided by the Spirit".
"Artisans of peace".
Finally, the Pope commented that he wishes for the young Russians "the vocation to be artisans of peace in the midst of so many conflicts, in the midst of so many polarizations on all sides, which beset our world. I invite you to be sowers of seeds, seeds of reconciliation, small seeds that in this winter of war will not sprout for the moment in the frozen earth, but in a future spring they will blossom. As I said in Lisbon: have the courage to replace fears with dreams.(...) Give yourselves the luxury of dreaming big!"
In conclusion, the Holy Father used the Virgin Mary as an example, asking young people to "conceive" the Lord "in their hearts, and quickly, with haste, take him to those who are far away, take him to those who need him. Be a sign of hope, a sign of peace and joy, like Mary, so that with the same 'humility of her servant', you too can change the history you have to live".
Young Russians in Lisbon
Less than twenty pilgrims from Russia attended WYD in Lisbon, some of whom, although they came with the group, were foreign students. Only a dozen of this group were of Russian nationality.
For their part, 300 Ukrainian pilgrims took part in the WYD in Lisbon. You can read the chronicle about these groups here y here.
Carol Enhua receives the Dama de San Silvestre ribbon from the hands of the Pope
Carol Enuha had the immense honor of receiving the Lady of St. Sylvester ribbon from Pope Francis, in recognition of her work in helping and supporting Christians in Nigeria and the United States.
"Go Forth And Do The Work of Christ" is what Carol Enhua has been doing her entire life. Perhaps that may be why Pope Francis has recognized her efforts and ministry.
It's not every day you meet someone who has been knighted. However, among 1.3 billion Catholics around the world, Carol Enuha received the immense honor of receiving the Lady of St. Sylvester ribbon from Pope Francis. This special honor is bestowed on lay people whose altruism and philanthropy positively impact their communities, who "go out and do the work of Christ" and take their vocation of service seriously.
Carol Enhua on the day she received the Dama de san Silvestre ribbon (Copyright: Carol Enhua)
The Order of St. Sylvester was instituted by Pope Gregory XVI and later reformed. This prestigious decoration is awarded to lay men and women who are active members of their Church and make positive changes in the lives of their brethren.
Omnes sat down with Carol and discovered she has always listened to the 'call' Jesus placed in her heart. Growing up in Nigeria, Carol witnessed abject poverty and hopelessness in her local communities.
The Good Samaritan
At thirty years old, she began her ministry in Lagos, Nigeria. Carol always felt called to serve the Church. She remarked, "When I see a need, I help”. For more than forty years, Carol, with the help of her husband, Engr. Hyacinth Enuha has created solutions for her Catholic neighbors and has ignited the hope of many when there was none.
It is no surprise that Carol was given this unique Papal award. Her dedication to her community is impressive. Carol shared how she once saw a school in Nigeria that was "dilapidated, with no roof." The Good Samaritan that she was, and still is, provided the necessary funds for the building to be torn down and then had it rebuilt.
"Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days." John, 2:19. What did Jesus mean when he said these words to the Pharisees? Perhaps with Him, nothing can be destroyed. But, if we are Christ-like in our words, thoughts, and deeds, we can do all things through Christ.
In addition, Carol raised money to pay for two hundred people who needed cataract and glaucoma surgery, provided eye exams by entomologists, and distributed glasses to those in need. "You meet them where their points of needs are," said Carol. And she does.
She also served as president of the Lyons Club and during her tenure, Carol initiated numerous charitable acts and raised significant money to further her missionary work. However, her efforts continued. For example, when local parishes in Nigeria needed pews, Carol donated over two hundred. In addition, she donated land in Ketu, Lagos, to the Oblates of Saint Joseph to construct a church. The list continues. Carol rolls up her sleeves and gets to work when there is a need. We know that Jesus taught us that it's more rewarding to give than to receive, and Carol looks not to acquire gifts but rather to give.
A perfect combination
Carol met her husband, Engr. Hyacinthn, an engineer, when he was on a business trip in Nigeria. They would eventually get married. And would travel back and forth to Delaware, where they had a second home for many years. However, in 2015, they moved permanently to New York City and called The Big Apple their new home, along with their children and grandchildren.
Her award and the recognition of her philanthropy have not gone to her head; she remains humble and seeks to serve in any way she can in her daily life and at her local parishes, where she loves to attend Mass, pray, and bond with fellow parishioners. She likes many things about her local Church; for example, "There is a sense of community; a lot of bonding among the parishioners, and you can really feel it." And people care about you." She also appreciates when fellow parish members "… call to find out where you have been when they don't see you." Carol also commented on how friendly the parishioners are. There's a palpable sense of support.
Her ministry continues, and her faith is steadfast. She is a starting member and pioneer secretary for the Legion of Mary and Our Lady of the Cenacle, LOM, and she takes her Papal award seriously. Her mission is still the same: She strives to help her community, restore someone's confidence, instill God's eternal love, and rebuild whatever may be broken, whether a person's heart, faith, or a building.
With God everything is possible
Life is filled with blessings, but there are seasons when we are all tested. But Carol's faith does not waiver. Throughout our conversation, she repeatedly said it is "always at the appointed time." "Don't lose hope!"
She shared that the Lord was and remained near when her husband had an enlarged heart. "In intense troubles and needs, God has been faithful and our ever-present help twenty-four seven."
Carol and her family's motto is," With God, all things are possible." Therefore, with Carol, her husband, and the support and love of her children Sandy, Uche, Abua, and Oluchi, and their sweet grandchildren, Harry, Charlie, and Somtochukwu, there is nothing they cannot do when they embody the virtues that the good Lord bestowed upon us. And, when Carol and her husband's family members see the simple eloquence of the example by which they live, goodness and mercy shall multiply.
Carol Enhua after receiving the award (Copyright: Carol Enhua)
The painter Philippe de Champaigne (1602-1674) depicted St. Augustine holding a flaming heart in his hand, to imply that the thought and doctrine of St. Augustine can be summed up in love.
St. Augustine himself, once converted, will regret not having loved God before and will say: "Late I loved you, beauty so old and so new, late I loved you" (conf. 10, 38).
The life of St. Augustine is an intense journey of purification of love, passing from worldly loves to the love of God. For this reason, Augustine takes up a phrase of the pagan poet Virgil, who had said Omnia vincit amor. St. Augustine will say that it is not the love of this world, but the caritas, it is the love of God that conquers all. This is how St. Augustine understood it when he heard the voice in the garden of Milan inviting him to drink and read (Tolle lege) the letters of St. Paul. But Augustine's adventure had begun further afield.
Its early years
St. Augustine was born on November 13, 354 in Tagaste (today Souk Ahras in Algeria). His parents were St. Monica and Patricius. After studying in his hometown, he learned grammar in Madaura, and later Rhetoric in Carthage. In Carthage, when he was eighteen years old, he met a woman with whom he lived for fifteen years and with whom he had a son, whom he named Adeodatus (conf. 4, 2).
After teaching Rhetoric in Carthage, he emigrated in 383 to Italy in search of new horizons (conf. 5, 14).
Trip to Italy
In Italy he would find more formal students than those in Carthage, but they did not pay him his fees (conf. 5, 22). Therefore, when the post of official orator of the court of Emperor Valentinian II became vacant, St. Augustine took the tests established to choose the best candidate, and was chosen for his extraordinary gifts as an orator (conf. 5, 23).
Around the year 385 St. Augustine left Rome for Milan where he met with the bishop of the city, St. Ambrose, and was impressed by the close and familiar welcome he received (conf. 5, 23). In Milan he fulfilled his mission as official orator of the court, and it fell to him to pronounce different oratorical pieces in the ephemeris of the imperial court.
The beginning of your conversion
In Milan he decided to return to the religion in which his mother had taught him. In fact, St. Augustine was never a pagan. From his earliest childhood he had been brought to the Church where he received the rite of Christian initiation and became a catechumen of the Catholic Church (conf. 1, 17). For this reason, after having sought the truth by many paths –the Manichean, the Platonic philosophers, the skeptics-he finally returned to the point where he had begun his search, the Catholic Church.
St. Ambrose's sermons showed him that the truth he was looking for was in the Catholic Church (conf. 5, 24)
Touched and marked by the words of St. Ambrose, St. Augustine decided to break with his past life. To this end, after the scene of the Tolle Lege to which we have already referred (conf. 8, 29), gave up his classes in Rhetoric and resigned from the post of official orator at the court of Emperor Valentinian II.
Baptism of St. Augustine
On Easter night in 387, St. Augustine was baptized in Milan by St. Ambrose (ep. 36, 32). That night the request that his mother, St. Monica, had insistently presented to God was fulfilled, for she prayed and shed abundant tears before God asking for her son's conversion (conf. 3, 21).
After his baptism, St. Augustine decided to become a monk and set out for the seaport of Ostia. In this city, together with his mother, he experienced the famous ecstasy of Ostia, where both, seated at the window overlooking the garden of the house in which they were staying, began to converse about the mysteries of God and eternal life, and gradually rose above the things of this earth until they touched for a brief moment the very mystery of God himself (conf. 9, 23). His mother Monica would die a short time later in the same city of Ostia, and would be buried there (conf. 9, 17)
Return to Tagaste and monastic life
In 388 St. Augustine returned to North Africa. At Tagaste he established the first monastery. St. Augustine had a dream of spending the rest of his life retired in a quiet monastic life, sharing with his brothers in community and writing his works (ep. 10, 2).
However, God's providence had other plans for him. Thus in 391 he made a trip to the city of Hippo (now Annaba, about 100 km north of Tagaste) to visit a friend and to see about the possibility of founding a second monastery in that city (s. 355, 2). When attending the liturgical celebration in that city, Bishop Valerius asked the faithful people to help him choose a new collaborator in the priestly ministry for the city of Hippo. The eyes of the whole assembly were fixed on St. Augustine. And as Hipponate himself points out (s. 355, 2), he was literally seized by the crowd and presented before Bishop Valerius so that he could be ordained.
Saint Augustine priest
As a priest, St. Augustine was called to fight against his former co-religionists, the Manichaeans. He would also begin his work against the Donatist schism that had afflicted North Africa for almost a century.
The sermons that St. Augustine delivered as a priest were very numerous. He has left us many works of biblical commentaries from this stage of his life, such as the commentary on the Sermon on the Mount and the exposition of the Letter to the Galatians, among others.
St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo
Bishop Valerius not only thanked God for having sent St. Augustine to him, but he had begun to fear that one day they would come from some diocese that had no bishop and take him away (Vita 8, 2). Therefore, he secretly asked the primate bishop for permission to ordain St. Augustine as bishop. Thus, around the year 395 or 396 St. Augustine was ordained a bishop.
As a bishop, he wrote his most famous work, the Confessionsas well as multiple works of biblical exegesis, theological, apologetic, pastoral and moral works, as well as his Rule that would mark the entire Western monastic tradition.
Several thousand sermons were delivered by St. Augustine as bishop, although only about six hundred are preserved today.
The city of God
In the year 410 an event happened that convulsed the world at that time. The Gothic troops of Alaric entered the city of Rome and sacked it for three days. As a consequence of these events the pagans accused the Christians of being guilty of the sacking of Rome. They said that Rome had suffered such a humiliation because the worship of the gods that had made Rome great had been abandoned. St. Augustine responded to these accusations with his masterpiece called The City of GodIn the first part, he criticizes history and pagan religion, and in the second part he exposes the birth, development and culmination of the city of God. In this work he reminds us that every believer is a pilgrim or stranger on this earth and is heading towards his eternal destiny in the city of God, where "we will rest and contemplate, contemplate and love, love and praise" (1).ciu. 22, 5).
St. Augustine and the second Christian hospital
An unknown facet of St. Augustine is his great interest in the poor and his own creativity to remedy their needs. In fact, he had a maticula pauperum (ep. 20*, 2)He was the first Augustinian hospital in Hippo, that is to say, a list of the poor of Hippo who were periodically helped, as well as a place to receive them, a sort of diocesan "caritas", something that did not exist in other dioceses of that time. But the great Augustinian social contribution is that he was the builder of the second Christian hospital in history. And if we take into account the Latin world, the work of St. Augustine is the first. Thus, in order to welcome and help the poor, emigrants and the sick, he ordered the construction of a building in Hippo which he called Xenodochium (s. 356, 10). Charity for St. Augustine was not just a beautiful theory, but implied a real commitment to the poor and needy.
His last years and death
The last years of Augustine's life were not quiet, but were marked by various theological polemics and the unstoppable crumbling of the Western Roman Empire.
In fact, St. Augustine died in a besieged city, since the Vandals had crossed the Strait of Gibraltar in 429, and had begun an unstoppable advance towards Carthage. In 430 they reached the city of Hippo and laid siege to it.
St. Augustine died on August 28 at the age of 76 in a city in a state of anguish, surrounded by the enemy troops of the terrible Vandals. Nevertheless, St. Augustine died with the awareness that although something was dying with the fall of the Western Roman Empire, a new world was emerging, and his works would be a fundamental spiritual, human and theological guide for this new world.
The remains of St. Augustine are currently preserved in the Church of San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro in Pavia (Itaia). There, in the monumental ark dedicated to St. Augustine, we can see a recumbent image of the Bishop of Hippo at the top of the monument. This image holds an open book in his hands. This book is Sacred Scripture. St. Augustine is still alive in his works and every time we read his writings, he himself explains the Bible to us and invites us to an encounter with the inner Master, the same one who called him in the garden of Milan in 386 and who continues to call every man and woman to "Take and read" the Scriptures to discover in them that, in spite of all the sorrows, the love of God conquers everything (Omnia caritas vincit: s. 145, 5).
The authorEnrique A. Eguiarte B. OAR
Pontifical Patristic Institute Augustinianum (Rome)
Jesus walks beside us, encourages Pope "happy" to travel to Mongolia
At the Angelus this Sunday, the Holy Father asked for prayers for his apostolic journey to the heart of Asia, to Mongolia, which begins on the 31st. He also said that "Christ is not a memory of the past, but the God of the present. Jesus is alive and accompanies us, he is at our side, he offers us his Word and his grace, which enlighten and comfort us on our journey, the Pope encouraged on the feast of St. Monica, mother of St. Augustine.
Francisco Otamendi-August 27, 2023-Reading time: 2minutes
The Roman Pontiff said this morning at the Angelus in St. Peter's Square that he is "happy" to travel to the heart of Asia on the 31st, on "a long-awaited visit" to Mongolia, "a Church very small in number but great in charity," he said.
It is a trip in an "interreligious context," added the Pope, who is coming to the Mongolian state "as a brother to all". He also thanked all those who are participating in the preparations for the trip.
During his visitPope Francis will meet with civil authorities, clergy, consecrated persons and workers in charitable institutions. The program of the trip also includes an ecumenical meeting.
Mongolia has about three and a half million inhabitants with 1,500 baptized local Catholics gathered in eight parishes and one chapel, spread over a vast territory of more than 1.5 million square kilometers. It is a small but very lively community, the official Vatican agency reported in a interview with Cardinal Giorgio MarengoThe Apostolic Prefect of Ulaanbaatar, capital of the East Asian country, said that the Pope's visit is "a special grace and a great honor, an immense gift".
"We are not alone."
Before the prayer of the Marian Adoration at the AngelusCommenting on the Gospel in which Jesus asks the disciples "Who do people say is the Son of Man?", the Pope stressed that "on the journey of life we are not alone, because Christ is with us and helps us to walk, as he did with Peter and the other disciples".
"Precisely Peter, in today's Gospel, understands this and by grace recognizes in Jesus 'the Son of the living God,'" the Pope pointed out. "He is not a figure of the past, he is not a deceased hero, but the Son of the living God, made man and come to share the joys and labors of our journey!
"Let us not be discouraged, therefore, if at times the summit of the Christian life seems too high and the road too steep," the Pope encouraged. "Let us look to Jesus, who walks beside us, who welcomes our frailties, shares our efforts and rests on our weak shoulders his firm and gentle arm. With him close to us, let us also reach out to one another and renew our trust: with Jesus, what seems impossible alone is no longer so!"
Finally, the Pope asked, "For me, who is Jesus? A great personage, a point of reference, an unattainable model? Or the Son of God, who walks beside me, who can lead me to the summit of holiness, there where alone I am not able to reach? Is Jesus really alive in my life, is He my Lord? Do I entrust myself to Him in moments of difficulty? Do I cultivate His presence through the Word and the Sacraments? Do I allow myself to be guided by Him, together with my brothers and sisters, in community?"
The Pope remembered those affected by the fires in Greece and again raised a prayer for the suffering of the Ukrainian people and made mention of St. Monica, whose feast the Church celebrates and wanted to pray "for so many mothers who suffer when a child is a little lost in the streets of life".
"May Mary, Mother of the Way, help us to feel her Son alive and present with us," concluded the Holy Father, before praying the Angelus with the faithful in St. Peter's Square.
St. Monica and the Mothers' Coffee in the 4th century
Today you do the washing machine, send some reports, pick up the kids from school, have a coffee with your friends, get some highlights and continue to be a mother and wife. St. Monica, paradigm of the family vocation in the Catholic Church, probably did something very similar to us but in her 4th century version.
Whoever is a wife and mother knows that she can never stop being one. Today you do the washing machine, send some reports, answer twenty emails, pick up the kids from school, have a coffee with your friends, get some highlights to hide your gray hair, and you are still a mother and a wife. St. Monica, paradigm of the family vocation in the Catholic Church, probably did something very similar to us but in her 4th century version.
In the year 332 Monica of Hippo was born in Algeria. She is known for being the mother of the brilliant (and somewhat problematic) intellectual, St. Augustine. Her untiring love and dedication to the men in her home, which undoubtedly caused her so many headaches, have made her the paradigm of the Catholic wife and mother. Patient, kind, humble, generous, honest, honest, honest... St. Monica lived in fullness that which St. Paul sing about the charity.
It is easy to believe that Monica of Hippo had no great ambitions of grandeur in her life, which makes her even more of an example for living the everyday. She grew up in a Catholic family and her education was in the hands of a maid who shared the faith of the household. While still very young, she married a member of the senate of her city, Patricius. This decurion was older than her and had vices that clashed head-on with those of his wife: he was given to drink, libertine and violent temperament.
Monica patiently resisted all her husband's faults. She knew she had been cheated on and endured the angry outbursts, but she was not an impassive angel. She also needed to breathe, to take some distance. You know that coffee with friends that brings you back to life after a week of math homework with your toddler? The saint would have her equivalent. Tagaste was a city full of commerce and culture, so it's not hard to imagine Monica strolling through its streets, amusing herself talking to a neighbor, browsing the stalls, maybe petting the donkey loaded with merchandise, or sitting in a pew in the church, where she went every day to pray for her husband, who is in a great mood today....
We know from St. Augustine that his mother devoted much time to prayer for the members of her family. Every tear was offered to God and her prayers were answered. Patrick was converted at the end of his life, died shortly after embracing Christianity and Monica decided not to remarry. It was time to devote herself completely to her children.
The offspring of the marriage were not baptized. The father refused to do so when they were born, so the little ones grew up without receiving the sacrament. Monica, however, made sure to do what all mothers do: a gesture, a phrase, a look... The Tagaste home was, to be sure, impregnated with the gentle scent of Christ. It was a delicate fragrance, but the saint spread it throughout the rooms of the home, waiting for someone to take a hint.
The famous Augustine was not the only son of Monica to whom she dedicated these motherly gestures. Three of her descendants survived childhood, a boy named Navigius, a girl whose name is unknown, and the bishop of Hippo. Little is known of the saint's siblings compared to him, who left his own biography in the "Confessions".
Agustín says of himself that he wasted his life being lazy. His intelligence and charisma opened the doors to a world of lack of control and sensuality, which he later condemned in his work. Despite this, outside the family home he maintained a stable relationship with a woman and at the age of seventeen he had a son, Adeodato.
St. Monica knew her son's lifestyle and suffered for him. However, it is already known that she was a woman, a human being. Augustine managed to unsettle his mother, who threw him out of the house when the young man returned to her, obsessed with some Manichaeism and other things of young people that no one understands. But the banishment did not last long. Apparently the saint received in a vision encouragement to reconcile with her son. Monica opened the doors again for Augustine to return and continued to pray with the conviction that "the son of so many tears will not be lost".
The mother's patience would be tested again not much later. The son escaped to Rome and Monica, with that maternal instinct that follows children to the end of the world, traveled after him. With disappointment she realized that she was late, for Augustine left for Milan before the saint arrived. The pain caused by this cat and mouse game was alleviated by an essential event in the young man's life: in Milan he met Bishop Ambrose, a key figure in his conversion to Christianity.
When St. Augustine embraced the religion of his mother, a time of peace came into the life of St. Monica. Adeodatus, Augustine and Monica lived together in what is now Lombardy. The little boy was baptized, but died two years later, when he was not yet twenty years old.
By then, St. Monica's spirit was calling for a return home to the African continent. Her dedication and prayer were bearing fruit that she was beginning to see, it was time to rest. However, she never set foot on her home again. God called Monica in Ostia, Italy. Her death inspired Augustine to write the most beautiful pages of the "Confessions", and to leave proof of his mother's legacy: a woman who lived her vocation as wife and mother to the full, who welcomed trials and consolations.
After her death, St. Monica began to be held up as an example for Christian women. Her life consisted of lovingly carrying the 4th century equivalent of our washing machines, our chauffeur-driven walks between soccer practices and birthdays, the silence before the snort of teenagers and the caress to the husband sulking because Real Madrid does not score a goal. Wife and mother, like yesterday, like today, like always.
St. Monica receiving the cincture from the Virgin Mary (Wikimedia Commons)
Cinema and Family. A book to deal with the big issues that appear on the screens.
The influence of cinema on young people and the family, how grandparents are presented in current series and movies, topics such as forgiveness or sexuality in various films are some of the topics that make up the volume. Film and Family. Discovering values through the films of our lives..
Film and Family. Discovering values through the films of our lives. is coordinated by Daniel Arasa, director of Cinemanetan association that promotes human, family, social and educational values through film.
The book gathers the contributions of experts in cinema and linked to this association such as Guillermo Altarriba, Isabel Rodríguez Alenza, Gloria Tomás or Alfonso Méndiz. All of them, each with their own nuances and approaches, have given rise to a useful and dynamic guide, highly recommended for parents and teachers, which offers valuable clues to understand and above all, use the audiovisual language as a vehicle of training for the youngest.
As its coordinator, Daniel Arasa, emphasizes for Omnes, "today more than ever we have to be trained to see and understand cinema, because its influence and power as a vehicle for transmitting values is very great".
Arasa points out that the changes that the audiovisual industry itself has undergone in recent decades have been very big: "not only have the technical aspects changed, but also the conception of the big issues".
Indeed, "we have gone from going to the movie theaters or watching a specific movie with the whole family in the living room to perhaps having each member of the family a device in which very different things are played, which are not watched together, and then, in addition, the rise of series, which in the end are 8, 20 or 200 small movies".
Daniel Arasa, coordinator of the book Film and Family. Discovering values through the films of our lives.
This conceptual change and, above all, the impact on the change of social behaviors or the normalization of different situations is one of the keys to understanding the book and one of the most important aspects to help parents and teachers to create dialogues and critical spaces with young people on key issues: family, women, sexuality, dignity or love.
Universal themes that appear, in one way or another, in each and every one of the cinematographic proposals that reach the screens.
Major topics
"All cinema -because series are cinema in another format-, talks in one way or another about the key themes of humanity: the person, love, family... although it does so in a tangential way", says Arasa, "in a war film, perhaps the main theme does not focus on a love relationship, but it talks about love, for example, about the family of the people who fight, their relationships at those moments..."
For Arasa, "the responsibility of filmmakers is something difficult to delimit. But I think every filmmaker should ask himself the question of whether what he is doing uplifts and dignifies the person or degrades him".
The book describes these major themes and their treatment in titles ranging from Sophie Scholl or Heidi to Padre no hay más que uno or Frozen, without forgetting series such as Gambito de Dama, Por trece razones or Homeland. Among these themes, the book highlights family, love, forgiveness...
"It's not a book that says which movies 'you can watch' or not," Arasa explains, "you have to know the reasons why it's not convenient to watch a movie or a series, for example, for minors, to explain the reasons. Banning for the sake of banning is not enough. That's why we also want to shed light on some topics that appear in series or movies that we may not recommend to anyone.
A useful book
The book Film and Family. Discovering values through the films of our lives is not only a way to has a symmetrical structure. As Arasa explains, "we wanted each of the people who write, who have been linked to Cinemanet for years, to contribute what they know and do it in their own style. The objective is to offer readers, especially parents and educators, an instrument that is useful to them, that is useful to them and gives them examples they can use.
The book gathers the experience of the more than three lustrums that Cinemanet has been dedicated to cinema and to the formation of families through the seventh art. Proof of this are the "Family" awards, which, each year, Cinemanet gives to a film released the previous year in Spain in which, in one way or another, the human, family, educational, social and civic values promoted by the organization are reflected. Another recognition is also awarded to the person in the cinematographic world (director, screenwriter, actor, actress, producer, distributor...) whose professional and vital trajectory reflects these values.
Film and Family. Discovering values through the films of our lives.
CoordinatorDaniel Arasa
Editorial: Sekotia
Pages: 320
Year : 2023
Subscribe to Omnes magazine and enjoy exclusive content for subscribers. You will have access to all Omnes
The truth, from the deepest charity, must also be told and exposed with pedagogy, at the right time.
August 26, 2023-Reading time: 2minutes
The emperor's new clothes by Hans Christian Andersen seems to me to be a tremendously topical tale. We see the Emperor walking in front of our eyes totally naked and no one dares to say it out loud for not looking bad. And at the expense of our stupidity and fear, some allegedly swindling tailors, who know the human heart very well, get rich and escape with our money.
Who dares to say that the purpose of human sexuality is the union of the couple and the reproduction of the species, and that its very nature is that of complementarity between man and woman? Simply quoting Scripture and saying that 'male and female he created them (cf. Gen 1:27) already seems a provocation.
Chesterton said that "the day will come when it will be necessary to draw the sword to affirm that the grass is green". I do not know whether it is necessary to draw the sword or the pen to defend the truth, but what is certain is that a tyranny of political correctness has been imposed in which for defending the obvious you are branded as radical or you are ostracized.
But it is necessary to dare to say that the king is naked. It is not enough that we do not echo this ideology and pass by, as if on tiptoe, without pronouncing ourselves in silence. There are silences that are affirmations. There are truths that, if we do not proclaim them, however obvious they may seem, are obscured.
Demetrio Fernandez, bishop of Cordoba, addressed this topic in the catechesis he gave at the World Youth Day to the young people's questions. He did not duck the tough question. And many other uncomfortable ones about abortion, the 2030 agenda and other thorny issues for which young people seek answers.
There would be many questions to ask ourselves in all fairness on this subject. The questioner Cui prodest, who benefits, which leads us to look at the alleged tailors who have sold us a suit that is false and who escape with the emperor's money. Because I have no doubt that there is a confluence of economic, ideological and power interests in us assuming this new ideological dictatorship.
We need some child with an innocent look, as in the story or as happened with the prophet Daniel when they were going to stone the chaste Susana, to make us see clearly what for fear of the powerful we did not dare to say.
We must be as innocent as doves and as cautious as serpents (cf. Mt 10:16), because those who are ready to throw stones are hiding in every corner. The truth, from the deepest charity, we must also know how to speak it and expose it with pedagogy, at the right time.
For, again to quote the wisdom of the English journalist, 'adventure may be mad, but the adventurer must be sane'.
And today there is no adventure more exciting and difficult than telling the truth.
Teaching Delegate in the Diocese of Getafe since the 2010-2011 academic year, he has previously exercised this service in the Archbishopric of Pamplona and Tudela, for seven years (2003-2009). He currently combines this work with his dedication to youth ministry directing the Public Association of the Faithful 'Milicia de Santa Maria' and the educational association 'VEN Y VERÁS. EDUCATION', of which he is President.
Subscribe to Omnes magazine and enjoy exclusive content for subscribers. You will have access to all Omnes
The Spezieria di Santa Cecilia in Trastevere and the Ceramics Room, both just outside the Sistine Chapel, are the two new rooms that can be visited in the Vatican Museums.
The first recreates the 17th century pharmacy run by Benedictine nuns for three centuries, while the second recreates the pavement designed by Raphael for some of the Vatican's rooms and other unique works such as the 34 plates from the Carpegna Collection.
Subscribe to Omnes magazine and enjoy exclusive content for subscribers. You will have access to all Omnes
"From Union Square to Rome" ("From Union Square to Rome," a new memoir by Dorothy Day will be released in the coming months. Day was a co-founder of the Catholic Worker Movement. Her cause for sainthood was officially opened in 2000.
The government of Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua has dissolved the Jesuit order. This is just one of the latest incidents signaling an escalation of violence against Christians in various countries around the world.
Tension and religious intolerance are growing in some countries. On August 16, 2023 several churches, homes and a Christian cemetery were attacked by a mob in Pakistan. On the other hand, Daniel Ortega's regime in Nicaragua dissolved the Jesuit order at the end of the month after confiscating all the assets of the university and the congregation's residence in the country. These incidents are just a sample of the threats suffered by thousands of Christians in different countries around the world.
In the case of Nicaragua, the Church has suffered persecution for years. In 2022, one of the most tense moments occurred when the government imprisoned Msgr. Rolando Alvarez. The bishop remains in prison after having refused opportunities for banishment, believing that the faithful of the country need him to remain with them. The prelate is accused of treason and the conditions in which he is living in captivity are largely unknown.
Nicaraguan Bishop Rolando Alvarez in a 2022 photo (OSV News photo /Maynor Valenzuela, Reuters).
The official communiqué of the Jesuits in Nicaragua
Following the aforementioned dissolution of the Jesuit Order, the Central American Province of the Society of Jesus published a press release condemning the aggression and pointing out that the repression they are suffering is considered a crime against humanity. On the other hand, the Jesuits point out that the actions of Ortega's government are heading towards "the full establishment of a totalitarian regime".
The communiqué calls for an end to the repression and the search for solutions that respect people's freedom. It also shows its closeness to the victims of the dictatorship and thanks "the countless signs of recognition, support and solidarity".
Persecution in Pakistan
At the same time, Pakistan is also experiencing intense religious persecution. The country's blasphemy laws are very often applied to minority religious groups.
According to the data provided by the evangelical organization "Open Doors"The level of violence experienced by Christians in Pakistan is extreme. Moreover, "they are considered second-class citizens and suffer discrimination in all aspects of life".
The attacks on Christian communities, mostly in the provinces of Punjab and Sindh, include beatings, kidnappings, torture, forced marriages and sexual violence. Despite the attacks, the victims say that there is no authority to protect their rights and that the situation of insecurity is very high.
The Archbishop of Lahore, Sebastian Shaw, visited the communities attacked on August 16. With him were several Muslim leaders who wanted to show their support and closeness to the victims. Archbishop Shaw encouraged Christians to bring comfort to one another, becoming "witnesses to the love of Jesus".
Protest in Pakistan over attacks on Christian communities (Photo OSV News /Akhtar Soomro, Reuters).
Attacks in Nigeria
Nigeria is the sixth most persecuted country in terms of religious persecution, according to data from "Open Doors". Despite the attacks, almost half of the population is Christian. Most Christians live in the south of the country, while the north is largely Muslim.
Various violent groups raid villages of Christian communities, carry out attacks and confiscate the land of the inhabitants. This has led to thousands of internally displaced people in Nigeria fleeing killings, abductions, torture and marginalization.
A church in Nigeria after being attacked by an armed group (OSV News photo / Temilade Adelaja, Reuters)
Data on the lack of religious freedom
To get an overview of the current situation, "Aid to the Church in need"published in its annual report for 2023 data on violations of religious freedom. The analysis confirms that of the 196 countries in the world, religious freedom is violated in 61. Of these, in 28 countries there is persecution, while in 33 there is discrimination.
The differences between these two types of attacks on religious freedom are also explained in the report. Among the characteristics of persecution are hate crimes and violence, or the passing of laws that directly and negatively affect religious groups. Discrimination, on the other hand, involves conduct such as limitations on freedom of expression, prohibitions on wearing certain religious symbols, or difficulties in access to employment or housing.
Among the attackers of religious freedom there are three main groups: ethno-religious nationalism, Islamist extremism and authoritarian governments. The greatest concentration of attacks in the world is in Africa, which in the annual report of "Aid to the Church in Need" is identified as "the most violent continent due to the spread of jihadism".
While praying among some olive trees by the Kidron stream, the Messiah was captured. Some Jewish leaders had decided to put an end to the one who stubbornly maintained that God had become incarnate.
Perhaps they thought that the Most High had already given them all revelation and that there was nothing more to learn. Perhaps they believed that their intellects were, if not the source, at least the limit of reality.
His problem, at bottom, was philosophical in root, very similar to something we even call "contemporary": to take for granted that only what I can understand exists. That is, to confuse the real with the rational, as Hegel did.
The panorama that Jesus God had opened to the Jews had the audacity to correct some traditional ways of understanding the divine commands. Tradition, as an effective means of relating to well-known truths, had become an end in itself.
For those people, the purpose of their lives was not to know and love God through acts of worship, but simply to repeat those acts. Their glasses had been transformed into screens.
The Jewish Process
Coming from the descent of the Kidron to their first destination, the house of the still prestigious ex-supreme priest Annas, the soldiers carrying the bound Jesus probably entered the old city through the "gate of the Essenes".
It is plausible that they passed in front of the cenacle where Christ and his disciples had celebrated the Eucharist that same night, or at least could have seen the building nearby, since both were only a few streets away. Jesus would surely have glanced toward the cenacle and related his recent sacramental "death" to his coming actual death.
As Matthew and Mark affirm, there was a discussion in the Sanhedrin that same Thursday night about the case of Jesus, but it seems that Friday morning was the decisive one, as Luke tells us.
The night from Thursday to Friday he would have spent it in a kind of dungeon in that same house of Annas, where his son-in-law, the then high priest in charge Caiaphas, the same one who had said: "It is expedient that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish" (Jn 11:50). Thus the case was already judged beforehand.
The accusations and condemnations shift from religious to political, presumably to gain Roman support for the execution, which was already expected to be noisy in the city. Jesus' initial silence is eloquent, and his torrential words - a powerful blend of fortitude and meekness - reveal all that was still in the ink.
A nepotic little chapel, jealous of its religious as well as social power, had led this deadly persecution against the son of Mary, subjecting him to a process more criminal than the wildest of accusations against him.
Unlike other members of the Jewish upper classes, such as Nicodemus or Joseph of Arimathea, these anonymous collaborators of Annas and Caiaphas made history without entering into it.
Meanwhile, it is imagined that the three apostles who had tried to pray with Jesus that night in Gethsemane (Peter, John and James the Greater) went to warn the other eight (totaling eleven, because Judas Iscariot by that time would be far from the group). Peter would tell them that the Lord did not let him stop the soldiers, but that he would still follow him, and John would be encouraged to accompany him.
The others, amidst prayers and anguish, would disperse to spend perhaps the worst night of their lives so far. Peter, however, also fell. First came the betrayal of Judas, then the abandonment of the nine, and finally the denials of the prince of the apostles. John alone resisted, held by the hands of Mary.
In the denials of the courageous Peter, faced with the possibility that they also wanted to kill him, the contours of Jesus' fortitude and his love for the will of God the Father can be better distinguished. On the one hand, there are the soldiers who fall to the ground when they hear the Lord's words; on the other, a servant girl is capable of morally subduing an impulsive fisherman with aggressive tendencies. What contrasts, what an abysmal difference between Jesus and Peter! But Peter was brave enough to the point of weeping over his mistakes.
Inside the high priest's house, on the other hand, besides Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, someone else is missing. Why was the Iscariot not there to accuse his Master, if he had already handed him over? Could it be that what he wanted to buy with the thirty pieces of silver could not wait until the following morning? Or perhaps in Gethsemane he wanted to give the impression that he was not really leading the crowd that was going to capture Jesus, but that he was only going to greet the Lord with a kiss, and now he lacked the courage to declare his opposition to Christ at the point of accusing him face to face? It is possible that he excused himself by saying that a minimum of two witnesses was necessary for a testimony to be legally valid. As if that process was a primordial legality! In any case, it was never clearer that sin weakens a person's will and divides him inwardly.
Nevertheless, that is precisely why every sinner has at least half of his heart still good, and is ready to be forgiven and converted if he repents with hope.
In the end, the members of the Sanhedrin get an open declaration from Jesus confessing to be the Messiah, the Son of God. That's enough, religiously there is nothing more to find out. Now they need the Roman crucifixion.
The Roman process
The Antonia tower was in the upper quarter and Pontius Pilate, the procurator of Judea, lived there. The business hours of the praetorium began at nine o'clock in the morning from the time Pilate had taken office, the year we now call 26 AD.
Some of the Sanhedrin would have addressed the procurator, perhaps in Latin, trying to convince him to condemn that seditious man, probably already known to Pilate. It was not convenient for him to oppose the Jewish leaders, because they had a lot of influence over the local population.
In times of "Pax romana"The maintenance of order was considered a great virtue of the ruler. So he listens to them, as he did to Jesus, and tries to create as little enmity as possible so as not to complicate his life.
Pilate does not care to know what the truth is, but only what kind of kingdom is that of the accused. Once again we see a so-called "contemporary" tendency already present twenty centuries ago: the contempt for the truth, believing that what is "for real"What matters is power, be it political, economic, religious or cultural. The range of human error is in fact very limited.
When Pilate learned that Jesus was a Galilean, he had the idea of taking the burden off his shoulders by sending him to Antipas. Attracted by the Passover, Herod Antipas was to be found in his palace in Zion, in the same upper quarter. But to him Jesus addressed no word. Herod also despised him, says the Gospel (cf. Lk 23:11), Jesus who was the truth (cf. Jn 14:6), and sent him back to Pilate. As a result, for the first time the despisers of the truth became friends. Anticipating the end of time, the lost were already gathered on the same side.
Neither the dream of his wife (cf. Mt 27:19), nor the custom of pardon, nor the preventive scourging were able to persuade the Roman procurator to be upright that time. It is necessary to clarify that the redactions of the Gospels, for diverse reasons of historical and religious conjunctural order, tend to exculpate Pilate and to blame the Jews more, so that it is convenient to ponder the question following more by the concrete actions of each person than the words or causal relations that can be being suggested.
The situation of the procurator was not easy, perhaps only with a heroic act he could get out of that predicament. Eventually he would have to face a whole revolt in his territory if he did not condemn Jesus. However, he also gave in to injustice and preferred to put an innocent man to death under torture rather than risk his political office and perhaps even his own life.
They are equal, we men are equal: pagans, Jews, Christians, old, young, contemporaries of Jesus, my contemporaries and yours.
Without God's help, we would have done the same or even worse than those of the first century. Before long, they, like some philosopher of the day before yesterday, would also say: "God is dead, and we have killed him".
The authorGustavo Milano
Subscribe to Omnes magazine and enjoy exclusive content for subscribers. You will have access to all Omnes
The slender red brick tower that emerges from the steep silhouette of the mountains surrounding the El Grado reservoir gives an accurate idea of the situation in Torreciudad. This center of Marian devotion, rooted for centuries in the area and internationalized in the last forty years, has come to the forefront of the news by the appointment of a rector by the bishop of Barbastro-Monzon.
What is Torreciudad? Why was its rector appointed, until now, not by the diocesan bishop but by the regional vicar of Opus Dei in Spain? Is this decision in accordance with the law of the Church? How is the church supported?
A bit of history
What today is identified as Torreciudad comprises, in the foreground, the church designed by the team of architects led by Heliodoro Dols. This temple was built in the first half of the 70s of the twentieth century thanks to the donations of the faithful from various places encouraged by Opus Dei.
The new temple is located a few meters from the old 11th century hermitage that guarded the image of Our Lady of the Angels, patron saint of the region.
The ancient hermitage of Torreciudad
Between 1960 and 1975, the founder of the Opus DeiIn 1962, St. Josemaría Escrivá decided to build a new shrine to promote devotion to our Lady. In 1962 he concluded an agreement with the bishopric of Barbastro which, by means of a public deed, ceded in perpetuity the useable domain of the old shrine and the custody of the image of Our Lady to Opus Dei, as long as the conditions set out in the contract were fulfilled.
The new church of Torreciudad belongs to the Fundación Canónica Santuario Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles de Torreciudad.
The image of the Virgin
The image of the Virgin passed from the old hermitage to the new building when it was finished in 1975 after a restoration and the pertinent authorization of the then bishop of the diocese. Until then, the steepness of the area did not facilitate the arrival to the place and the central moment of devotion was the months between May and October, when the santera moved to the hermitage, where she did not live habitually. The celebration of the feast of Our Lady, in August, was the key date for the life of the hermitage of the Virgen de los Ángeles de Turris Civitatis.
Since then, the devotion has gone far beyond the borders of the Aragonese region. In fact, the Annual Report of the sanctuary corresponding to 2022 points to Madrid as the main origin of the pilgrims who come to Torreciudad with 28.79%, followed by Catalonia with 26.95%, and the Valencian Community with 12.71%. Pilgrims from outside Spain accounted for 14.82% of all those who came to Torreciudad in 2022. Among them, most came from France (36.23% of the total number of foreigners), Portugal (7.39%), the United States (7.22%) and Poland (7.13%).
Torreciudad is not currently considered a diocesan shrine, but an oratory of the Prelature of Opus Dei. For this reason, from the beginning, the rector has been appointed by Opus Dei. In the note of July 17, 2023, the bishopric of Barbastro-Monzon alluded to the need to "regularize the canonical situation of the sanctuary" as the justification for the appointment of a new rector by the diocesan bishop.
The bishopric did not specify the nature of this irregularity, but Opus Dei and the bishopric had begun talks to update the legal framework and to transform Torreciudad, if necessary, into a diocesan sanctuary.
In this case, the bishop has acted by applying the norms he considers applicable, formed by canons 556 and 557 of the Code of Canon Law.
Who finances Torreciudad?
Since the useful domain of the old hermitage of Torreciudad was ceded to Opus Dei, the Prelature has been in charge of its rehabilitation, maintenance and subsequent repairs, as well as promoting worship and guaranteeing access to pilgrims. It has also financed the construction of the new temple, which is sober in style and rooted in the local architectural tradition. To this must be added the modernization of the evangelization spaces that have been carried out in Torreciudad in recent years, which have given rise to modern museum and catechetical spaces.
The economic support of the Torreciudad complex corresponds to the civil association Patronato de Torreciudad, a non-profit entity declared of public utility that includes among its purposes the support of the Torreciudad sanctuary and the promotion of pilgrimages. It is currently chaired by a woman, Mª Victoria Zorzano. This Patronage gathers the donations and contributions necessary to cover the expenses of Torreciudad, which are added to the other sources of income. The diocese does not make any contribution. Since 1962, Torreciudad has paid an amount to the diocese in recognition of the bare property, which continues to belong to the diocese. The amount agreed at the time is currently equivalent to 19 euros per year.
What are the next steps?
Broadly speaking, the recent history of Torreciudad is characterized by the internationalization of Marian devotion and, above all, by its consolidation as a place of prayer for the family and for families.
In this context, the Marian Family Days, which take place every year, are a large number of celebrations that have been presided over, on many occasions, by bishops from numerous Spanish dioceses and in which the sanctity and future of the family have been placed in the hands of the Blessed Mother in a very special way.
The next one, on September 16, will be presided over by the bishop of the diocese of Barbastro-Monzon, Bishop Angel Perez Pueyo. By that date, it should have been clarified whether the legitimate rector is, according to the bishop's decision and since September 1, José Mairal, parish priest of Bolturina-Ubiergo, or the current rector. Ángel LasherasThe latter has appealed the last appointment to the competent Vatican dicastery.
The feeling is that a long judicial process could now begin to determine the validity of the arguments put forward by both parties, but also a period in which both could learn more about each other's reasons and reach an agreement that takes them into account.
The keys to the kingdom of heaven. XXI Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)
Joseph Evans comments on the readings for the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time and Luis Herrera offers a short video homily.
Joseph Evans-August 24, 2023-Reading time: 2minutes
The Davidic monarchy-that is, the kings of David's lineage-organized their household in a specific way, and this included a chief minister who was the king's second-in-command. On behalf of the king was "father of the inhabitants of Jerusalem and of the house of Judah.". As a sign of this authority he received a key or keys, as the chief butler in a rich man's house might possess all the keys necessary to open every door in the house. In fact, the first reading continues: "It will open and no one will close; it will close and no one will open."
The image, deliberately chosen by Jesus, helps us to understand today's Gospel, in which Our Lord delivers to Peter "...".the keys to the kingdom of heaven". Jesus is making Peter, and the Popes after him, his chief minister on earth, father of the new people he is forming. And to make this even clearer, Our Lord continues: "Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." In the same way that only the chief minister could open or close some doors, the pope receives an authority that belongs to him alone. What the pope "binds", what he defines with authority or legislates in a permanent way for all to follow or believe, is ratified in heaven, but only because heaven has inspired this in him: "For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven." As the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches, the pope exercises this infallibility when "proclaims by a definitive act the doctrine in matters of faith and morals." (no. 891), that is, it is a teaching destined to last, to be sustained forever, not just a matter of an epoch. The Pope is not infallible every time he opens his mouth. In fact, he exercises his infallibility very rarely, although in practice, even in his ordinary, everyday utterances, we can assume that he has much more guidance from the Holy Spirit than we do.
God does not have a human advisor, not even an angelic one, as the second reading points out: "...God has no human advisor, not even an angelic one, as the second reading points out:"What an abyss of riches, of wisdom and knowledge that of God! How unfathomable his decisions and how untraceable his ways! Indeed, who knew the mind of the Lord? Or who was his counselor?" But even if we cannot "decipher" God's ways, He can reveal them. And He does so for our salvation. And having revealed His salvific truths to us, it makes sense that He has found a way for those truths to be transmitted over time without error. The Catholic affirmation of papal infallibility is not arrogance on the part of the Church. It is rather a recognition that, precisely because of human weakness (often seen in the Popes), God has intervened to ensure that this weakness does not damage or limit its truth. Papal infallibility simply shows us that the power of God is greater than human weakness.
Homily on the readings of the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)
The priest Luis Herrera Campo offers its nanomiliaA short one-minute reflection for these Sunday readings.
Christ at the center of the educational process in Catholic schools
August marks the beginning of the academic year in the United States. Both public and private schools return to the classroom and Catholic schools are no exception.
August marks the beginning of the academic year in the United States. Public and private elementary, middle and high schools return to the classroom, beginning a new school year. Catholic schools are no exception. There are 5,920 elementary and high schools in the country with 1,700,000 students. Likewise, there are more than 200 Catholic universities attended by approximately 700,000 students. The oldest is Georgetown University in Washington D.C., founded by the Jesuits in 1789.
In the country, many elementary and middle schools are "parochial schools" that were born as an integral part of the parish community and are part of the parish; others are administered by religious congregations dedicated to education. These institutions stand out for the Christian faith and principles they transmit to their students: Christian morals, respect, service and self-discipline. These are not irrelevant issues, especially in the environment of public schools, places where ideas contrary to faith such as gender ideology or abortion are instilled in students. Another element for which Catholic institutions stand out is academic excellence and innovation.
In recent years, some Catholic institutions have initiated programs to be at the forefront of science and the humanities so that students can get an early introduction to science and the humanities. university or at least arrive with a solid foundation. According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), in 2021, Catholic elementary school students performed better in reading and math compared to public schools. Likewise, the high school graduation rate is 99%. 85% of graduates attend college. Catholic educational institutions incorporate faith, culture and life into their curricula. It is a scheme in which students, parents, teachers and administrators are involved and participate in the process. The faculty carries out their profession as a service to God, the church and their community.
Catholic schools in Los Angeles
One of the places where thousands of students returned to the classroom was in the Catholic schools of Los Angeles. On August 14, 68,000 students began classes in the Archdiocese's 250 elementary and secondary schools. This school year brings good news: enrollment has increased and innovative teaching programs continue. Paul Escala, Principal and Superintendent of these institutions said: "We are excited because after the end of the pandemic, enrollment has increased in the last two years. This increase is the largest in 30 years". Likewise, three very innovative programs continue with good results: the "STEM Network", that is, schools with programs oriented to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM); the bilingual immersion program with a dual education system, English-Spanish and Mandarin English; and also micro-school programs, which as their name indicates, are institutions with a community of less than 100 people.
Paul Escala also expressed his gratitude to the philanthropic community that financially supports the schools and makes it possible for thousands of students to attend Catholic institutions. Unlike other educational systems in the world, Catholic elementary and secondary schools in the United States do not receive direct public funding from the federal government. They are financially autonomous; however, there are some states that have financial aid programs whose operation and eligibility vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. These include tuition vouchers, in which families with children in Catholic schools receive financial aid, and tax credits, in which the state provides tax incentives to taxpayers and educational institutions to provide scholarships to students who need them. Not all states have these incentives for Catholic education, as is the case of California.
To learn more about Catholic schools, Omnes interviewed Erick Ruvalcaba, head of Catholic mission and identity for the Catholic schools of the Catholic schools in Los Angeles.
Do Catholic schools in California receive any state or federal support, e.g., voucher or tax credit programs?
- No. Even though public schools are supported by the taxes we all pay, we don't have that benefit here. I am a parent and I have children in Catholic schools. I pay taxes to subsidize public educational institutions. However, I have to make a sacrifice to pay my children's tuition. But it is worth it because in public schools my children will not receive what we give them here: Christian values and principles based on faith.
What are the advantages of a Catholic school versus a public school?
- Christ is the center of the educational experience in our schools. We form leaders with Christian values. Our teachers transmit this Catholic identity to their students. God is at the center of everything we do. Faith is integrated into our daily activities, for example, in the Masses throughout the year, the prayer we initiate before any event, academic or athletic. We believe that schools are an instrument of evangelization for the church. The sacraments give foundation to our work and students have access to them. Parents enroll their children for the spiritual values we offer, but also for the excellent academic preparation. Public schools do not practice Christian faith and values.
In Los Angeles and other dioceses there are schools that focus their teaching around "STEM" subjects. What do these programs consist of?
- We have seven schools that are part of the STEM Network. These schools provide a holistic education that integrates mathematics, science and technology applied to the problems of daily life into the learning system. We also have ten schools that belong to the Dual Language Immersion Program. There is Mandarin (Chinese) and Spanish. In these programs, children are educated to read, write and master academic content in two languages, in addition to fostering a strong moral character based on the traditions of the Church. And finally we have 3 schools in the "Micro Schools Network". These are institutions with a small community of up to 90 students focused on learning on a personal level.
We know that there is a Catholic Education Foundation, which in the 2021-2022 cycle granted 13 million dollars to benefit more than 10,000 students. How can families benefit from a scholarship?
- One out of every six children in our schools has scholarships. Likewise, families can apply for the scholarship at the school where they wish to enroll their children and depending on their financial situation they will receive support. Each school has its own financial aid program. Parents can contact school administrators to find out specifically what support is available. But money should not be a problem to enroll children in Catholic school.
In January 2023, on the occasion of Catholic Schools Week, which is celebrated every year in the United States, Bishop Robert Barron noted, "We live in a society where a materialistic and secular philosophy reigns." "That is why I am convinced that especially now it is necessary to inculcate the Catholic ethos. The Catholic schools I attended (from elementary to college) gave me the opportunity to attend Mass, sacraments, religion classes, all enriched by the presence of priests and nuns. But perhaps the most important thing was the way in which those schools integrated faith and reason into the educational process."
Lay, celibate, of Opus Dei: "What makes you most happy is that the whole Church is salt and light for society".
In this interview, Pablo Álvarez, from Asturias, explains his vocation to Opus Dei and his contribution to the evangelizing mission through his daily life in his work and with the members of the parish to which he belongs.
Involved in his profession, he is a member of the board of directors of the Oviedo Press Association and of the Asturias College of Journalists. Pablo is an attaché of the Opus DeiHe maintains a close relationship with his parish priests and the members of his parish community.
Although he is used to being the one who "asks the questions" because of his professional work, he explains for Omnes what his vocation entails and influences his daily life.
-Being a member of Opus Dei means that God has called you and has placed you in a small plot of his vineyard for you to cultivate. The fruits, if there are any, are given by God himself if you don't get in the way too much. You are happy that your plot is productive, but what pleases you most is that the whole vineyard, the whole Church, is salt and light for society. You enjoy the high production of the other plots. In the Church, those who are focused on their particularism have not heard anything.
How do you participate in the evangelizing mission of the Church?
-In this small part of Opus Dei, the search for holiness is cultivated and disseminated in daily occupations. The Opus Dei It helps me to treat Jesus Christ as intensely as possible in the midst of a very competitive and fast-paced profession in search of news, interviews, reports... It helps me to develop my work as a journalist by avoiding sloppiness, being very respectful of people and seeking to tell truths that help citizens to situate themselves in the world. It encourages me to strive to make life more pleasant for those around me.
All this is beyond me on all sides. That is why in Opus Dei they help me not to get discouraged and to get up every time I fall, which usually happens several times a day.
How does Opus Dei influence your life?
-In many ways, but I will highlight one: in Opus Dei they tell me to my face what I am doing wrong, in an effort to make me improve. Whether I succeed is another matter, but the loyalty of others gives you a lot of peace and freedom: if you do something wrong, they will tell you and even pray for you to change. Christian life is great: it is a radical antidote to narcissism, it is a continuous putting you in your place.
When you belong to Opus Dei, there are people who think you are better than you really are. Many tell you: "Pray for me (or for my son, or my husband...), that you are closer to God. But you know what is there, and with a certain frequency someone will remind you of it.
For you, what embodies the figure of the Father in Opus Dei?
-The Father is the one who serves all. The one who clears the way. The one who has not a minute to devote to his hobbies. The one who has no right to put his tastes or his ideas first. I have never commanded anything in Opus Dei, but I do know that commanding in the Work is a chore because it forces you to listen to even the most stupid people as if what they say were interesting; to always put yourself in the place of others....
I myself have given "badges" to those in charge that I find inconceivable today. Father does all this 24 hours a day. And you pray for him to be very faithful to God and very loyal to the Church. So far, we have been very lucky with the four fathers God has given us: very intelligent, very holy, very humble people.
How do you collaborate with the parish and the bishop of the area?
-I get along very well with my archbishop, Jesús Sanz Montes, even though I have asked him rather uncomfortable questions in some interviews I have done with him. He has always rigorously respected my work and I am not aware of any threats of excommunication (laughs).
Don Jesús appreciates Opus Dei, and has said so publicly on many occasions. With my parish priests, the most plastic thing I can say is that they come to eat at my house quite often, even on Christmas Eve, and that we share illusions and concerns.
I really enjoy getting to know the people in my parish and, to tell the truth, I have no trouble understanding anyone. I think this open-mindedness is the fruit of the formation I received in the Work.
Pope praises Our Lady of Guadalupe, "model of evangelization".
In resuming his catechesis on the passion to evangelize, Pope Francis, during today's General Audience, presented Our Lady of Guadalupe as an "exceptional model" of evangelization, with the particularity that she announced Jesus by following "the path of inculturation" and appeared to St. Juan Diego, "an Indian of the people".
Francisco Otamendi-August 23, 2023-Reading time: 3minutes
"On our journey to rediscover our passion for proclaiming the Gospel, we look today to the Americas. Here evangelization has an ever-living source: Guadalupe"The Holy Father began his catechesis on the passion to evangelize, resumed after the break due to the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
"Certainly, the Gospel had already arrived there before those apparitions", continued the Papabut "unfortunately it had been accompanied by worldly interests, instead of the path of inculturation, disrespecting the indigenous peoples".
In Mexico -as in Lourdes and Fatima- "In Mexico -as in Lourdes and Fatima- "In Mexico -as in Lourdes and Fatima- Mary appeared to a humble and simple person, to an Indian whose name was Juan DiegoIn this way, she made her message reach all the faithful People of God. She proclaims Jesus in the way of inculturation, that is, by means of the language and culture of the indigenous people, and with her maternal closeness she manifests to all her children the love and consolation of her Immaculate Heart", the Roman Pontiff emphasized in the Audience of today.
In this regard, the Pope emphasized that "Our Lady of Guadalupe appears dressed in the clothing of the natives, speaks their language, welcomes and loves the local culture: she is Mother and under her mantle all children find a place".
As for St. Juan Diego, Francis emphasized that "he was a humble person, an Indian of the people: on him rested the gaze of God, who loves to work miracles through the little ones. Juan Diego had already come to faith as an adult and married. In December 1531 he was about 55 years old. While he was on his way, he saw the Mother of God on a hill, who tenderly called him 'my beloved little son Juanito'. He then sent him to the bishop to ask him to build a temple in the place where she had appeared. Juan Diego comes with the generosity of his pure heart, but he has to wait a long time".
"Mothers and grandmothers, the first announcers".
Francis made an aside at this point to remind grandmothers and mothers of the transmission of the faith. "In Mary, God became flesh and, through Mary, continues to become incarnate in the life of peoples. Our Lady proclaims God in the most appropriate language, the mother tongue. Yes, the Gospel is transmitted in the mother tongue. And I want to thank so many mothers and grandmothers who pass on the faith to their children and grandchildren, so that mothers and grandmothers are the first heralds of the Gospel, for their children and grandchildren," the Pope said.
The Holy Father continued: "And she communicates, as Mary shows, in simplicity: Our Lady always chooses the simple, on the hill of Tepeyac in Mexico, as in Lourdes and Fatima: speaking to them, she speaks to each one, in a language suitable for all, understandable, like that of Jesus".
"Suffer wrongs with patience."
The Pope then focused on the difficulties encountered by the Indian St. Juan Diego, "who did not find it easy to be the Virgin's messenger; he had to face misunderstandings, difficulties and unforeseen events. This teaches us that to proclaim the Gospel it is not enough to bear witness to the good, but sometimes also to know how to suffer evils, with patience and constancy, without fear of conflicts," Francis stressed in the catechesis. "In those difficult moments, let us invoke Mary, our Mother, who always helps us, encourages us and guides us towards God."
The Pope recalled that the bishop did not believe in the apparition, and that Our Lady consoled him and asked him to try again. "In spite of zeal, the unexpected comes, sometimes from the Church herself. In announcing, in fact, it is not enough to bear witness to the good, it is necessary to know how to bear evil," the Pope said. "Even today, in so many places, inculturating the Gospel and evangelizing cultures requires perseverance and patience, we must not fear conflict, we must not be discouraged."
"Marian Shrines: Our Lady listens to us".
"Here is God's surprise: when there is will and obedience, He is able to accomplish something.
unexpected, in times and ways that we cannot foresee. And this is how the sanctuary asked by Our Lady", the Pope pointed out.
The Holy Father Francis concluded with a reference to Marian shrines. "Juan Diego leaves everything and, with the permission of the bishop, dedicates his life to the shrine. He welcomes pilgrims and evangelizes them. This is what happens in Marian shrines, the destination of pilgrimages and places of proclamation, where everyone feels at home and experiences a homesickness, a longing for Heaven. There, faith is welcomed in a simple and genuine, popular way, and the Virgin, as she said to Juan Diego, hears our cries and heals our pains".
"We need to go to these oases of consolation and mercy," the Pope encouraged, "where faith is expressed in the mother tongue, where the mother tongue is spoken, where the fatigues of life are placed in the arms of the Virgin and one returns to life with peace in one's heart."
Cologne: a cathedral as a symbol of centuries of faith
Built over more than six centuries according to the original 13th century plans, the cathedral is not only one of the most famous in the world, but also houses numerous artistic treasures.
Cologne Cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996, is one of the best-known cathedrals in the world, not least because of its unmistakable silhouette. It is also the most visited monument - by far - in Germany: the number of visitors amounted, in 2022, to 4.3 million, while the new Philharmonie in Hamburg and the Museum Island in Berlin, which rank second and third in this ranking, received 2.8 and 2.2 million visits, respectively.
However, the present Gothic cathedral was not the first cathedral in Cologne. When construction began in 1248, Christianity already had a history of at least ten centuries in this city on the Rhine. As its name indicates, Cologne was founded as a Roman colony (Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium, CCAA), on the land occupied at the beginning of our era by the legions I Germanica and XX Valeria Victrix. It was Claudius - emperor between 41 and 54 A.D. - who granted it the status of colonywith more imperial rights than the previous one oppidum. Claudius was married to the Agrippina who gave Cologne its name and who was the daughter of the general Germanicus.
Although there are hardly any sources on the spread of Christianity along the Rhine, it is assumed that it spread slowly, also in Cologne. In any case, the first known bishop is St. Maternus, who is named as such both in the synod of Rome in 313 and in the synod of Arles in 314. After the fall of the Roman Empire and the rise of new kingdoms, the first documented bishop of the Frankish period is Evergislus (Eberigisil) in the 6th century. Bishop Hildebold received the title of archbishop from Charlemagne in 794-795. Since then, Cologne has been an archbishopric.
Although there are remains of earlier buildings, such as a late Roman baptistery and a Merovingian church from the 6th century, Cologne's first cathedral - the Carolingian cathedral - dates from the 9th century. Although it is often referred to as "Hildebold Cathedral", construction probably did not begin until after Hildebold's death in 818. It was consecrated in 870.
The Three Wise Men and Cologne Cathedral
On the site of this Carolingian cathedral, which Archbishop Konrad von Hochstaden had demolished in April 1248, construction of the present cathedral began; the bishop laid the foundation stone on August 15, 1248. The construction of a new, much larger and richer cathedral is closely connected with the Magi, whose relic Archbishop Rainald von Dassel brought from Milan to Cologne in 1164. Considered to be one of the most important relics of Christianity, a luxurious reliquary, made by the goldsmith Nicholas of Verdun between 1190 and 1225, is not only created to house them, and is considered to be the largest and most artistically accomplished preserved from the Middle Ages. In addition, this new cathedral is conceived as a kind of "reliquary" or "reliquary in stone". The cathedral chapter decided that it should be built in the Gothic style of the French cathedrals and that it should surpass in height the twelve Romanesque basilicas that already existed in the city.
– Supernatural translatio The Three Wise Men is a response to Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa's idea of "sacralizing" the empire, independently of and on the same level as the sancta ecclesia. To do this, he carried out three acts: first, in 1157 he added to imperium the predicate sacrumSince then, the expression "Holy Roman-Germanic Empire" spreads. Secondly, the "wise men from the East" (Mt 2:1) became the "three Magi", following the Old Testament tradition of, for example, Psalm 72 (71): "Let the kings of Sheba and Arabia offer him their gifts; let all the kings prostrate themselves before him". Thirdly, Frederick I ordered the canonization of Charlemagne: since Archbishop Rainald von Dassel of Cologne canonized him in Aachen in 1165, the emperor could count among his rowsnot only with the kings magicians, but also with a king saint.
The Mailaender Madonna of the Cologne Cathedral
It took more than six centuries to complete its construction: although construction began between 1248 and 1528, following the plans of the master builder Gerhard, work was interrupted for almost 300 years: it was not until 1823 that it was decided to complete the construction, following the original plans: on September 4, 1842, the King of Prussia Frederick William IV - after the Napoleonic wars, the Rhineland became a Prussian province - and Archbishop Johannes von Geissel lay the first stone for the construction of the western facade with the characteristic towers, 157 meters high; the completion is officially celebrated on October 15, 1880, although the mosaic of the choir would not be finished until 1899.
Relics and images of great devotion and artistic value
In addition to the relic of the Magi, Cologne Cathedral houses a number of masterpieces such as the Gero Cross ("Gerokreuz"), so called because it was commissioned by Archbishop Gero (bishop between 969 and 976). It is one of the oldest large crucifixes (2.88 meters) that have been preserved north of the Alps: made of oak wood towards the end of the 10th century, iconographically it is considered a turning point in the representation of the Savior; until then, depicted victorious in an upright position, he now appears suffering and human. Possibly it is due to new trends in theology, which at the end of the tenth century placed the redemptive death of Christ at the center of the doctrine. The Gero Cross served as a model for numerous medieval representations.
The third object of veneration, after the Magi and the Gero Cross, is the "Madonna of Milan" ("Mailänder Madonna") in the Cathedral. Sculpted around 1290 in polychrome wood, it is currently the oldest image of the Madonna in the Cathedral. Its name is due to the fact that it replaced a statue that Rainald von Dassel brought from Milan together with the Magi and that was destroyed in the fire of the previous cathedral. Of Gothic style, it is closely related to the figures of the choir pillar, a highlight of the Mannerist style of the full Gothic.
The Virgin of the votive offerings. Cologne Cathedral
In the chapel of daily celebration during the summer months - in winter, daily masses are celebrated in the chapel of the Most Holy - stands another of the cathedral's jewels: the altarpiece "of the Patrons of the City", considered to be Stefan Lochner's most important work and one of the most outstanding works of medieval painting in Cologne. The triptych, commissioned by the city council in 1426, has been in the cathedral since 1809. Merging Italian coloring with Flemish realism, Stefan Lochner depicted on the central panel the Magi adoring the Christ Child on the lap of his enthroned mother. In the wings are depicted the patron saints of Cologne: on the left, St. Ursula with her "eleven thousand virgins"; on the right, St. Gereon with soldiers of the Theban Legion. On the outside, when the altar is closed, the Annunciation of Mary can be seen.
One of the images that enjoy the greatest devotion is the "Schmuckmadonna" ("Virgin of the votive offerings"), as attested by the large number of candles that can always be found burning in front of it. The image is adorned with numerous pieces of jewelry from the 19th and 20th centuries as votive offerings in thanksgiving for favors received. The veneration of the image dates back to the end of the 17th century.
Croziers on display in Cologne Cathedral
Next to this image hang the "annual croziers": in gold-covered wood, they are placed above the entrance to the Treasure Chamber and indicate how many years the current archbishop has been in office. Year after year, another crozier is added on the anniversary of the archbishop's inauguration. Thus the inscription reads: "Quot pendere vides baculos, tot episcopus annos huic Aggripinae praefuit" ("As many croziers as you see hanging, so many years the bishop of Cologne resides"). The origin of this custom is unknown, but it appears in the travel report of Arnoldus Buchelius, from Utrecht, in 1587.
Buried personalities
In Cologne Cathedral are buried, besides some personalities such as Richeza, Queen of Poland (995-1063), the bishops of the diocese: from the aforementioned Gero († 976) and Rainald von Dassel († 1167) to the last ones, Cardinals Josef Frings († 1978), Joseph Höffner († 1987) and Joachim Meisner († 2017), the latter in the crypt built between 1958 and 1969.
Subscribe to Omnes magazine and enjoy exclusive content for subscribers. You will have access to all Omnes
Father Dustin Feddon is the founder of "Joseph House", a house in Florida where he welcomes men who have been released from prison and want to rebuild their lives. Inspired by the example of Joseph, son of Jacob, this community wants to be a witness that all people have the potential to be good and to do good.
In Florida there is a house in which live men with diverse occupations and pasts who, however, share one characteristic: they have all been in prison. "Joseph House" is a home for ex-convicts who wish to rebuild their lives, having found hope in the Gospel.
The idea was born in the heart of the priest Dustin Feddon when he was still a seminarian. During his pastoral year, he felt that God was calling him "to serve those who are incarcerated or have been in prison". As a result, for years he has lived in the house with men who have been released from prison and spends much of his time accompanying those who are incarcerated, on death row or in solitary confinement.
Joseph House founder Dustin Feddon.
In this interview with Omnes, Feddon talks about his ministry, explains his vision for the U.S. prison system and the great reality of God's mercy in people's lives.
When did you realize you wanted to be a priest working in prisons?
– I was a seminarian and in my diocese we have a “pastoral year”, that is like a year of apprenticeship. During my internship I was assigned to a parish not far from where I am now. At that time I was already thinking that I wanted to do a ministry outside of the walls of the parish and the priest that I met during my internship suggested prisons and put me into contact with a gentleman that was the chaplain of death row and solitary confinement at that time.
I was still a seminarian but in my first couple of visits I felt strongly that within me there was something that was clarifying for my own vocation. Mother Teresa and others call it “the vocation within the vocation”, so I felt as though there was something happening inside of me that was leading me to dedicating my life to serving those that are incarcerated or formerly incarcerated.
How did Joseph House come to be and why did you decide to name it after Joseph?
– For me it started by going into Florida’s prisons in 2014. I started going to solitary confinement camps, going onto death row and other parts of the prisons. Getting to know the men that I would visit with, early on I had a few guys that would drop the name Joseph from the Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament, the son of Jacob, as being a story that inspired them because Joseph also was a estranged from his family, he was enslaved, incarcerated, he was put into confinement… And yet, he was a relentless dreamer. For the men that I would speak with about Joseph, I think it was in particular that they too felt themselves to be dreamers. And their dream kind of allowed them to be resilient in their present conditions, being imprisoned in Florida.
The capacity to dream meant that they had hope in their future, that one day they would be restored to their families and to society, and that they would be able to contribute something. Between 2013 and 2017, was when I started thinking about a place and community where men could come and live after their period of incarceration.
How do you help these men find hope through your ministry?
– There’s certainly a lot of sadness and despair in these prison cells and dorms that I go to visit. And yet I’m mystified and surprised with the hope that many of these men already have. They believe that, if given the opportunities, they can still live a good life and they can still fulfill their dreams. So, oftentimes, I just kind of wait until I listen to those faint echoes of hope inside of these men that I'm visiting. And then, I respond to that and I encourage it. I try to dream with them about their own hopes and desires. I certainly attribute that to God.
When you firmly believe that God is present in every situation and in every person, you never feel like there’s an utterly hopeless situation or person.
How do you talk about justice and hope to those waiting in the death row or solitary confinement?
– I’ve been with men that were awaiting execution and I’ve accompanied men to their execution, and at that point we talk about how the state of Florida, the warden, the governor, etc, ultimately don’t have power over their soul. Especially if the person is a believer, they know that God is infinitely merciful and is love itself, He’s their only judge, the ultimate judge, so they can discover liberation and hope in Him.
I’ve seen that for some men, this conjures a real sense and reality of hope. Though they are to be executed, they can still have a real hope that their life can be a witness to others and that ultimately God is their sustainer.
Has your ministry given you a different perspective on the sacrament of reconciliation, God's mercy, freedom and forgiveness?
– Yes. I think so much of my own understanding of Theology and my reading of Scripture, and the sacraments, has developed in new ways through my experience in the prisons, the faces of the men that I’ve served and that I’ve accompanied.
The sacrament of reconciliation is something, in a very particular way, that I’ve come to discover talking with men who committed murder, for example, is that in seeing their own transformation and their own ability to come into contact with that indestructible goodness that is inside of each one of us, and living their lives entirely in a state of mercy.
Most people won’t know what’s the worst thing that I’ve ever done, whereas for all of these men, it’s been published by most newspapers, it’s been broadcasted on the news, it's there on the Internet. The worst thing they've done is oftentimes what people actually first identify them with. And yet these men can live in a state of mercy, in a place of freedom.
I don’t mean to sound cheeky about this but there’s nothing that anyone in my parish, for the most part, is going to tell me, that is going to in any way probably outdo what I’ve heard in the prisons. And yet these men in prison have come to a place of freedom, of mercy, and I have a real sense of going into the sacrament of reconciliation that God’s mercy does triumph.
How do the activities of "Joseph House" allow these aspects of freedom and mercy to be fulfilled in the lives of prisoners?
– Well, the “house” part is important. It’s “Joseph House”, not “Joseph Community”, “Joseph programme” or “Joseph Institution”... It’s a home. “Joseph House” is like any typical middle class home where there are kids in high school or college. And I say that not to be condescending to the men that are here, that are adult men, but I mean it in terms of everyone’s going about doing their own thing. Here each guy is working, or going to school, or working on things here at the house, and we live our life together.
That’s why the word accompaniment is so important to me, because Joseph House is not about putting on them programmes and rigorous rules or whatever, it’s more about how do we live life together so that we can walk side by side with each other on this shared journey.
It must be hard for some of these men to leave prison behind, with all its loneliness, and enter a new chapter living with more people, right?
– That’s true. Different men respond in different ways. Some immediately acclimate and from the moment they get here they feel the confort, the warmth and the solidarity in the house. Other men, because of pretty serious traumas, take considerably more time and often we put a lot of high premium on therapy. Our guys have the opportunity to see therapists who will help them. We try to work in such a way that we are a therapeutic environment. We try not to force our men into socializing if they don’t want to.
Do you believe that there are aspects that should be treated mainly through psychological rather than spiritual channels?
– I believe that grace builds on nature. As someone who is a believer, a disciple of Christ committed to the Church, my ultimate hope is that each of the men that I accompany, visit or live with, that they come to discover God and His love in their lives. And I know also, because so many are wounded and have their own histories of trauma and tragedies, that it takes time for their minds, psychology and emotions to heal in a way that prepares them for the possibility of believing in a God that is all good, not a God that is a tyrant that just wants to punish. That takes time and sometimes requires the healing of the mind.
Volunteers and people working at "Joseph House" need to be prepared, how do you help them to deal with the different situations they may encounter?
– Knowing that our residents come to us from trauma-induced environments that foster exclusion, a sense of not belonging, violence, impoverishment, abuse, we at Joseph House seek to mitigate these effects by creating a therapeutic community that reinforces their dignity. Volunteers play a significant role in this community. Initially we relied heavily on volunteers because we had no staff. But now that we have staff, including a wonderful social worker, we are now able to train our volunteers to contribute to our community in ways that benefit our residents. As you might imagine it can be overwhelming for men who have been isolated from society to meet new people of all walks of life.
A therapeutic community prioritizes the dignity of each person and functions in a way to make it easier for each resident to become more fully themselves in relation to the greater community. We as a community fulfill this aim by modeling communication styles in daily life together that cultivates a desire to make our needs known and to understand each other more. Over time and with increased encounters, we model conflict resolution and our volunteers help us with this. As a house, we emphasize the value of daily living that opens new pathways for change. It is our mission to create a culture of hospitality and mutual living in community to model a safe and healing environment and trained volunteers are essential in this process.
What are your hopes and dreams for "Joseph House"?
– With Joseph House, my personal dream is that the men that we have served, that some of them, go on now to be the next generation of Joseph House. That they themselves become leaders in our community and that they are the ones that are really going to carry the legacy of Joseph House as a place where dignity is restored, where we come to find that we are all sisters and brothers, and for them to lead us forward. They are the ones that know most about the realities of where they come from, but also of what they’ve been able to do on the outside. My dream is that they’ll be our shepherds and prophets in the future.
And, of course, I would love more houses. Because I know there are many men and women who need this.
What do you think is missing right now in the U.S. prison system to treat people more humanely?
– There’s a lot missing. There’s the absence of anything that we could consider humane healthcare or education. But I think that the thing that is missing is the belief and the hope in restoration, the conviction that all people can be restored and redeemed. We need to know that the sum of us is not the worst part or our worst actions. I’d say that what’s missing is the conviction that justice can, and perhaps even ought, to be restorative.
In Florida, the criminal justice system equates justice with punishment or retribution. And so there’s a failure of vision beyond retribution and thinking about justice as something that can also contribute to restoration.
What do you expect from the U.S. prison system so that God can also be present in prison?
– The system is a sort of monster, an unruly institution. It’s hard to know where to begin. But I guess my hope would be that communities like Joseph House and other organizations that do the work of restorative justice, can be models of what it means when we see the potential in each person to become good and to do good.
And what I think that that means is that the justice system needs to start seeing the people that are oftentimes caught up in the system when they were kids, because they didn’t want to grow up to be criminals, something happened along the way. We have a mental health crisis also, and each person needs healing in a way. No person should be told that they are less than human or incapable of being redeemed.
This month, we recommend two completely different movies. The latest installment of the Mission: Impossible saga and the biopic about the creator of one of the most popular digital games of all time.
Mission:Impossible. Deadly Sentence. Part 1
With a title that sounds like a parody, comes yet another proposal (the seventh) of Mission Impossible, one of those movies that one can go to see to eat popcorn without getting a disappointment and being sold a pig in a poke.
Mission:Impossible. Deadly Sentence. Part 1
Diector: Christopher McQuarrie
Script: Christopher McQuarrie, Erik Jendresen
Actor: Tom Cruise
Broadcast: Cinemas
By now, we're confident that Tom knows what he's doing. Ethan Hunt and his team must find a terrifying new weapon (that threatens all of humanity!) before it falls into the wrong hands (villains with Eastern European accents, former office mates, global elitist cults...).
With a blablabla of catastrophic misfortunes threatening everything (control of the future, the fate of the world, the mass sterilization of bees that could unleash a armageddon), a fast-paced death race begins.
In this one, Ethan will have to choose between what he has always had to choose throughout the MI saga: either the mission, or the lives of his friends. Will he manage to outwit fate again this time? Will someone die at last who is not the one we expect?
Actually, we're going to have just as much fun.
Tetris
Henk Rogers is a video game developer who falls in love with a primitive and addictive version of Tetris. This passion and his desire to succeed and bring it to the masses, will lead him to mortgage everything and risk a little more to get in touch with the creator of the game, Alexey Pajitnov, travel to the USSR and get Tetris out of the Iron Curtain.
Tetris
DirectorJon S. Baird Writer
WriterNoah Pink
Actors: Taron Egerton, Nikita Efremov, Mara Huf, Miles Barrow
Production: Apple
Communism, KGB, history of video games... we are faced with a good and refreshing combination of factors that Apple brings to the fore in a careful and pampered way.
A good proposal for all audiences.
The authorPatricio Sánchez-Jáuregui
Subscribe to Omnes magazine and enjoy exclusive content for subscribers. You will have access to all Omnes
When the country is more topical than ever for its convulsive and violent electoral process and for making history with a referendum to stop oil exploitation in the Yasuní National Park, we interviewed Monsignor Adalberto Jiménez, Bishop Apostolic Vicar of Aguarico (Orellana, Amazonas) and president of REPAM (Pan-Amazonian Ecclesial Network) in Ecuador.
Marta Isabel González Álvarez-August 22, 2023-Reading time: 13minutes
His name is José Adalberto Jiménez Mendoza O.F.M. and he is celebrating his 54th birthday (23/6/1969, San Plácido, Portoviejo, Manabí) just on the days when we meet him in person in the middle of the Ecuadorian Amazon. Specifically, we met him at the headquarters of the Apostolic Vicariate of Aguarico, located in the town of Puerto Francisco de Orellana also known as "El Coca" (Orellana, Oriente Region).
Although her academic training is in Philosophy and Theology, she has also done higher studies in Spain, in Madrid, the Master in Family and Couple Therapy for Health Professionals at the Complutense University and Specialist in Humanistic Therapy, focused on the Person by the Laureano Cuesta Institute; and in Salamanca studies on Vocational Discernment and Spiritual Accompaniment and says she is very grateful for all this training because it has given her a professional depth from spirituality to her natural vocation of listening to people.
Since 2017 he has been the Vicar Apostolic Bishop of Aguarico, canton where the Cuyabeno Natural Reserve and Yasuní National Park are located. He belongs to the Franciscan family through the Congregation of Capuchin Fathers and this year 2023 he has been appointed president for Ecuador of REPAM (Pan-Amazonian Ecclesial Network). The Amazon has moved him and transformed him interiorly.
He defines himself as a humble successor to Monsignor Alejandro Labaka, the Spanish Capuchin bishop (Beizama, Guipúzoa) who dedicated 25 years of his life to studying the Waoranis or Huaoranis (one of the fourteen indigenous nationalities of Ecuador) and who, together with the Colombian nun Inés Arango, were martyred when they died. brutally murdered riddled by spears July 21, 1987.
What was it like to arrive in the Ecuadorian Amazon and what was the internal process of "ecological conversion"?
-Although I am now known as "the Bishop of the Amazon", I am first and foremost a Capuchin missionary. During my religious formation, when I was 18 years old, I had the opportunity to discover the Amazon for a year when I was a postulant. This period marked me enormously and awakened in me a special sensitivity for this region.
And although my studies and other missions that were entrusted to me did not allow me to resume contact with the Capuchin mission in the Amazon, this missionary spirit remained latent within me, which finally came to fruition with my appointment as Bishop of the Province of Francisco de Orellana.
I had asked the Lord to send me as a missionary to another region of the world and when I was appointed Bishop I was sent to this Church which is missionary in every sense. I believe that it was the place where the Lord was waiting for me to live my vocation as a missionary disciple, as Pastor of this Church in the Amazon.
In my long apostolic experience I cannot fail to mention the importance that the life of the Capuchin martyr Bishop Alejandro Labaka has had for me: his story and his commitment were a source of inspiration that soon awakened in me a deep concern about how to respond to the legacy of Bishop Alejandro from the Apostolic Vicariate. The doubt that assailed me was that, although I love the idea of becoming fully a missionary Bishop, I did not know deeply the whole region and its reality. Sometimes I am overwhelmed by the many needs and realities so numerous and varied. But I have already set out on the road by frequently visiting the territory and the communities, which has allowed me to be closer to the people in their struggles, sorrows and joys.
Upon my arrival in the Amazon, I immediately joined the preparatory work for the Synod for the Amazon,The meeting was attended by Bishops of the Amazon, committed lay people, and various organizations such as Caritas and REPAM. This preparatory work was immense and allowed me to get to know in a concrete way the reality of this region that shares the same problems throughout the nine countries that are part of the Amazon basin.
This was undoubtedly the deep awakening of my option for the defense of life in the Amazon. I felt that, as pastor of the Church of Aguarico, together with all the pastoral agents, evangelization would only be possible if we are able to get involved in the defense of the Common Home, our Amazon rainforest, as Pope Francis asks. I felt the call to a pastoral care as a whole that, as a transversal axis, would have concrete people as its main objective, to the point of leading them with Christ to watch over the care of creation in this sacred Amazon rainforest.
In our vicariate the three main ecological problems we face are:
Irresponsible oil exploitation that has produced more than a thousand oil spills in the last 10 years.
2.- Predatory deforestation that destroys hundreds of hectares every day, without considering reforestation.
Illegal mining without respect for the most basic ecological norms has poisoned the rivers with heavy metals such as mercury, cadmium and cyanide.
The process of ecological option is for me a legacy transmitted to me by Pope Francis, who, when he received me at the Vatican during my presentation as a new Bishop, told me: "Take care of the forest and its people". In reality, I still have to take steps towards the "ecological conversion", but I am on the way together with the missionaries of my Vicariate.
For those who read us and do not remember, tell us about the martyrdom that Monsignor Alejandro Labaka and Sister Inés Arango experienced at the hands of the indigenous people and what this testimony means for their Vicariate and for the whole Church in America and the world.
-Alejandro Labaka, born in Guipuzcoa (Spain), left China expelled in 1953 by Mao Tse-Tung and asked to come as a missionary to the Vicariate of Aguarico. At that time he was a friar and priest. He came to Ecuador and once he got to know the Amazon he fell in love with the jungle and its people, especially the most vulnerable, the Waoranis. He was adopted into a family. His adoptive father named Inigua is still living. When he was later appointed Bishop, he wanted to be surrounded, not only by his pastoral agents, missionaries, whites and mestizos, but he put at his side the Waorani family, as a clear sign of what his preferences were: the most vulnerable human groups of the jungle.
Another great missionary was Sister Inés Arango, a Tertiary Sister of the Holy Family. They met in the mission. She brought a great missionary fire in her heart to be close to minorities and concretely to uncontacted peoples (without contact with the dominant society and/or who having had some contact have chosen to live in isolation).
In 1987, seeing that the oil extractive operations were going to endanger the life of the peoples still without contact, these two great missionaries, in order to save these peoples from reduction and death, offered themselves and decided to go down to the hut where the Tagaeri-Taromenani were. The brothers and sisters of the community of these two missionaries told them not to go, that it was very dangerous, but they went in, leaving them this phrase that endures in time as a spiritual legacy for the new missionaries: "If we don't go, they will kill them".
I recommend our readers these two videos to learn more about Alejandro and Inés and the context we are talking about:
By accessing VIMEO you can watch with this link the complete documentary by Carlos Andrés Vera "Taromenani, the extermination of the hidden people" from 2007 and winner of the public award at the "One World" festival, Berlin: https://vimeo.com/35717321
Today these two missionaries, Inés and Alejandro, have been declared "Servants of God". They are the guide of our journey for the Church of the Amazon in Ecuador and in these 36 years we follow their missionary impulse. We are waiting for a miracle to continue their journey to holiness. Their bodies rest in the cathedral of El Coca and there they are visited by many people who come to the tombs of these martyrs of charity in the service of the faith.
In her honor, for 17 years, the missionaries of the Vicariate, together with the Capuchin friars and the Capuchin Tertiary Sisters, have organized a walk of more than 300 km and led by the Franciscan Friars, we travel from the Sanctuary of the Virgin of the Cloud (Azogues, Cañar) to El Coca. This walk invites to personal, pastoral, spiritual and ecological conversion.
Our wish is that Alejandro and Inés continue accompanying us and promoting the mission of Christ and that they raise from Heaven new vocations for the Priestly, Religious and Lay life. We ask them to help us to be the missionary and synodal Church that our elder brother, Jesus Christ, the missionary of the Father, expects from us.
What is the current situation of your Vicariate and how is it, in terms of extension, natural wealth and population?
-The Vicariate of Aguarico is located in the province of Orellana, in the Amazonian Oriente Region of Ecuador and extends for some 22,000 km (14,000 miles).2. The river that crosses the entire province is the Napo River which, together with the Aguarico River, is one of the main tributaries of the Amazon River. The Yasuní National Park is located here, one of the most diverse places in the world, inhabited by peoples in voluntary isolation such as the Tagaeri and Taromenani.
The 55,95% of the population lives in the urban area while the remaining 44,05% are scattered in rural areas. There are 86,493 inhabitants. 80% are indigenous, 17% are mestizos, 3% are tribes in isolation and 3% are uncontacted. The existing indigenous groups in the area were Kichwas, Sionas, Secoyas, Cofanes, Tetetes and Waoranis.
The Vicariate of Aguarico makes the following service centers available to the community:
Sector ofl service
Description
Quantity
Location
Education
Padre Miguel Gamboa Fiscomsional Educational Unit
1
El Coca
Boarding school for indigenous female students
1
UE Gamboa - Coca
Student dining room - Students from distant communities
1
UE Gamboa - Coca
Fiscomsional Educational Unit PCEI Yachana Inti (Matriz Coca)
1
El Coca
Fiscomsional Educational Unit PCEI Yachana Inti: 23 tutorial centers located in cantons
Monsignor Luis Alberto Luna Tobar Fiscomsional Educational Unit
1
Dayuma - El Triunfo
Health and social pastoral care
Franklin Tello Fiscomsional Hospital
1
Nuevo Rocafuerte
Shelter for the sick
1
Quito
Huaorani shelter
1
El Coca
Technical Office of the Social Pastoral
1
El Coca
Our Lady of Guadalupe Monastery
1
El Coca
Pastoral formation and spirituality
Alejandro and Inés Spirituality Center
1
Tiputini Community
Pastoral training centers - Course houses
4
El Coca; Joya de los Sachas; Nuevo Rocafuerte; Pompeya; El Coca; Joya de los Sachas; Nuevo Rocafuerte; Pompeya
Environment and impact
LABSU Environmental Laboratory
1
El Coca
Alejandro Labaka Foundation
1
El Coca
TOTAL
21
Considering the 4 cantons where Yachana Inti has tutorial centers
The following table will show us the number of communities (villages, pastoral centers) that the missionaries attend, and also an estimated number of Catholics and non-Catholics. This gives us the approximate number of inhabitants that belong to the communities or pastoral centers where the missionary, evangelizing, social and environmental work is developed.
PASTORAL AREAS
EXISTING COMMUNITIES
NUMBER OF CATHOLICS
NUMBER OF NON-CATHOLICS
TOTAL INHABITANTS
Nuevo Rocafuerte
29
5.300
160
5.460
Pompeii
23
5.431
40
5.471
Indigenous Coca
73
17.571
288
17.859
Urban Coke
16
65.843
18.000
83.843
Yucca - Foxes
24
7.000
740
7.740
v. Aucas N
26
4.400
760
5.160
v. Aucas S
69
2.445
475
2.920
Sachas
87
35.244
7.210
42.454
TOTAL
347
143.234
27.673
170.907
Below, I will tell you, by pastoral zones, the places served, the chapels, catechists and animators. This information will actually mark the pulse of pastoral work starting from catechesis, as one of the significant pastoral activities of the vicariate.
PASTORAL AREAS
LOCATIONS SERVED
CATHOLIC CHAPELS
NON-CATHOLIC CHAPELS
CATECHISTS
ANIMATORS
Nuevo Rocafuerte
2
4
6
40
4
Pompeii
23
1
1
29
Indigenous Coca
71
6
6
105
95
Urban Coke
18
15
17
182
15
Yucca - Foxes
3
20
5
68
18
v. Aucas N
3
20
5
68
18
v. Aucas S
26
18
9
40
15
Sachas
18
14
6
68
17
Rocafuerte
88
86
16
300
50
Living in the Amazon has meant for me, to open myself to the variety of cultures, so I have met and shared with the indigenous nationalities Kichwas, Shuar, Secoyas, Waoranis and Cofanes. I live with admiration how, in this creation of God, all these peoples live in harmony with their cultural identity and their own language.
In addition to their own language, most of them have also learned Spanish and in sharing with the missionaries we can see the unity, joy and beauty of this "Living Pentecost" that the Spirit grants us.
Between indigenous and mestizos we have about a thousand catechists. One of the transversal axes of our evangelization is to promote the care of the "Common House", of this marvelous creation that God has given us.
I am very happy with the missionaries, men and women giving themselves with "parresia" to the mission, thus living the fourth dream that Pope Francis rules us in the exhortation "Dear Amazonia" "I dream of ecclesial communities full of life" (QA 61-69).
And I am especially pleased that some young indigenous people of different nationalities are committing themselves to the values of the Gospel from their own language and without losing their cultural tradition.
A lot of natural and human wealth, no doubt, but we also know that the Amazon is not simple, what are the main challenges you are currently facing?
-The Ecuadorian Amazon region occupies approximately half of the national territory and is inhabited by a small number of indigenous people and peasants, which makes it a complex region with a particular situation because successive governments have seen in this apparently unpopulated territory an area for mining and vegetable exploitation, but at the same time a territory to be colonized.
In the 1950s, oil exploitation began in our country, which also encouraged the settlement of workers, who unwittingly invaded the territories of the indigenous peoples.
These peoples are victims of the oil boom that transforms their ancestral lands into a simple source of resources to be exploited.
The 2019 Synod for the Amazon highlighted the serious abuses suffered by these peoples who find in the governments of the day a total indifference to the injustice of which they are victims in the name of a supposed development in which they do not participate, because, in exchange for the exploited wealth, they have reaped poverty, lack of access to education and health, They have reaped poverty, lack of access to education and health, even more so when the extraction of the Amazon's wealth has caused the appearance of catastrophic diseases related to mining and oil exploitation, such as skin and stomach cancer, as well as congenital malformations.
It is a great contradiction that, in this national space that generates the greatest wealth of our country, there are no educational or health centers that can respond to the urgent needs of its inhabitants.
As an evangelizing church that proclaims the good news to all peoples, we have also been faced with the prophetic challenge of courageously denouncing these abuses, inviting local and national government authorities to become ecologically and socially aware.
What has the celebration of the Synod for the Amazon, the final document and the Apostolic Exhortation "Dear Amazonia" meant for you and your Apostolic Vicariate?
-In the context that I have explained before, the Synod for the Amazon has been a strength for our church, because it has traced apostolic lines of struggle for integral and ecological conversion.
The Synod for Amazonia is the practical application of the encyclical Pope Francis' Laudato si'This encyclical is an urgent invitation to all humanity to save our planet. Its concrete application in our region is what is called the Synod of the Amazon, which the Pope concretized through the apostolic exhortation "Dear Amazon". where he encourages us to continue working for people in particular, fighting for their rights. This is what he tells us in the first dream: "the Church at the side of those who suffer" (QA 9-14). (QA 9-14).For me as pastor of the church, the concrete reality of the Vicariate and the Amazon has meant a fundamental option for the defense of this territory, defense translated into constant denunciations of the contamination of large companies that work in the extraction of soil resources, also after the Synod for the Amazon we have strengthened the integration into the liturgical celebrations of the population of indigenous peoples, in order to allow them through the appreciation of their own cultural expressions, integrated into the liturgy, to be more visible to the Ecuadorian society.
In the social area, the Vicariate accompanies several complaints before international tribunals demanding the environmental remediation of contaminated rivers and territories. We also support indigenous leaders who are being persecuted and threatened for their struggle in defense of their territory.
In the cultural field, we have developed forums, festivals, intercultural conferences with the participation of different social actors, so that these spaces of exchange allow us to continue embodying the dream of Pope Francis to preserve the richness of what today is the most important lung of humanity "where human beauty shines in so many different ways" (QA, 7). (QA, 7)
As a pastor I am committed to the fulfillment of the fourth dream, the "Ecclesial Dream" of Pope Francis in "Dear Amazonia", which is a call to our whole Church to be a present reality, "I dream of Christian communities capable of giving themselves and becoming incarnate in Amazonia, to the point of giving the Church new faces with Amazonian traits". (QA 61-110)
As if all this were not enough, he is also the president of REPAM in Ecuador. What does this responsibility entail?
-This responsibility of being in front of a network is a call to fraternal struggle where we listen to each other, we strive together sharing sadness, joys, hopes and the dream of saving our jungle, where the children of God who await his saving message are sheltered.
REPAM-Pan-Amazonian Ecclesial Network, has meant for me to adopt the theology of care and solidarity, because every Christian in the Amazon must make an evangelical commitment to care for each of the sources of life to preserve the peoples that are nourished by these sources: water, air, fauna, vegetation, culture.
Our joint struggle in solidarity is translated into our motto "YES TO LIFE AND NO TO DEATH IN THE AMAZON". Being part of REPAM is for me a personal and pastoral option that translates into: moving from the Christ of the tabernacle to the Christ who suffers in each Amazonian indigenous person, dispossessed and impoverished. To translate the ceremonies and celebrations into a concrete application of the Gospel in the person of the suffering, the weak and the persecuted, because the word only makes sense when it becomes life and transforms us.
REPAM promotes a diverse church "with an Amazonian face" in which the variety of peoples living in unity and communion is reflected, where -as the Final Document of the Synod for Amazonia- "Everything is interlinked."
The work we carry out at REPAM has four axes that respond to the 4 dreams of Pope Francis.
These axes are:
Human rights - social dream
Training - cultural dream
Communication - ecclesial dream
Nature care - Ecological dream
A concrete project of REPAM Ecuador, which is being carried out with the participation of the 6 Amazonian vicariates, is the reforestation of the Amazon through the planting and care of one million trees in the next 3 years.
In addition, we have been strengthened by linking up with groups such as Caritas Ecuador, Laudato si` Movementor the Ecumenical Movement Churches and Miningamong others, who are in favor of life at the national level and we have joined forces to denounce the abuses and not allow the damage to the peoples and territories to remain invisible.
Bishop José Adalberto Jiménez Mendoza O.F.M. with Pope Francis
We were able to participate with you in an Amazonian liturgy. How are the sacraments being inculturated here? What differences would there be with a classic rite? What do you think of the proposal to create the Amazonian Rite promoted by CEAMA and which we talked about with Mauricio Lopez, here at OMNES?
-In the larger cities of the Amazon, traditional church rites are respected in Eucharistic and sacramental celebrations. However, in the indigenous communities it is important that certain cultural symbols that connect with their spirituality, such as music and dance, allow these populations to express their feelings and find bridges of communication with the God of Life, from whom they gradually receive his saving message, in their own culture.
In the liturgical celebrations, both of the Word and of the Eucharist, we respect and welcome the liturgy offered by the Universal Church and it is within this liturgy that we have welcomed cultural manifestations of the peoples that enrich and fill with life and meaning the indigenous celebration.
For example, in the Eucharistic celebration, after asking God for forgiveness, there is an external human forgiveness that consists in approaching the other person (parents, compadres, godparents, godparents, siblings, children) and asking for forgiveness. The one who receives the words gives him a "kamachina", that is to say, he advises him to change the bad into good.
How are the young people of your Vicariate receiving the recent creation of the PUAM-Amazon University Program?
-Every education project is a hope for the Amazonian peoples and I am optimistic about the realization of this project, which will provide opportunities for young people who until now only had access to secondary education. Having a higher education center inserted in the middle of a territory, with a concrete reality, will allow the young beneficiaries, not only to acquire academic training, but also a training that will strengthen their awareness of the resources of their territory, creating new leaders who will defend the Amazon, one of the most important eco-regions in the world.
I congratulate and thank the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador - PUCE and the Conferencia Eclesial de la Amazonía for having created the PUAM-Amazon University Program.
At the moment, about 20 young Huaorani are benefiting from this project and are being accompanied so that they can achieve their goals. The accompaniment of religious communities is vital for their formation.
We hope that in the future these professionals will be the ones to take over and in turn be teachers of future generations in their own languages, which so far has not been possible in other universities.
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
Cardinal John J. O'Connor (January 15, 1920 – May 3, 2000), Archbishop of New York from 1984-2000, who founded theSisters of Lifemust have been smiling down when seven new sisters took their perpetual vows on August 5th at Saint Patrick's Cathedral in New York City.
In 1991, Cardinal O'Connor published an article entitled "Help Wanted: Sisters of Life". His vision was "for a religious community of women who would give themselves fully to the protection and enhancement of the sacredness of every human life, beginning with the most vulnerable". On June 1, 1991, eight sisters gathered in New York to form the new community of the Sisters of Life. Today, over one-hundred sisters currently serve.
The ceremony of the vows
Cardinal Timothy Dolan was the principal celebrant, and concelebrants included Archbishop Gabriele Giordano Caccia, permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations; Bishop James D. Conley of Lincoln, Nebraska; and New York Archdiocese auxiliary bishops, Bishop Peter J. Byrne, Bishop John J. O'Hara, and Bishop Edmund J. Whalen; New York Archdiocese vicar general Msgr. Joseph P. LaMorte and Father Enrique Salvo, rector of St. Patrick's Cathedral.
In attendance were about 1500 family members, friends, sisters from the Sisters of Life, religious brothers, priests, and supporters, all of whom were there to welcome the new sisters and witness them take their perceptual vows.
The seven sisters who professed their perpetual vows are Mary Pieta, Mercy Marie, Mary Grace, Fidelity Grace, Zelie Maria Louis, Ann Immaculee' and Catherine Joy Marie.
The facets of a diamond
Omnes had a chance to speak to Sister Marie Veritas, S.V., Denver's local superior and mission coordinator. She shared what she finds most special when they celebrate a religious profession of vows: "I'm always struck first just by the beauty of their hearts and their voices as they profess their vows".
Sr. Marie Veritas also appreciates "the tradition in our community…that you take a title, a religious title after your name…and if they so wish and felt the Lord leading them to that, and…I think there's just something so special each year, and then this year about sharing the titles of the sisters the first time you hear them".
When the new sisters profess their vows and say their names and new title aloud, "it's kind of like this further revelation of their heart, of their personal unique charism or the personal graces the Lord has entrusted to them…the mysteries the Lord has asked them to live in a particular way..." said Sister Marie Veritas.
"It's almost like seeing the facets of a diamond, and each facet reflects the light in a unique way…and each of us reflects the glory of God in such a particular, unique, and unreputable way", she added.
In his homily, Cardinal Dolan asked those taking their perpetual vows to "change the culture of death into the culture of life". Their predecessors and new colleagues have committed themselves daily to that and take their call seriously.
"I think…choosing life over death, it's like a choice that we actually make every day", stated Sr. Marie Veritas. It's being aware of the truth that you are "beloved" and "precious".
The family charisma of "Sisters of Life".
The Sisters of Life work with the most vulnerable: the unborn, the unchosen, and their call is "to protect and enhance every life".
They recognize that "with that ache of the human heart…you can look for love in the wrong place… or substitute deaths for love". They encourage those with whom they encounter to choose love and to remember "our lives matter, that we are good, that we're sacred, that we're important".
Mother Mary Concepta, S.V., elected the Sisters of Life's new mother superior earlier this year, was there to pray with and for the new sisters. Her predecessor, Mother Agnes Mary Donovan, S.V., who recently retired from her 30-year tenure, was also in attendance. It was a family affair!
Diary of a priest in Lisbon. "Old dreamer and young prophets".
Fernando Mignone, a Canadian priest of Opus Dei, was one of the thousands of priests who attended World Youth Day.
Fernando Mignone-August 22, 2023-Reading time: 11minutes
"From the field", Mignone collected his impressions in a small "travel diary" that illustrates, in a privileged way, the moments, encounters and anecdotes of those intense days.
Monday 31. On this Air Transat flight 680 from Montreal, perhaps one third of the passengers are WYD pilgrims.
I arrive in Lisbon, entrusting myself to the Pope on the feast of St. Ignatius. I will sleep at the Montes Claros University Residence, together with 50 or 60 other priests of the Opus DeiThere are also lay residents from Europe and America.
Youth from Corpus Christi parish in Vancouver, Vancouver, who attended WYD
I am from the Work and I am here to celebrate Mass, preach and hear the confessions of 55 Canadian girls. I will also meet, when I can and as I can, with 25 Canadian boys, also connected to the Work. But they have another priest.
Confessions, encounters and selfies
Tuesday 1. I go to the Park of Forgiveness to hear confessions in five languages. It has 150 confessionals, built by prisoners. When I arrive, I happen to meet the six members of the Scholten family from Colorado and others from the states of Florida and Indiana from the Jesus Film Project. They have been invited by the WYD organizers to promote this initiative (see jesusfilm.org).
When I finish my confession, a Portuguese journalist from the Lusa agency interviews me in English. She wants to know what my message for young people is. "It is the Pope's message: Christ lives and we have to find him."
The author with young Noah Smith of Iowa.
I wait in line for an hour before I can board the city train, and in the hubbub I meet Noah Smith, from Des Moines, Iowa. He tells me that his father is a member of Opus Dei and that he is entering the Jesuit novitiate in September. We take a selfie.
In the afternoon I concelebrated Mass in the Parque Eduardo VII with the Patriarch of Lisbon, about eight thousand priests and hundreds of bishops, for more than half a million young people. How well the choir sings and the orchestra plays! The Marquis of Pombal seems to look at us in awe from his monument further down the hill, and in the background is the blue of the water.
Pope Francis arrives
Wednesday 2. ¡Francisco arrives! Meets with dignitaries. He quotes Camões: "Here... where the land ends and the sea begins". He speaks to them poetically of peace, dialogue, encounter, ecology, future, fraternity. Of having more children. "Where are they sailing to, Europe and the West, with the discarding of the elderly, the walls of thin wire, the tragedies at sea and the empty cradles? Where are they sailing to? Where are they going if, faced with the pain of living, they offer superficial and mistaken remedies, such as easy access to death, a solution of convenience that seems sweet, but in reality is more bitter than the waters of the sea? And I think of so many far-fetched laws on euthanasia... Lisbon, embraced by the ocean, nevertheless gives us reason for hope, it is a city of hope. An ocean of young people is flooding this welcoming city."
Pope prays Vespers with Portuguese bishops, priests, consecrated women... urging them not to lose heart, not to shrink, but to put out into the deep. He quotes the great Portuguese missionary Father António Vieira. "He said that God gave them a little land to be born on; but, making them look out over the ocean, he gave them the whole world to die on: 'To be born, a little land; to die, the whole earth; to be born, Portugal; to die, the world'. To cast our nets again and embrace the world with the hope of the Gospel: this is what we are called to do! It is not time to stop, it is not time to give up, it is not time to moor the boat on land or to look back; we do not have to evade this time because it frightens us and take refuge in forms and styles of the past".
Then Francis meets with victims of abuse, Ukrainian...
Thursday 3. The sea wind is blowing strongly: the wind of the Holy Spirit. It has been almost five years since the last in personas we say, after the pandemic, the Pope's youth. "Your old men shall have dreams, your young men shall have visions.". In a book I brought with me, God is young, Francis quotes Joel 3:1. And there he adds: "Old dreamers and young prophets are the way of salvation for our uprooted society".
In the morning, at the Catholic University, the Pope answers the testimonies of three girls and a boy, Beatriz, Mahoor, Mariana and Tomás. He tells the Portuguese university students that the two verbs of the pilgrim are to seek and to risk. "Study well what I am telling you. In the name of progress, the way has been opened to a great regression. You are the generation that can overcome this challenge, you have the most advanced scientific and technological instruments, but please do not fall into the trap of partial visions. Do not forget that we need an integral ecology; we need to listen to the suffering of the planet alongside that of the poor; we need to place the drama of desertification alongside that of refugees, the issue of migrations alongside that of the declining birth rate; we need to deal with the material dimension of life within a spiritual dimension. Not to create polarizations but visions of the whole."
Explains, in Scholas Ocurrentesa cultural organization for young people in almost 200 countries: "Sometimes in life, you have to get your hands dirty so as not to dirty your heart. A young evangelist, a Catholic, and a Muslim talk with Francisco about his project that unites art, culture and religion.
Welcoming ceremony in the afternoon. "Everyone, everyone, everyone fits in the Church!" the Pope cried out to almost a million young people. It was a beautiful event, the first multitudinous one with him. And he warns us not to fall into make-up, to look for "likes". And he speaks to them about vocation.
"You are not here by chance. The Lord called you, not only in these days, but from the beginning of your lives. He called all of us from the beginning of life. He called you by name. We hear the Word of God calling us by name. Try to imagine these words written in large letters; and then think that they are written inside each of you, in your hearts, as if forming the title of your life, the meaning of who you are: you have been called by nameYou, you, you, you, you, you, here, all of us, me, we were all called by name. We were not called automatically, we were called by name. Let us think about this: Jesus called me by name. They are words written in the heart, and then let us think that they are written inside each one of us, in our hearts, and they form a kind of the title of your life, the meaning of what we are, the meaning of what you are".
"You have been called by name. None of us is a Christian by chance, we were all called by name. At the beginning of the fabric of life, before the talents we have, before the shadows of the wounds we carry within us, we have been called. We have been called, why? Because we are loved. We have been called because we are loved. It is beautiful. In the eyes of God we are precious children, whom He calls every day to embrace, to encourage, to make of each one of us a unique, original masterpiece. Each of us is unique and is original, and the beauty of it all we cannot glimpse."
I have dinner with a new friend, Venezuelan pastor Rolando Rojas, whom I just bumped into. He attends the formation courses of the Priestly Society of the Holy Cross (Opus Dei) in his diocese.
"Am I disgusted by poverty, by the poverty of others? Am I always looking for the distilled life, that which exists in my fantasy, but does not exist in reality? How many distilled lives, useless, that pass through life without leaving a trace, because their life has no weight!"
In a restaurant, I am talking to a stranger for the umpteenth time. This time it is the Austrian parish priest Martin Truttenberger, who has just crossed the Alps on a motorcycle in nine days! He hands out dozens of little medals of Our Lady in the cafeteria of the Catholic University, and then we ride the motorcycle to the Oratory of St. Josemaria.
The stage where the Way of the Cross in the afternoon has been built over the box where the Pope is, and it was there that the papal welcome took place yesterday and the Mass with the Patriarch on Tuesday. Blue towers, boldly climbed by the young actors, tied to ropes, transferring a wooden cross from one tower to another. A magnificent Stations of the Cross, exquisitely choreographed, among others by the well-known theater director Matilde Trocado, and magnificently acted by 50 young people from many countries, supported by hundreds of other musicians, singers or young workers behind the scenes. In all, the boys and girls come from some twenty countries.
This Stations of the Cross was prepared by Jesuit priests and Portuguese youth for two years, and the text highlights vulnerability and faith. In these years of synods on synodality, thousands of young people, with the help of the Dicastery for the Laitywere canvassed all over the world. Their concerns, weaknesses and wounds were incorporated into the text of the Way of the Cross: mental health (there is a testimony, recorded and shown on a large screen, of a young Portuguese man), loneliness, violence, fear, unemployment, the false illusions of social media, addictions, and two other recorded testimonies, that of a young Spanish woman who had an abortion and then converted, and that of a young American man who overcame addictions - both are on the podium very close to the Pope with their respective spouses.
This is what the Pope told us at the beginning of the Way of the Cross:
"(Moment of silence) Jesus, with his tenderness, wipes away our hidden tears, Jesus is waiting to fill our loneliness with his closeness. Jesus hopes to fill, with his closeness, our loneliness, how sad are the moments of loneliness! He is there, He wants to fill that loneliness. Jesus wants to fill our fear, your fear, my fear, those dark fears He wants to fill with His consolation, and He waits to push us, to embrace the risk of loving. Because you know it, you know it better than I do: to love is risky. You have to take the risk of loving. It is a risk, but it is worth taking, and He accompanies us in this. He always accompanies us. He always walks with us.
"He is always with us throughout our lives. I don't want to say much more. Today we are going to walk the path with him, the path of his suffering, the path of our anxieties, ... of our loneliness. Now, a second of silence and each one of us think of our own suffering, think of our own anxiety, think of our own miseries. Do not be afraid, think of them, and think of the desire for the soul to smile again. (Minute of silence) And Jesus walks to the Cross, dies on the Cross so that our soul may smile. Amen."
Saturday 5.Pope travels to Fatima, the capital of peace. Pray for peace. She prays the rosary with sick young people, in the Capelinha, in the place where Mary appeared to Sister Lucia Santos, Saint Jacinta and Saint Francisco Marto, on May 13, April, June, July, September and October of 1917, in the middle of the Great War. They pray to the "rushed - hurried" Virgin of the Visitation.
The author with Peter (Irish) and Mayara (Brazilian) O'Brien, whom he met in Lisbon.
At about one o'clock, I finish my pastoral work, and I meet an Irishman who married a Brazilian woman a year ago. catholicmatch.com and now live in Dublin. They dream of starting a Christian family.
All the pilgrims run, fly, walk towards the Parque de la Gracia. Let's see who gets there first! On the way, we meet, among many others, two Cuban seminarians, Lazaro and Dionne, who came with more than 200 pilgrims from their island.
Arriving at our sector around three o'clock in the afternoon, it is not easy to get a little piece of land to lay your head there tonight, to be able to see the Vigil ceremony, to see the Pope as he passes by. This sector must have been full before noon, and we had tickets.
Thank God for the audiovisual technology, for the giant screens, for the work of the 25,000 volunteers from more than twenty countries... Like Charlotte from Victoriaville, Quebec. "I came with the idea that I was content to see the Pope's little finger. But because I was in charge of security, I was able to see him four times from a few meters away."
From the podium-oratory, where the Pope and the altar are, the testimony of a Portuguese priest can be heard on the large screens, and the music that accompanies the dance, the Pope's speech, and above all, the transfigured Lord is adored. How solemnly the hymn sounds. Panis Angelicum! There are many other musical compositions.
The following day, Cardinal Manuel Clemente of Lisbon told Vatican News, "the conviction of these people. It is not easy, in a crowd, a crowd of this size. It was seen in all the celebrations ... It was not necessary for someone to ask for silence, immediately everyone fell silent ... in Eucharistic adoration, there were a million and a half young people, who lost sight of each other. But when the Blessed Sacrament was placed on the altar, what was it? Conviction, devotion...a very strong moment...no one said a word. The Blessed Sacrament was placed and? tck tckThey were silent. What is this? It's something from Heaven, it's not our doing."
Afterwards, party, fellowship, and try to sleep...
The final Holy Mass
Sunday 6. Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord. It is logical to say, in the singular, "World Youth Day", because everything culminates in the celebration of this Sunday Eucharist, in this case, given the calendar, liturgically the Transfiguration.
I see the Church transfigured, as I concelebrate with more than ten thousand priests and some 800 bishops, led by the Bishop of Rome: we consecrate the bread and wine that will nourish one and a half million young Christians from all countries, from the five continents, there are their banners. Transfigured Church of the 21st century.
In my thanksgiving after Communion, immune to the dehydrating sweat, I think that the world has turned the corner. How providential this pontiff is! He asks young people in his homily not to be afraid!! He prays a litany of "obrigados" at the end of the Mass, explaining to us that be bound means to commit, to act. He concludes: "Thank you to You, Lord Jesus. Thank you to you, Mary, our Mother; and now let us pray" the Angelus.
In the afternoon Francis invites volunteers to ride the wave of God's Love. "North of Lisbon there is a locality, Nazaréwhere you can admire waves that reach up to thirty meters high and are a worldwide attraction, especially for surfers who challenge them. ...You have faced a real wave; not of water, but of young people, young people who have flooded this city. But, with God's help, with a lot of generosity and supporting each other, you have challenged this great wave. Look at how brave you are. Thank you, obrigado! I want to tell you to continue in this way, to continue to stay on the waves of love, on the waves of charity, ¡be surfers of love!"
Monday 7. I visit Fatima, an hour and a half to the north, by bus. As I travel, I evaluate the WYD. Was this the best WYD? For this chronicler on foot, who has been to four, this was the most perfect, within the usual chaos. For the Pope, of his four WYDs (Rio de Janeiro, Krakow, Panama, Lisbon), this was the best organized.
Oh, what good people are the Portuguese, the Portuguese! They are simple, discreet, hardworking, welcoming, respectful of Christians. A tour guide says that there are Portuguese who are not Catholics but who go to Our Lady of Fatima in their needs. In Fatima one sees Portuguese penitents, advancing on their knees towards the Chapel of the Apparitions. On the Way of the Cross, a bunch of Italians from Comunione e Liberazione pray and sing under a mind-blowing sun.
Tuesday 8. I return to Montreal. On the plane, I meet my friend Father Richard Conlin, from Corpus Christi parish in Vancouver. He is traveling with 25 parishioners, young people from 16 to 24 years of age and adults accompanying them. The boys want to go to Seoul in 2027.
Wednesday 9. Francis arrived at the Vatican on Sunday night. There he sums up WYD. I transcribe in closing quotes from today's Papal Audience. "So many young people from all parts of the world, so many! To go to meet and encounter Jesus." Mary "guides the pilgrimage of young people in the footsteps of Jesus... As she did precisely a century ago in Portugal, in Fatima, when she addressed three children entrusting to them a message of faith and hope for the Church and for the world."
In Fatima, "I prayed for peace, because there are so many wars in all parts of the world, all of them".
"The young people of the world came to Lisbon in great numbers and with great enthusiasm... It was not a vacation, a tourist trip, nor was it a spiritual event, an end in itself; WYD is an encounter with the living Christ through the Church, young people go to meet Christ... I thank God for" the festive atmosphere. "Where there are young people there is trouble, they know how to do it well".
And while in Ukraine and elsewhere in the world there is fighting, and while in certain hidden rooms war is being planned, WYD has shown everyone that another world is possible. "A world of brothers and sisters, where the flags of all peoples fly together, side by side, without hatred, without fear, without closures, without weapons!". Will the "great ones of the earth" listen to this youthful enthusiasm that wants peace?
"It is a parable for our time, and even today Jesus says: 'He who has ears, let him hear; he who has eyes, let him see. We hope that the whole world will listen to this Youth Day and see this beauty of young people go forward."
The authorFernando Mignone
Montreal
Subscribe to Omnes magazine and enjoy exclusive content for subscribers. You will have access to all Omnes
The healing of Jimena during WYD, a young sixteen-year-old girl from Madrid who is practically blind, has moved the whole world. It happened on August 5, the feast of Our Lady of the Snows, on the last day of a novena that she and all her friends were making to ask for her healing. And it took place in the middle of the World Youth DayThe event was held in Lisbon, where Jimena attended to join an uncountable crowd of young people from all over the world.
I have been surprised (perhaps not too surprised) by the reaction of some journalists who, even with the evidence placed before their own eyes that this girl was blind and now sees, refuse to acknowledge this inexplicable fact, this possible miracle. They are simply seeing it with their own eyes, but they do not believe in miracles.
They are more blind than Jimena was. They have it right in front of their eyes and they don't see it.
In reality, this blindness is nothing more than the blindness suffered by our society as a whole. Our world does not believe in miracles. And even those of us who call ourselves believers find it difficult to believe in these extraordinary manifestations of the supernatural in our lives. The main reason is that we have a materialistic preconception of reality in which, even if we believe in the existence of God, we do not believe that God can act in material reality. We conceive of God and everything supernatural as a reality distinct and distant from material reality, without any connection whatsoever. The deistic vision of a watchmaker who sets in motion a machine that then works by itself has crept in.
But that is not the Christian view of God and his relationship with the world. God did not simply create the world millions of years ago. God continues to create it and sustain it in its existence. And as a loving Father, he is present in our lives and cares for us in his providence.
One day Jesus shouted for joy because the Father in heaven was hiding the mysteries of the Kingdom from the wise and intelligent and showing them to the simple (cf. Mt 11:25). Something like this is still happening today. For the millions of young people who, like Jimena, attended WYD, it seemed extraordinarily normal to them that God would work this possible miracle and they rejoiced with Jimena at her healing. Perhaps because during those days they themselves had lived in an atmosphere of spirituality and transcendence in which God was closely present.
Miracles are signs that God performs to show us the nearness of a Kingdom that is already among us. Jesus healed the blind, not only as an act of charity and mercy, but to teach us to see more deeply, with the eyes of faith.
The big question that springs up in my heart is, what did God want to tell us with this possible miracle? Undoubtedly the Lord has responded to the faith of Jimena and her friends who made that novena for her healing. How many young people would dare to tell their friends to join them in prayer to ask for something? It takes courage to do so, as D. Ignacio Munilla pointed out in a meeting with young people at WYD when commenting on this event.
But I also believe that God is telling us much more with this healing. He is confirming to the young people of the whole world on the road they have traveled hand in hand with Francis in these days that, like Mary, they must rise up and go out to meet their brothers and sisters, carrying Jesus in their hearts. That universal fraternity is possible. And that God, Emmanuel, walks with us as the close and real God.
And, as I said ChestertonThe most incredible thing about miracles is that they happen.
And now young people all over the world know it. They have seen it with their own eyes.
Teaching Delegate in the Diocese of Getafe since the 2010-2011 academic year, he has previously exercised this service in the Archbishopric of Pamplona and Tudela, for seven years (2003-2009). He currently combines this work with his dedication to youth ministry directing the Public Association of the Faithful 'Milicia de Santa Maria' and the educational association 'VEN Y VERÁS. EDUCATION', of which he is President.
Nearly 2,000 young people were able to study thanks to the CARF Foundation in 2022
1,915 seminarians, diocesan priests and religious from 79 different countries on five continents have been able to study in various church faculties thanks to the generosity of thousands of people through the CARF Foundation.
The CARF Foundation has presented its Notes to the consolidated financial statements for the year 2022. A year that saw a record number of donations that made it possible for 1,915 students from all over the world to study theology and philosophy in Rome and Pamplona.
– Supernatural CARF Foundation supported 1,915 seminarians, diocesan priests and religious from 79 different countries on five continents during the 2022 academic year. To finance their studies, the Foundation allocated €5,810,000 (including aid from the Board of Trustees for Social Action), which represents 67.6 % of the total resources applied during the 2022 academic year.
Likewise, the endowment The CARF Foundation's endowment fund has contributed 450,000 € for scholarships, which have represented 8 % of the total grants awarded.
More donations but negative fiscal year
According to the Annual Report, in 2022 recurrent and one-time donations reached €5,264,000. Of this total, €1,415,000 came from recurring donations and subscriptions, while €3,849,000 came from one-time donations. In fact, the CARF Foundation does not receive public subsidies and the approximately 5,300 annual donors guarantee the independence and continuity of the institution.
In this section, however, there has been a significant decrease in the resources from legacies and wills, which have reached 872,000 € in 2022, well below the 4,206,000 € received in 2021, and the total obtained from income and income derived from the management of the estate has also decreased to 533,000 € in 2022.
The decrease in these last two items has led to a negative year-end and the Foundation closed with a loss of €1,906,000 in 2022.
The work of the CARF Foundation
Despite this decline, the CARF Foundation continues to fulfill its objectives: to pray for vocations and priests, to spread its good name throughout the world and to help in the formation of priests so that no vocation as a seminarian, diocesan priest or religious is lost for lack of financial means.
Countries of origin of students supported by the CARF Foundation
CARF Foundation Campaigns
During 2022, the CARF Foundation promoted four donation campaigns with different missions: Donate cases of sacred vesselsThe seminarians, once they return to their dioceses to be ordained to the priesthood, can celebrate the Holy Mass in inaccessible places and with scarce resources.
Solidarity bequests and wills: your whole life to give it awayThe aim is to raise awareness about the importance of transcending your life in a perpetual way, and to continue to support priests and seminarians around the world;
the initiative Help us to sow the world with priests: may no vocation be lost. which aims to convey the urgency of promoting vocations, indispensable for the administration of the sacraments.
Finally, Priests, God's smile on earth: put a face to your donation, focuses on donors whose contribution exceeds 500 € per year to assign them a scholarship recipient, with name and surname, to whom their support will be destined.
Subscribe to Omnes magazine and enjoy exclusive content for subscribers. You will have access to all Omnes
Currently, the community of Carmelitas Descalzas de Santiago de Compostela is composed of five nuns. At the beginning of the year 2022 they began a process to discern what to do with the community and have finally decided to close it.
Miguel Márquez, the community indicated that "in April 2022 our community began a period of discernment about its future, since we have been decreasing numerically to the point that it is really difficult to maintain a serene and contemplative rhythm of life, harmonizing our community with its own needs.
life of prayer and work," according to a communiqué from the order.
The same communiqué points out that all this process and the final decision have been contrasted at all times with the archbishops of Santiago and with the superiors of the Discalced Carmel, "both at the provincial and general level". The letter continues indicating that "from the Order of the Discalced Carmel we want to make clear that the Discalced Carmelites of Santiago de Compostela have looked for alternatives before deciding the cessation of the foundation. Specifically, they have requested to other monasteries of diverse countries that some Carmelite sister could reinforce this community. The current lack of vocations has made this possibility unfeasible".
However, since that option was discarded, the Carmelites have sought a means for the monastery to continue to have a religious life, an objective that has been achieved thanks to the Contemplative Carmelite Friars.
"When the community decided that we had to take the painful decision to leave our Carmel all the sisters had only one desire: that the church of Carmel would remain open, that the Virgin would continue to receive worship, that the monastery could continue to host a life of prayer and intercession and that the tomb and the Cause of Our Venerable Mother M.ª Antonia de Jesús would be taken care of", the Discalced Carmelites of Santiago de Compostela indicate in the letter to Father Miguel Márquez. Mother M.ª Antonia de Jesús, declared Venerable, is currently in the process of beatification.
In the order's communiqué, the Carmelites thank the archbishopric of Santiago for "its closeness and accompaniment during this difficult stage" and "the respect and affection that the city has always had for them".
The final dates for the closure of the community are still unknown, although it is expected to be during 2024.
The Vatican Astronomical Observatory is an educational and astronomical research institution funded by the Holy See.
It is currently based in Castel Gandandolfo, Italy, and operates a telescope at the Mount Graham International Observatory in the United States.
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.
Subscribe to Omnes magazine and enjoy exclusive content for subscribers. You will have access to all Omnes
Popular piety as an opportunity for a new evangelization
David Schwingenschuh is pastor of the two parishes of Krieglach and Langenwang in the diocese of Graz-Seckau in the province of Styria in southeastern Austria. In this article, he talks about the folk traditions of rural Austria and the pastoral challenges in the area.
David Schwingenschuh-August 21, 2023-Reading time: 4minutes
The parishes of Krieglach and Langenwang are located in the Mürz valley, AustriaThe town is characterized by transit from the northeast to the southwest, with the railroad and the highway as thoroughfares, so the patron saint of the parish church of Krieglach is very appropriate: it is dedicated to St. James the Apostle. With more than 5,000 and just over 3,000 inhabitants, they are not particularly large and, like other towns and the surrounding countryside, are characterized by the coexistence of agriculture and small industrial enterprises. Therefore, in secular and ecclesiastical life, the traditions and customs of these villages, some of them quite old, are preserved alongside all the innovations of the 21st century.
The starting point for my reflections is my own position as a parish priest in this rural region of Austria. On the one hand, there is a popular religious tradition, and a deep-rooted pastoral structure. On the other hand, I am serving as a priest alone where 50 years ago three priests ministered.
Moreover, on the one hand, there is a strong change in the religious and ecclesiastical life of the population, but on the other hand, there is a call for a new evangelization or mission in the country itself.
Some people see traditional expectations of the priest and the parish as an obstacle to a new pastoral ministry and dismiss them as a waste of time. I try to see it differently, and was encouraged to do so by an article in 30giorni that I read as a very young parish priest in 2008. It described the work of priests in Buenos Aires who, with the active support of their then bishop, Jorge Bergoglio, reached out and evangelized many people in troubled areas of the city through popular devotion, chapels and related social works.
Evangelization through popular piety
So why reject what already exists in order to implement something new and unproven? "A bird in the hand is better than a hundred in the air," the saying goes. Why not use the elements of popular piety to proclaim the faith? After all, some overly intellectual or supposedly modern events attract few people, while numerous traditional festivals draw crowds. It seems to me that these simple and popular feasts take especially seriously the truth of faith of the Incarnation, because the bodily part of the human being is not blurred. Nor is the social aspect forgotten, because the greatest need in our latitudes is probably loneliness, which is counteracted by these liturgical-pastoral celebrations.
Blessing of the horses
A good example is the so-called "blessing of the meat", officially called "Blessing of the Easter Food". It is celebrated in different chapels and crossroads and attracts very many people, who bring large baskets of meat, eggs and bread to be blessed. Instead of reprimanding them for never coming to church, you can briefly and concisely explain the message of the resurrection and, with a bit of humor, give them an admonition as well. Since there are many positions, trained lay people are also commissioned to lead the prayers and a simple blessing. In general, it is a great help to have faithful lay people in this occupation, who relieve one of many tasks. Often they also act as catechists, but sometimes they are very practical and functional, as the following point shows.
Road crossings and other customs
There are many chapels and roadside crosses that are lovingly cared for. They are often remote, in small villages, and I try to gather the faithful there at least once a year and strengthen them in their faith with the Eucharist or a Marian devotion. Often, after the Mass, an agape or even a small feast is held, which greatly enhances the bond with the local population. Often, in the course of such a meeting, a conversation about faith or initiation into a sacrament takes place.
In some valleys, several crosses, often located in the middle of farmhouses or isolated in the forest, are connected to form a route, which is then followed to celebrate a Way of the Cross during Lent. In addition, there are some festivals associated with traditions, such as All Saints' Day, St. Martin, St. Elizabeth, St. Barbara, St. Nicholas, the Three Kings and many more. These customs are especially good for children and, therefore, also for parents.
At Easter there are other unique customs. For example, a solemn procession of the different villages, accompanied by music bands, altar boys and priests in the early morning of Easter Day. This recreates the journey of the apostles Peter and John to the empty tomb.
Blessing of a Bildstock
As these customs were restricted or impossible to celebrate during the pandemic, many people have become aware of how attached they were to them and how much their faith means to them. As a result, participation has recently been very high again and it has become an opportunity to proclaim the faith. It seems to me that with a dash of humor and a deep seriousness about the concerns of others, one can sow the message of hope in people's hearts in a pious and authentic way, and then ask the Lord of the harvest for his blessing and grace for the germinated seed.
During WYD Lisbon 2023, a healing took place that some, like the author of this article, consider miraculous. It is up to the Church to determine if it is really a supernatural event.
For Christians, things do not happen by chance. God's Providence guides and takes care of us. God continues to speak to man. He does it through the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ spoke through signs (miracles) and words. His way of explaining his teaching was typical of his culture and his Aramaic language, that is, through parables, symbolic images, etc. This way of communicating is better understood by men of all times because it is directed to the heart of man and not only to his understanding.
These signs and images used by Jesus are a source of light for the heart of man when he tries to ponder ("meditate") them in his heart. St. Luke explicitly says that the behavior of Jesus as an adolescent (full of theological and anthropological symbolism) is difficult to understand, Mary, for her part, kept all these things, meditating on them in her heart. (Lk 2:19).
In recent times God has communicated very clear messages through his most holy Daughter, Mother and Spouse, the Virgin Mary. And He continues to do so with signs (miracles) and images, events that are worth pondering in the heart, in the spirit of the Gospel teaching that the Church preserves and teaches.
In this miracle there are some circumstances, signs and images that encourage consideration and pondering. That is why I have been encouraged to write about it.
The miracle
Jimena is a 16-year-old Spanish girl who is going to WYD '23 in Lisbon with a group of friends on a trip organized by a youth club and an Opus Dei school in Madrid. For two and a half years she had lost the 95% of her sight. The doctors had labeled it incurable. She had begun to study the Braille reading system. Before the trip - she says - she felt that the Virgin was going to cure her and asked her parents, family and friends to pray a novena to the Virgin of the Snows, whose feast is celebrated on August 5, to ask for her cure. With faith, they started that novena and she went to WYD. On Saturday, August 5, she attended Holy Mass as she used to do on those days of WYD. Jimena went to communion. She began to cry. Filled with tears during the thanksgiving after Communion, she opened her eyes and could see perfectly. She herself tells about it in an audio that has spread through the social networks.
My thoughts
1. God continues to work miracles when He wants, how He wants and to whom He wants. Why to Jimena he does and not to others. God knows what suits each soul. For some, it is not convenient for the Lord to work a miracle for them because they know that it will not do them any good or, by not doing it, they will achieve better things for themselves and for those who are with them. On the other hand, to work miracles, Our Lord asks us for faith and trust in Him. Jimena believed, she was convinced that Our Lady would cure her. That is why she asked her family and friends to start a novena to Our Lady of the Snows.1 whose feast is celebrated on August 5 and on the day the novena of prayers ended. And with that conviction, physically blind, she went to Lisbon to participate in WYD '23. Why the novena to the Virgin of the Snows, I do not know. We will have to ask her.
Jimena's father, tells ACI Prensa with simplicity and integrity the details of what he defines as "a leap in faith" and a "gift from the Virgin Mary for WYD".
To see, we must accept from the heart the will of God the good Father. He knows what is best for each one of us and in each circumstance..
2. Need to cry to see. Jimena comes to communion blind at Mass on August 5. She takes communion, goes back to her pew and begins to cry without stopping, with her eyes closed. At the end, with her eyes full of tears, she opens her eyes and sees perfectly.
It seems as if the Lord tells us that it is important to see but that we can only truly see if we first learn to cry. Pope Francis in the Philippines in 2015, in a spontaneous way, explained the need to cry as a way to explain things that have no answer (in this case it was the child prostitution suffered by that poor girl who while asking the Pope broke into tears due to the memories of the experience she had gone through). Here you can see it:
We need to purify the heart in order to see. Crying is a bodily expression of what is happening in the heart. We men suffer all kinds of experiences in life. Many of them leave traces in the heart. We cannot hide them or keep them quiet. Crying helps to bring them out and to share them with others who welcome the suffering or the joy that weeping produces. It is especially necessary to weep for personal sins and the sins of men, to weep for the presence of evil in the world, for the deceit of the devil into which so many souls fall.
Just the day before, the Pope spoke during his Stations of the Cross address about the need to weep. He said the following:
Jesus walks and waits with his love, he waits with his tenderness, to comfort us, to wipe away our tears. I ask you a question now, but do not answer it out loud, each of you answer it to yourself: do I cry from time to time? Are there things in life that make me cry? We have all wept in life, and we still weep. And there Jesus is with us, He weeps with us, because He accompanies us in the darkness that leads us to weeping. each one of us says it to Him now, in silence.
Jesus, with His tenderness, wipes away our hidden tears. Jesus hopes to fill, with his closeness, our loneliness. How sad are the moments of loneliness! He is there, he wants to fill that loneliness. Jesus wants to fill our fear, your fear, my fear, those dark fears He wants to fill with His consolation.
Each one of us think of our own suffering, think of our own anxiety, think of our own miseries. Do not be afraid, think about them. And think of the desire for the soul to smile again.
Jimena has a great sorrow in her heart that makes her suffer a lot and she cries at the moment of communion and asks full of faith for her healing. It seems as if the Lord wants to remind us that we must learn to open our hearts to God and weep for our miseries so that compunction and true love may cleanse and purify the presence of evil in our hearts. But it is necessary to weep before Jesus Christ who heals us. And we find Jesus Christ in our heart and in the Eucharist. Crying before other people can console and help, but it does not heal in depth. Weeping before Jesus Christ consoles and heals the heart. Our Lord continues to be the same, He continues to heal the men and women of our time.
To see we first need to learn to cry for what really matters in life.
3. Blind people see. It strikes me that the miracle takes place in a blind person and not, for example, in a paralytic, a deaf person or in any other type of handicap. It seems as if the Lord, through Our Lady, is telling us to see. To those who know that they are blind to the things of God and recognize it, He confirms - if they ask for help with faith - that they can see or recover their sight, if at some point they lost it; To those who do not see and say they see, He tells them the same with this miracle: that they see the truth, not their truth. The devil with his lies blurs our sight and leaves us blind by promoting pride in us. Pride that blinds and does not allow us to recognize and accept the things that have happened in our life, our personal mistakes or the mistakes of others committed against us. With humility and faith, as Jimena does, we have to ask God through the Blessed Virgin to see the important things in life that can only be seen with the heart.
To see, we need to recognize and accept that we do not see, and want to see.
4. The Eucharist and Our Lady. The miracle takes place during the celebration of Holy Mass and just after Jimena receives the Body of Jesus Christ in communion. It seems that God wants to make clear the centrality of the Eucharist in the life of the Church. The Eucharist, the greatest and greatest miracle that takes place on earth every day. It is as if God wants to confirm that we have to take care of the Eucharist. The Eucharist makes the Church. This is the title of the last encyclical of St. John Paul II. Without the Eucharist the Church would disappear. It is as if the Lord wants to emphasize the need to adore, celebrate and take care of the Eucharist. In the Eucharist, Jesus Christ is the center and root of Christian life or, as the Second Vatican Council says, the source and summit of the Church's life.
Faith moves the heart of Jesus Christ. Jimena herself says in her audio, "this has been a test of faith". We Christians are always before the proof of faith of the presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. He is there with His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. Either one believes or one does not believe. And if one believes, one must be consistent with the immensity of God's love that this implies. This supposes: to go to Him in the Eucharist to praise Him, to adore Him, to make reparation to Him, to thank Him, to impetrate Him. The Blessed Virgin brings us to her Son in the Eucharist. To the three little shepherd seers of Fatima, before the first apparition of Our Lady, an angel appeared several times. In his last apparition, he gave them the Body and Blood of Jesus to receive communion under the two species. The apparitions of the Blessed Virgin followed.
Jimena, family and friends made a novena to Our Lady of the Snows. They asked the Virgin Mary. Once again, she answered the prayers of a little girl. Our Lady always attends to the prayers of her children. God in his providence grants what is asked for. Mary undoubtedly and by faith, intercedes in a special way for us. The Lord has once again made clear the powerful intercession of his Mother, Mediatrix of all graces. He wants us to ask through his Mother. Our Lady is with the young. She does not abandon young people who do not see or do not want to see. She opens our eyes to the mystery of her Son.
To see we need to see Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. To achieve this, Mary is the shortest and surest way.
5. The context of the miracle. This miracle took place at a very specific moment: it occurred in a very special context of ecclesial communion, the WYD. 1.5 million young people gathered by Pope Francis and with the participation of dozens of bishops from all over the world and hundreds of priests from the five continents. On that day, August 5, the Pope was in Fatima. About 200,000 pilgrims had come to pray to Our Lady together with Francis, who curiously was accompanied by sick young people who had not been able to attend the WYD. Fatima, a Marian shrine so closely linked to recent events in human history. The diffusion of its message and history is universal.
It seems as if the Lord, through Our Lady, is asking us: keep yourselves united, in communion with my Vicar on earth, around my Mother. Keep your unity. Pray together, work together, suffer together and hearts will see. And at the same time she asks us to bear witness to the graces we receive. In Jimena's case it was also a corporal grace. And all this communion that was experienced at WYD, the joy of faith, all this must be witnessed in today's world, especially by young people.
To see we need to be united with the Pope and with each other, the children of the Church. Seeing together to walk together.
Epilogue
Nowadays we are saturated with audiovisual images of things, sometimes very shocking. And one gets used to seeing things that a few years ago we found fascinating or very shocking. Now, really, on Youtube, Tiktok, etc., few things amaze us anymore.
With this miracle live, in the middle of WYD, with the Pope present, with 1.5 million young people, Our Lord and his Mother have given us this grace that we cannot let pass by as just another video on Tiktok or Youtube. No. We must stop to think and above all to pray. We must ponder things in the presence of God, as Our Lady and the saints did. And there receive the lights of the Holy Spirit that He wants to send us.
Especially those of us who have participated in this WYD have a greater sensitivity to do so. But especially the young people of today, Christians or not, should do it. 1.5 million young people together with a venerable old man of 86 years singing and adoring Jesus Christ and his Mother is not a superficial matter. And if, in addition, there has been a patent miraculous event like Jimena's, it would be sad to remain indifferent.
As an anecdotal comment. The environment of Christian formation in which Jimena has grown up, both in her family and in school, is that of the spirituality of Opus Dei. This preaches the universal call to holiness in ordinary life. The charism that the Holy Spirit instilled in the founder of Opus Dei, St. Josemaría Escrivá, inspires us to seek Jesus Christ in the most ordinary of daily life without expecting or looking for extraordinary things. St. Josemaría himself (who received extraordinary graces in his life, carried out with total discretion) said in this sense: I am not a miracle worker. I have written for years, and I have said so many times by word of mouth, that the miracles of the Gospel are enough for me. But if I were to affirm that I do not touch God, that I do not feel the full force of his Omnipotence, I would be lying!2
The fact that I come from a family and Christian environment that is not very prone to miracles or "miracles", but on the contrary, to ordinary Christian life and daily work, makes me see on the one hand the good humor of God, and on the other hand, makes me think with more conviction that God has wanted to speak to us through this miracle through Mary's intercession.
And on another occasion St. Josemaría said: Our life does not contain miracles. It contains, instead, our daily trifles, our work well done, our life of piety and, above all, the ineffable complement of the strength and Omnipotence of God. But we cannot be satisfied with the personal ambition to reach Heaven alone: if we are truly united to God and trust in God, we will see to it that all souls know the Lord and follow him, loving his commands.3
For this, Mary speaks to us once again through Jimena and WYD. She commands us to take care of ourselves in the 21st century. that all souls may know the Lord and follow him, loving his commands.
1 It is the invocation of the Virgin venerated in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. It is the oldest temple dedicated to the Virgin in the West. It dates from the second half of the fourth century. The Virgin appeared to a Roman couple and simultaneously to Pope Liberius. The Virgin asked them to build a temple there to honor her. The place to build it would be on one of the hills of Rome where it would have snowed. So, on a hot August 5, it snowed on the Esquiline Hill where the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore has stood ever since. The famous icon of the Madonna is located there. Salus Populi Romani. In Rome she is very much venerated. This is the image that Pope Francis always visits before and after every trip he makes outside of Rome.
2 JAVIER ECHEVARRÍA, Memoria del Beato Josemaría Escrivá (Interview with Salvador Bernal), Rialp, 2nd edition, Madrid 2000, pp. 175-176.
3 JAVIER ECHEVARRÍA, Memories of Blessed Josemaría Escrivá (Interview with Salvador Bernal), Rialp, 2nd ed.
Monsignor Masondole: "In Africa there is no shame in saying 'I am a Christian'."
Monsignor Simon Chibuga Masondole is bishop of the diocese of Bunda, Tanzania. He comes from a tribe of the Ukerewe Islands, a community that has been sustained by catechists, since there were no priests in the region. In this interview with Omnes, he talks about the Church in Africa.
Monsignor Simon Chibuga Masondole had a visit in May to ad limina with the Pope and then was in Spain visiting Tanzanian seminarians who are studying in the country. In this interview with Omnes, he tells us about the main challenges and strengths of the African church, the differences in the experience of faith between Africa and Europe and the current situation of his diocese, which shares characteristics with many others on the African continent.
How do you perceive the situation of the Church in Africa and in Tanzania in particular? What strengths and challenges do you see?
One of the main characteristics of the Church in Tanzania is that it is a young church, it is growing, it has just celebrated 150 years of its evangelization. There are a large number of conversions, both of young people and adults. The families that converted the longest time ago are also characterized by the fact that they are the best rooted in the faith and are the seedbed of vocations for the Church.
In this context, there are many apostolic movements, for example the Missionary Childhood or TYCS (Tanzanian Catholic Students). In addition, many young people who are in university form choirs. The choir in Tanzania is like an apostolic movement, they have their registration, their rules. Their way of evangelizing is through singing. It is not just like the "parish choir" in Europe, it is a concrete apostolate.
Monsignor Simon before the Confirmation of the children (in red and white) of Murutunguru parish.
In the face of this blessing that is the increase in the number of Christians, and the hope of seeing the Church grow, we have the difficulty that we lack pastors, both in terms of numbers and formation. Not only in Tanzania, but in Africa in general.
On the other hand, it is also noted that in Africa there is a kind of syncretism. There are no frontiers of saying: I am a Catholic and this is what is proper to Christian life. Therefore, there are many situations in which there are people who come to the Catholic Church asking for help or prayer because they are sick, but if the problem is still present and they do not see this need satisfied, they have no problem in going to other confessions or elsewhere.
They can spend a morning in a Catholic church asking for the anointing of the sick, but then go to a Pentecostal healing prayer, and if that does not work for them either, they go to a shaman or a healer. So, it is true that there is a need of the Lord, but also a daily need to overcome these difficulties. So the challenge is also this evangelizing task, to deal with this syncretism, which in part comes from a faith that is not yet firm, which is still developing, and on the other hand, from a tradition of millennia that is very anchored.
This group of Christians who "wander" with their problems from one place to another is growing and has a certain size. It is a challenge for the Church in Africa to attend to them, but also to help them to become more firmly rooted in the Catholic faith and in these frontiers of faith.
Another difficulty encountered not only by the Church, but also by the African population, is the proliferation of groups that call themselves Christians, but who are basically preachers of falsehood, seeking personal gain. For example, with formulas such as: "If you step on this sacred oil, you will be rich".
They take advantage of that human need that people have. Recently we have had a case in Kenya: at Easter, the pastor preached that the encounter with Christ is through death, and he has influenced people to the point that they have been fasting to death, and the police have had to intervene. Another case has been the one we call the Jesus of Tongaren, a man who has proclaimed himself Jesus saying that he has come to earth at the Second Coming, and he has a group of followers.
Or a few years ago another preacher who said it was the end of the world and made people smear themselves with oil and set fire to the church with the people inside, and there were deaths. They are usually Pentecostal groups, although not only, there are other branches. So another challenge for the Church in Africa is the increase of these groups, who say that the Holy Spirit has spoken to them and asked them to found something new. Through preaching they also raise funds. There is one particular group where each type of blessing involves a different amount of money: if it's just a few words, it's a certain amount; if I have to lay hands on you, another amount.
The Catholic Church must take care to preach the authentic Gospel, but also help and attend to these people who are deceived, abused and swindled using the name of Christ.
We must also ask for more vocations, promote vocation ministry, but, at the same time, strengthen the formation of priests, who are children of their time and can come with traditions or customs that are not proper to Christianity.
But the good thing is that the number of Christians is increasing, in Tanzania in particular there are more Christians than Muslims. The positive thing is that there is no fundamentalism, there is a freedom of relationship between confessions, but we must also set the limit of, without being fundamentalist, being able to recognize what fits in the Catholic faith and what does not.
What do you consider to be the main differences between the Church in Europe and in Africa?
The first difference is that the Church in Africa is growing rapidly in the number of Christians, while in Europe growth has slowed down.
In Spain, in the parishes where I have been, I have seen that there are young people, while, in what I know of Italy, this is very difficult to find. Although it is a bad thing, I think that in general, in Europe, I was happy to see that in Spain there is still a living seed of the Gospel.
Also, in Africa, there is no shame in saying "I am a Christian" or "I am looking for God". Young people at university are not ashamed to say that they are Christians, that they are going to church, to choir rehearsal... Catholic professionals are not ashamed either, you can be a doctor and it is known that you are a Christian and there is no problem. In Europe I do see this embarrassment when it comes to saying that you are a Christian, or announcing the Gospel. And there seems to be a belief that you cannot be a good professional and a Catholic, that they are incompatible.
Another difference with respect to what I have already said is that in the Church in Africa, in the liturgical celebration, the expression of faith through the body comes into play very much. For example, in every hymn there is always a choreography, it is not only music. Or there are also the children of the Missionary Childhood, who are in charge of dancing in the Eucharist. In the European liturgy, everything is more static. It is the death of emotion, as opposed to the liveliness of expression in the Church in Africa: dancing, clapping, the vigelegele or shout of jubilation, and also in the entrance procession the choir has an entrance step.
It is a liturgical dance, of course, but you don't just walk in. In Europe, to see emotions there has to be an accident on the road. But if not, they are not expressed. The other day, speaking with the rector of Jaen, we were commenting that nowhere in the Bible is it written that the Mass has to be a rigid body Mass. The important thing is to respect the liturgical rite, but that does not prevent emotional or corporal expression.
Perhaps in Europe we are seeing more exaltation of the body through tattoos, piercings... But not in the liturgical celebration. Recovering corporeality in the celebration is also a way of purifying the conception of corporeality among young people, instead of piercings and tattoos.
The Church in Africa I am able to provide this slackness within the rite, to understand that my faith is also manifested through the body. Man is body and soul.
Another difference is the meaning of the offertory in the Mass. On the one hand, there is the economic offering. I am not so familiar with the situation in Spain, but my experience in Italy, where I have lived for ten years, is that the normal thing is to give 50 cents. The meaning of the offering is lost as an expression that you unite your life to the Lord's surrender, and this has a material meaning. This is very much alive in Africa. If a community sees that it needs a church, it does not wait for the bishop to order it to be built. They set about it, take up collections, and build it.
Perhaps this is because in Europe people are used to the fact that priests receive a salary, but they lose the connection that it is the people who support the priests. On the other hand, there is the material offering. In Africa, along with money, they also offer things: chickens, eggs, matches, salt, flour, fruit... These things are really an offering, the person is giving it up and gives it to the church, and then the priest administers it: some things he will use for his own sustenance, because he has no other way of supporting himself, and others to distribute to the poor.
However, what I have observed in Europe is that when something that is not money is offered, in youth or children's masses, it is a symbolic offering, for example: "I offer you these shoes in representation of our Christian walk". But after the mass the shoes are taken away, there is no offering so that at least those shoes serve a poor person, it is not a real offering.
Is the whole Church in Africa supported by offerings, no one receives a salary?
No, no one receives a salary. In Africa there is no such thing. Unless it is a priest who works in a school, then he receives his teacher's salary. But a parish priest, or a bishop, does not receive a salary, they live on the offerings of the masses and what the people give, either financially or materially. There is also the payment of the tithe at the end of the month, which is another form of offering. Depending on the type of work that is done, there is an assigned amount, which is not really the 10 %, it is symbolic. Civil servants have an allotted amount, which is different from farmers or students.
What the priest does is that what he receives through the tithe and the offering he administers: for his own sustenance (from food to gasoline for the car to go to celebrate mass in the villages or to attend to the sick), for the development and repairs of the Church and for the needs of the poor. The problem is that the city parishes are wealthier and live more comfortably, and the parishes in the villages are in greater need.
You have sent several seminarians to study at the University of Navarra in Pamplona. How do you think this experience can enrich them?
I started sending priests and seminarians to study in Navarra when I was studying in Rome. There I met a priest who told me that he had studied in Navarra. He gave me the contact to talk to the bishop and we got a place for the first Tanzanian priest who went to Navarra. Bidasoafrom my diocese of Bunda. While he was in Navarra, he discovered that seminarians could also go, so we asked for them for the following year and began to send them as well.
The bishop with the Tanzanian seminarians studying in Bidasoa, Navarra.
There are many benefits in seminarians and priests going to study abroad. In the first place, in this way they see that the Church is one, catholic, apostolic and Roman. They see the universality and unity of the Church. All the institutes or universities are a good of the Church, so they are for everyone. Going to study at any university is a way of experiencing in the flesh that the Church is one, and that everywhere there are Catholic universities and the theology is the same.
Not all seminaries have a system that allows them to welcome foreign students. Bidasoa is one of the few international ones, it is expressly designed for the formation of seminarians coming from different parts of the world, it is not a diocesan seminary.
On the other hand, teaching also involves a tradition. You cannot compare the tradition of Christian life and Christian universities that the Church in Europe has with that of Tanzania, which has just celebrated 150 years since the arrival of the first missionaries.
The Church in Europe has a treasure of teaching, libraries, books, well-trained teachers, who are also researchers and writers, which is not available in Africa. It is useless to say that we are in the same conditions.
The idea is for them to receive this training so that they can bring it to the African church and enrich it.
I have had the opportunity in this visit to Spain to see many libraries, and it is the first time I have seen a parchment book. Or I, for example, I have a doctorate in Liturgy from the Pontifical Athenaeum of St. Anselm, and I have seen for the first time a sacramentary, the first liturgical books. I had studied or memorized things that I had never been able to see physically. The Church in Africa does not have that wealth, or a library in which to see these things.
On the other hand, in Africa we are of the Latin rite. There is the Coptic, in Egypt, but basically we are of the Latin rite. However, in Europe there is the Roman, the Mozarabic, the Ambrosian... On this trip to Spain, I had the opportunity to attend for the first time a Mass of the Mozarabic rite.
In addition, in every local church there is a form of popular piety. To be able to leave home and see other cultural ways of living and expressing the faith is a great richness, because there are many things to learn. It also helps to know what is negative, in order to prevent it from happening in the diocese of origin.
Tradition is deepening, it is development. In Africa we still don't have it. You study what a basilica is, but in Africa there are no such large buildings. I think there are two in all of Africa that could be considered basilicas. In Europe there is so much history, and so many architectural styles, with Romanesque, Gothic, Baroque, Renaissance, Neoclassical churches... That is a wealth.
Or the canons of a cathedral, in Africa it is a figure that does not exist, but here I have seen that it is very common. Studying in another diocese opens your horizons and perspectives.
There was an African Christian tradition, but mostly in the northern part, and with the arrival of Islam it was lost. So within Africa there was a communication barrier of what could have been the African tradition of the Christian faith.
I would also like to make an appeal to the Western Church to open its doors a little more. In Africa we lack these roots of history, education, liturgical tradition... If this is not known and is not deepened, there is also the risk that the African faith lacks roots. It would help us a lot if the West would open more doors to the African church and it would be easier to receive this formation. It is necessary to foster this firmness in the faith.
Conversely, it is also a benefit for the European church. The African church is young, it is not yet afraid to say "I am Catholic". That young Africans come to the European church is a testimony. It is a faith without fear. And it is also a benefit for the local church to see another way of living the faith. The exchange is beneficial for everyone. We need each other to really be universal.
What was your vocation process like and what encouraged you to become an ordained priest?
I come from a Christian family and my vocation came when I was a child. There are two key moments that I can remember. When I was 5 or 6 years old, the bishop came to my island for the first time (I am from Ukara, an island in the Ukerewe archipelago in Lake Victoria). They had just finished building the first kigango in Bukiko, my hometown, and the bishop came to inaugurate it. I remember how we welcomed the bishop, the singing... The bishop spoke about the importance of parents being committed to their children's education. Of all the children, he came up to me, put his hand on my head and said: "A child like this, if he studies, one day he can become a priest".
The second moment came shortly after. There were no priests on the island, they came only to celebrate Easter and Christmas. There was no mass even on Sundays, because we didn't have a ferry as we do now, we had to go by fishing boat. The faith in my community has been preserved and spread by the catechists, and I have been formed through them as well.
My mother took me to Christmas Mass that year and left my older brother in charge of the house. The parish is very far away and we had to walk there, so we couldn't all go. I remember entering the church and seeing a priest for the first time. I said: "I want to be like him. Then I studied in the minor seminary, then in the major seminary and was ordained a priest in 2006. I was consecrated bishop in 2021.
What are the main pastoral challenges of your diocese?
The diocese of Bunda is very young, it is twelve years old, it was erected in the last year of Pope Benedict XVI. So it is still growing.
One of the first difficulties in the diocese are some deeply rooted traditions and customs, such as the veneration or fear of certain animals considered as totems. For example, in the islands, the python snake. To the extent that if we put a python, even if it were dead, at the door of the church, no one would go, because they think it might curse them, even though they are Christians.
The belief that the python has the power to curse them is far greater than their Christian faith.
If there were a python at the door of my parish, I wouldn't go in either.
(laughs)
But you would fear it as a snake, not as a sacred animal that has the power to curse you dead or alive.
Then there are customs so deeply rooted that it is very difficult to extirpate. For example, purification rites: if you become a widow or widower, although it is more common in women, you have to purify yourself, and the means is to sleep with another man. Or polygamy. In certain tribes, being monogamous is frowned upon, you have to be polygamous, and that affects Christian life, marriage and families. In particular, it is very difficult for men of the Kurya tribe to come to mass for this reason.
Or there are also times when, for example, the fifth wife wants to become a Christian. She asks to be baptized, but continues to live as a fifth wife. For the administration of the sacraments, this is also a pastoral problem.
There are other administrative problems: we do not have a curia, a building to manage things. We have made in the living room of my residence a division with three small offices, but we still lack that structure, although we are trying to get it.
Moreover, the diocese of Bunda is a poor diocese. To have trained priests to train the people, you need money. That is why receiving a scholarship for us is a great help.
On the other hand, we have very few priests. Therefore, catechists in our diocese are very important, but they have to be well trained. The two big works we have in hand now are the construction of the curia and a small school for catechists, with classrooms, office, which can also serve as a place of retreat where they can go for a weekend or a month and do an intensive course in pastoral themes or liturgy. Since catechists are a key element in the evangelization of our diocese, it is necessary that they have a formation according to the work they do.
We are taking small steps to grow, but we are still in a very early stage. But we are very encouraged and moving forward.
Steven Schloeder: "With architecture we seek to express a deeper truth."
Architect and theologian Steven Schloeder reviews in this interview with Omnes the fundamental aspects of sacred architecture and its historical evolution.
Architect and theologian, Steven Schloeder seeks to respond to contemporary challenges in building Catholic churches by drawing on the symbolism that has accompanied them throughout history. In his book Architecture in Communion (Ignatius Press), not yet translated into English, speaks of three main symbols in the language of architecture: the body, the temple and the city.
How does the architecture symbolize and represent the importance of what is being celebrated?
-Primarily, we build churches for the celebration of the liturgy, which is necessarily a communal event of believers in Christ gathered together. The liturgy manifests the Body of Christ. The Church is the Body of Christ, and the continuation of the Body of Christ on Earth. It is a physical and spiritual, eternal and temporal, heavenly and earthly reality.
God reveals himself through symbols, and Christ has revealed to us the meaning of specific symbols: the symbol of the body, the blood, of his crucifixion. They are sacramental, effective symbols, the true reality in which we participate. The liturgy is both material and spiritual, communal and hierarchical.
When we approach a church from the outside, on the street, it helps if it looks like a church. Not all contemporary churches look like churches, and that is a problem that needs to be addressed. When we approach a church, we approach the heavenly Jerusalem, the City of God, the Body of Christ, the Temple of the Holy Spirit, and I think the local parish or cathedral should be thought of as the presence of the heavenly Jerusalem in our city. It is an interruption in the fabric of the city, the place where something sacred is happening. In Revelation there is this image of the heavenly Jerusalem descending, God living among men, and that is what we should really see when we see a church and what we architects should express in some way.
Once we are inside the Church and approach the altar, the language of the altar helps us to understand that we are entering a sacred event and a sacred place. Very significant is the crucifix as the central icon of the liturgy, as Cardinal Ratzinger said.
This is not just a meal, it's not just a table, it's not just a gathering of people, but of the people on Earth and that of the heavenly Jerusalem, the Church triumphant. I think the formality of the language of architecture and things like symmetry, height or quality materials are fundamental, because we are trying to express something that is tremendously important. We express importance and dignity through the value and the way we treat things in our material culture.
An altar, for example, is not just a wooden board, like a table for eating. Using good vestments, valuable liturgical objects, such as the chalice or ciborium, good linen and good quality stone helps us to understand the importance of what is being said. Then, of course, there are the liturgical texts themselves, the prayers of the priest and the responses. That is what conveys the intention of the church: to offer this perfect sacrifice at Mass.
That's why there's liturgical discipline: fasting before receiving Communion, being in a state of grace before receiving Communion, dressing appropriately, having a sense of real dignity in terms of the material setting of the church. I think that's one of the important things about previous generations of architecture, that the church was very deliberate and intentional in their material culture and architectural.
It showed that it was something of great importance and deserved our full attention.
How have churches evolved over time? What have been the most important turning points?
-We know that at the beginning the communities met in houses. Very soon, in the middle of the second century, there began to be vestiges of consecrated churches. We have no archaeological evidence of this, because they have been lost. The earliest surviving churches date from about a century later, but we have evidence through written documents that there were churches about a hundred years earlier, visible buildings that could be identified as places of worship. Christians had settled in communities that could own land and build. This occurs very early in the history of Christianity. Before Constantine, during the persecutions in the late 3rd-early 4th century, Lactantius, for example, the historian, talks about large buildings being destroyed as part of the persecution. So the Church was having a strong identity when it came to leaving its mark on the city or town.
Eusebius has a fantastic passage in his History about the dedication of the cathedral of Tyre that speaks about the symbolism, the beauty and the importance of the building. I think Eusebius is not inventing this language of ecclesial architecture, but there was already a well-established knowledge of what a church should be, because he writes at the beginning of the fourth century and he has a fully formed theology of architecture that I don't think came to him all of a sudden, but he is expressing what the Church had already cultivated. So there were already monumental buildings that were important and identifiable.
Perhaps under Constantine, who is the head of Eusebius, the Church probably adopted a formality imitating the royal court, considering it suitable for the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords. At that time the basilica plan was adopted, the traditional form of the church, which appeared in the third century and probably somewhat earlier. From this point on, there were a series of stylistic innovations: Byzantine architecture, Romanesque, Gothic...
The point is that each of these styles follows a pattern. We find a communality in the formal language of architecture. First of all there is a language related to the body: symmetrical and hierarchical (we have head, chest, legs...). And this is something precious that I think we have to recover both in architecture and in art: to reencounter our body in a sacramental sense.
In a church in the form of a cross, the head is the apse, where the bishop's seat is, because it represents Christ ruling the Church, the transept is the chest, where the altar is, the heart; from there the arms come out, and the feet are the entrance, because you enter walking into the Church. There is a symbolic way of thinking related to the body.
I also believe this refers to the Incarnation and defends it as the "logos," which is communicative, formative and creates reality. The Incarnation of Christ in a human body is always our model for understanding who we are as persons and as Church. We immediately recall St. Paul (1 Cor. 12:12).
There is also language related to the temple, to the Tent of Meeting and Solomon's temple. Christ himself speaks of his body as "the temple". He himself establishes these relationships. St. Paul develops this, and Eusebius also speaks of it. We always think of form symbolically. With architecture, we seek to express a deeper truth.
In Revelation 21-22, we see that the tabernacle is then transformed into the City. If we look at a Gothic church, it is brilliant the way it is represented: every part of the building, the ciborium or the baldachin over the altar, is a small building. The buttresses outside the building are little shrines and all the shrines are little houses that make up a city. The aisles and corridors are like roadways. There are direct analogies that help us understand this interconnection between the body, the temple and the city.
Throughout the centuries, regardless of the style of the church, this is the main language, which somehow refers to the fact that we are body and we live in buildings, houses, which is the family house, the domestic church. This is fundamental to the importance of the family as the central nucleus of society. And it also underlies the concept that we are social beings and we have to live in community in order to grow. The church as a building and the theology of architecture should somehow represent all of this. They are concepts faithful to the way God has revealed himself to us: the Body of Christ and the Church as temple, as the heavenly city.
Then we come to the twentieth century, which is a radical break. Especially, it arises in Germany, through the work of Rudolf Schwarz, for example, and the Bauhaus. Many other people who were not part of the Bauhaus were doing similar things, but we talk about modernist architecture in general.
The churches cease to be hierarchical, and begin to have circular forms. German Lutherans and Catholics begin to play with other more centralized forms. And at that point I think we have lost the unity of the church as a symbolic presentation of the heavenly reality. Not that it's completely divorced from the earlier, but the centralized form, which generally has some sort of swooping, tent-like form, is a decisive break in the continuity that was there 1900 years earlier. It becomes the main form of sacred architecture in Europe and America, especially after World War II and the rise of modernism. Many of the cities of Europe that had been bombed were rebuilt with modernist forms.
What has been the evolution of the baptistery and its symbolism?
-The main thing about baptism is that it is one of the sacraments of initiation, which introduces us into the Body of Christ. In the earlier rite, before the revisions of the sixties, there was very interesting language related to moving from the region of darkness into the realm of life. There was a series of prayers as the person first entered the church, because you were being ushered into the Kingdom. The baptistery back then was fenced in, with a fence around it or some kind of protective contraption, because there was a sense of being brought back to primal innocence and righteousness, and the gates of Paradise were being opened for us. Baptism is an entrance into the Church, into the Kingdom of God, coming out of darkness and chaos, and light becomes a very important element.
Now usually the baptistery is placed at the entrance of the church, which is not wrong, it is in fact an entrance to the church, but it is often placed in line with the altar, at least in the United States. Because in the United States in the fifties a German liturgist published a book in which he said that the most important thing was the altar and then the baptistery, and everybody gathers around both of them. So they line up and everybody has to dodge the baptistery, you can't have a straight procession. This became a stylistic motif.
The symbol that has been lost is that the baptistery is also a place of death, where we die to our sins and become a new man. The baptistery is the womb in which Christians are born, but also the tomb where we die and are born in Christ. It is possible that the old models are no longer in force: if we look at some of the famous baptisteries, such as those of Pisa, Florence or Ravenna, they are usually octagonal in shape, based on the Roman mausoleum. But we have to recover a way to express the different meanings of the baptistery: water, life, death, being incorporated into the Body of Christ. We architects play with a language rich in symbolism with which we try to convey and support what the Church is trying to teach us, and the baptistery is a microcosm in this sense.
In architecture, I believe that in the last twenty years we have been working to recover the sacramental dimension of the building.
What about the confessional?
-What we know about confession is that in the old days, when murderers were on their way to execution, they would cry out: "I have sinned, pray for me". We have some documents of that. Then in the early church you could confess once in a lifetime, so it was usually done towards the end of life. You had to stand on the steps of the church and confess your sins to the bishop. And everybody knew about it. So I think it's been reasonable to develop private confession from a more pastoral perspective, which was especially developed through the monks in Ireland.
Today, I have seen confessionals that have glass booths, like an office space, with a table for the penitent and the confessor. It is very transactional. I think we have to recover the sense of confession as a sacrament that deserves its own space, like the baroque confessional, where you have the priest in the center and space for the penitents on either side. It becomes an object in the space, in the place of the sacrament.
During the last twenty years there has been a revision of the importance of private, discreet and anonymous confession, both for the priest and the penitent. It is an encounter with Christ, through the minister and the words of Christ's priest. We are in an interesting time in the development of sacred architecture, where we have the priest face to face and become familiar with him, and the same is true in confession.
As a theologian and architect, what I seek is to flesh out the language of architectural arrangement and form, so that it supports what the Church does sacramentally.
What characteristics do the elements of the sanctuary have to have and what should be taken into account when building them?
-The altar is central and prevalent, and the ambo is the place of proclamation. In the time of St. John Paul II the concept of "the two tables" was developed: the table of sacrifice and the table of the Word. I think it is important to establish a relationship between the Word proclaimed and the Word as bread (Mt 4:4). They are two elements that should be architecturally related.
Then we also have the place of the Eucharistic reservation, the tabernacle. I do not know what the situation is in Spain, but a few years ago there was a great movement in the United States that sought to separate the tabernacle into a separate chapel. It was, in a way, imposed by the liturgists. Nowadays, the tendency is to reestablish the tabernacle in the temple, and I think rightly so. Because one of the arguments was that since the priest is now facing the assembly, he is turning his back on the tabernacle.
But the language of the tabernacle already solves that. It is the Tent of Meeting. What's appropriate is that it's opaque and solid, and covered, so it's its own room, its own sacred space, when it's properly constructed. It's the same language of "concealing" or "veiling" that's in the Tent of Meeting or in Solomon's temple. When the doors are closed, life can go on. When they are open, we see the Lord in his glory, in the shechinah. This enables us to live our lives in the presence of God. For, if we see God face to face, what can we do but fall on our knees in worship?
I believe that the point we are at now, returning the tabernacle to its original place, works, because, when we enter a church, we kneel before the Lord who is in the tabernacle, we do not need to look around to find him.
As for the see, Church documents point out that it emphasizes the presence of the minister as Christ presiding among his people. The priest is representing the bishop. It is a place of dignity, a place of presidereThe church does not tell us much about it. The Church does not tell us much about it. In some of the older documents, it talks about the seat being placed at the apex, the highest point of the sanctuary, but it shouldn't look like a throne. But if you look at any royal throne, it is always in the highest place, in the center. So there are mixed messages in the language of the seat. It is a place of service, a place to preside, but it should not be a throne or a cathedra.
Then there is the crucifix itself. In the words of Cardinal Ratzinger, it is the central icon of the liturgy, because everything has to do with the wood of the Cross and the crucifixion of Christ and his death on the Cross. So where is the best place to put it? What does it represent? We are not praying to the Cross, nor are we praying to Christ, we are participating with Christ in his offering to the Father, and that is the theology of the crucifix, that is the central message of the Mass in its sacramental, priestly and sacrificial sense.
Christ the High Priest offering Himself on the Cross. At The feast of faithRatzinger said that the crucifix becomes an open iconostasis to which both the priest and the assembly look. It is in the middle, above the altar, and I think it is a precious and reasonable place, it becomes a point of reference shared by the whole church in prayer, the ministerial priest and the royal priesthood, of baptism, offering our lives united with the minister in one priest.
That is the dynamic of the liturgy, which the crucifix should support. It has the importance of developing the theology of the laity as members of the baptismal priesthood. And that was a very clear message in the documents of the Second Vatican Council, that there really is a sacrifice that we as laity are called to offer, and it is the sacrifice of St. Paul's letter to the Romans: present yourselves as "a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God" (Rom 12:1). So I believe we are called to take our whole life and bring it to the altar. As we present the offerings of bread and wine, we are presenting our hearts for Christ to heal and we are also offering our own lives.
Rimini to bring together scientists, intellectuals and artists in a cultural event
The 44th edition of the Meeting for Friendship among Peoples will be held in Rimini from August 20 to 25, 2023. This year's event will focus on the theme "Human existence is an inexhaustible friendship".
The Peoples' Friendship Meeting will begin on Sunday, August 20 with a Mass presided over by Cardinal Matteo Zuppi and concelebrated by the Bishop of Rimini, Nicolò Anselmi.
Meeting History
Organized by the Catholic movement of Communion and LiberationThe first edition of the meeting was held in 1980. In 2008, the promoting committee, constituted as an association since December 8, 1980, was transformed into the Meeting for Friendship among Peoples Foundation, the entity in charge of organizing the meeting every year.
This foundation, according to the website, "was born from the desire of some friends to meet, get to know and bring to Rimini all that is beautiful and good in the culture" of our time. The Meeting Foundation "bets on the desire and passion that every man has in his heart to create a common ground for meeting and dialogue". Volunteers are a key pillar in the organization of the event, putting "in common" their inclination "towards truth, goodness and beauty".
During seven days in August, the Meeting gathers every year important personalities from different academic and artistic fields and from different religions and cultures, and is defined as "the cultural festival with more participation in the world" and "a place of friendship where peace, coexistence and friendship among peoples can be built".
The program is very varied: it includes lectures on different topics (economics, art, literature, science, politics...), round tables, exhibitions, concerts and theatrical performances.
Edition 2023
The theme of the 2023 edition, "Human existence is an inexhaustible friendship," is "an invitation to discover the deeper meaning of friendship, its generative force, its origins and its prospects for the existence of every human being and for the construction of a new society. Friendship has always been at the center of the human heart's desire; it is a gift that no one can claim".
This year, the program will address topics related to education, press responsibility, science, physics, politics, friendship in the Bible, nuclear fusion, vocation at work, the encyclical Fratelli Tutti, reason and faith, artificial intelligence, healthcare, demography, literature and poetry, architecture, blue and circular economy, nature, among others.
Tolkien, Dostoyevsky and motorcycle GP
Some of the highlights are the meeting on Friday 25 with the President of Italy, Sergio Mattarella, or the interview with Marco Bezzecchi, moto GP rider. There will also be a music contest, the Meeting Music Contest and a creative writing workshop.
In relation to the performing arts, the staging of Dostoyevsky's "The Dream of a Ridiculous Man", starring the Italian theater icon Gabriele Lavia, and the concert "The Heart in Everything", dedicated to the surgeon and educator Enzo Piccinini, in the process of beatification, are worth mentioning.
Tolkien will also be present in the program with the lecture "The mission of Frodo: individual and company in 'The Lord of the Rings'. 50 years after Tolkien's death", by Giuseppe Pezzini, professor at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, and Paolo Prosperi, priest of the Fraternity of St. Charles Borromeo.
The Meeting will also include presentations that recall personalities such as Aldo Moro, Lorenzo Milani, Dorothy Day, the Venezuelan Blessed José Gregorio Hernández, the Blessed Pino Puglisi or the Japanese Takashi Pablo Nagai, medical survivor of the atomic bomb in the process of beatification, of whom Ediciones Encuentro has recently published a book, "What never dies". This last paper, entitled "Inexhaustible Friendships. 'What never dies'. The figure of Takashi Nagai", will feature the participation of Paola Marenco, vice president of the Committee of Friends of Takashi and Midori Nagai.
Pope's message
On the occasion of the Meeting, the Pope sent a message to the Bishop of Rimini, Monsignor Nicolò Anselmi, through Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, in which he emphasized that the Meeting for Friendship among Peoples seeks "to be a place of friendship between individuals and peoples, opening paths of encounter and dialogue".
Finally, the communiqué underlines that "Pope Francis hopes that the Meeting for Friendship among Peoples will continue to promote the culture of encounter, open to all, excluding no one, because in everyone there is a reflection of the Father (...). May each of the participants learn a little to approach others in the manner of Jesus (...)".
Ana and Gerardo went through a difficult infidelity ordeal. They had taken the issue to the divorce. On the day the final signature was due, she did it, but he stopped. Something deep inside told him that it would not solve anything. He thought of his children, renounced his criteria and in the name of God decided not to sign: "I don't want to get divorced," he told the lawyer. He got up and walked out of there determined to fight for the unity of his family.
Ana was inwardly happy about that act. She realized that she did not want to put an end to his marriageHe just wanted to put an end to their problems. Since then, both have restarted their relationship. They forgave each other, renewed their home with the understanding that only God gives us the capacity to truly love, to forgive what seems unforgivable, to die to ourselves for the greater good.
Today the family of Gerardo and Ana serve the Lord, they are witnesses of the fruits of forgiveness and announce it with enthusiasm.
The teaching of Christ
To forgive is not human but divine. It is not possible for us to forgive what we consider unforgivable. It arises in the bowels of the heart that "I don't want to, it's not fair, I don't deserve it, why me?
Only Jesus Christ speaks of a forgiveness necessary for life. No one else, no other way of thinking approaches forgiveness as He does. Our genuine search for justice affirms: "he who does it pays it".
But God arrives on earth and his words disconcert us:
"Be kind and compassionate to one another, and forgive one another, just as God forgave you in Christ" (Eph 4:32).
"For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you" (Mt 6:14).
"So you must tolerate one another and forgive one another if anyone has a complaint against another. As the Lord forgave you, so you also must forgive" (Col 3:13).
"Judge not, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven" (Lk. 6:37).
Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times must I forgive my brother who sins against me, up to seven times? -Jesus answered him, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times" (Mt 18:21-22).
We do not want to forgive but we realize that it is necessary. You think of your children whom you love and do not want them to suffer. Suddenly you know that it is by giving up yourself that you can save them. Perhaps you begin to understand that God did the same for you. "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much fruit" (Jn 12:24).
Nowadays, homes and hearts are broken as a consequence of infidelity. While it is necessary to put an end to this scourge and to live faithful love, it is also fundamental to strengthen love in the family through Christian forgiveness, the true forgiveness, the one that edifies, the one that rebuilds from faith and puts an end to evil in the only possible way: in abundance of good!
J. Marrodán: "We are called more than ever to seek common ground."
Javier Marrodán, journalist and professor in the School of Communication at the University of Navarra, was ordained a priest on May 20 by Korean Cardinal Lazzaro You Heung-sik, prefect of the Dicastery for the Clergy, along with 24 other members of Opus Dei. After almost 100 days of ordination, he speaks to Omnes from Seville about his pastoral work and current issues.
Francisco Otamendi-August 18, 2023-Reading time: 6minutes
It was not possible to interview Javier Marrodán from Navarre when he was ordained priest in Rome by the Cardinal of Korea Lazzaro You Heung-sik, Prefect of the Clergy. Now, with almost a hundred days as a priest, he talks to Omnes about some of his concerns.
For example, his "admiration" for Albert Camus, the object of his doctoral thesis. Marrodán is moved that "someone supposedly far from God and the Church like Albert Camus proposes a way of living so close to the Gospel, and that he does it in such a convinced and authentic way".
Partly for this reason, he believes that "today we are called more than ever to seek points of encounter and to discover in others concerns and aspirations related to our own," and he gives the example of Jesus with the Samaritan woman at the well of Sychar, as seen in the interview.
Javier Marrodán comments on the "passion to evangelize through joy" that the Pope Francisand on "the love of enemies", he points out that "it is not usual to have declared or aggressive enemies, but almost all of us keep in some corner of our souls our little black lists. Getting out of that spiral is a real revolution".
You have been a priest for three months. Are these first hundred days going as you had imagined? How is your pastoral task? What did Cardinal Lazzaro You Heung-sik underline to you at the ordination?
-I have made my debut as a priest in Seville. I live in the Colegio Mayor Almonte and for now I am attending some activities related to the work of Opus Dei: a retreat, some retreats, meditations for young people, a camp for girls in the Sierra de Cazorla... I also lend a hand in the church of Señor San José. Cardinal Lazzaro You Heung-sik reminded us in his ordination homily that Christ himself would speak through us, that he would offer through our hands the absolution of sins and reconcile the faithful with the Father.
Almost every day I spend some time in the confessional and I always try to remember the father in the parable of the prodigal son: I hope that God can make use of me to welcome all those who come to him, and I would like not to tarnish or hinder his mercy in any way. Pope Francis wrote to the 25 priests who were ordained in May that "God's style is compassion, closeness and tenderness". And the prelate of Opus Dei also asked us to be welcoming, to sow hope. I hope never to stray from these coordinates.
He has worked in Navarra Newspaperhas also been a teacher. It is often said that "journalism is a priesthood". How do you see it? Will you continue to tell things?
- I think it can be said that journalism essentially consists in providing information so that society can have more and better elements of judgment, so that people can make their decisions more freely. In this sense, we can speak of a certain professional continuity: after all, the priest also tries to effectively transmit the good news of the Gospel.
There is, however, a relevant difference that I have already noticed in these first weeks of pastoral work. As a journalist, I have long devoted myself to uncovering and documenting stories and then telling them, and there was a very clear purpose that is almost like a premise of news work: it is about telling stories for someone.
As a priest, the stories I get to know and hear do not belong to me, they do not come to me to be written down or completed: they are stories that many people place in my hands so that I can present them to God, so that I can tell them to him alone. In that sense, the difference is profound.
Every day, when I approach the altar to celebrate Holy Mass, I carry with me the worries, sins, illusions, troubles, joys and tears of those who have turned to God through me, sometimes unconsciously. There are still stories and I am still a mediator, but now I turn in another orbit, in God's orbit.
Your last book was "Pulling the thread". What did you want to tell us?
-I think the main characteristic of this book is precisely that I didn't want to say anything. I started writing it during the first confinement, in a somewhat improvised way, without any editorial aspiration. I mainly devoted myself to gather scattered stories that I had already written, stories of people and events that have been important to me for diverse and very personal reasons. Then I saw that all that material could be ordered and cohesive, that it had a meaning. The subtitle sums it up in a way: 'All the stories that have led me to Rome'..
I suppose that at heart the book is a hymn of thanksgiving to God, who has crossed my paths with those of so many good, interesting and unforgettable people. And it offers some clue as to the change of direction I have taken at this point in life.
You have been a member of Opus Dei for 41 years. How did you perceive that God was calling you to the priesthood? Can you offer some advice on how to live the passion of evangelization with joy, as the Pope asks?
-I had considered on many occasions the possibility of the priesthood, but there was a very specific day in 2018 when I saw it in a much clearer way. I think that the word 'call I sensed that Jesus Christ was encouraging me to spend the coming years trying to do his part in a ministerial way, transmitting his messages, helping him to administer the sacraments, involving myself fully in the great 'field hospital' that is the Church - the expression is Pope Francis' - trying to be one more among the priests. "holy, learned, humble, cheerful and sporting". that St. Josemaría wanted. I like the expression 'help God'. that Etty Hillesum used, that's what I'm going to try to do from now on.
Regarding the passion of which the Pope speaks, I think that one key is precisely that of evangelizing through joy: we Christians have more and better reasons than anyone else to be happy in spite of everything, to offer the best version of ourselves, to find ourselves at ease in the world. All this comes from the personal encounter of each one of us with Jesus: if we allow ourselves to be challenged and loved by him, we cease to be pilgrims and become apostles. "Joy is missionary." the Pope repeated several times during the memorable WYD vigil in Lisbon.
Sometimes social and political positions seem irreconcilable. From your point of view as a professor of communication, and now as a priest, how do you reconcile antagonistic positions with the legitimate defense, for example, of a Christian vision of society that underlines the dignity of the human person?
- During the years I spent in Rome, I completed my degree in Moral Theology and a doctoral thesis entitled 'The Theological and Moral Dimension of Literature. The case of Albert Camus'. I became interested in Albert Camus years ago, when I read the first chapter of the first volume of 20th Century Literature and Christianity, by the great Charles Moeller, a Belgian priest who established a very interesting dialogue from the perspective of faith with the great authors of his time.
I admire and am moved by the fact that someone supposedly far from God and the Church like Albert Camus proposes a way of living so close to the Gospel, and that he does it in such a convinced and authentic way. I ventured with this thesis because I was attracted to the idea of building a bridge with Camus from the shore of theology. Sometimes we reduce our relationships to those people or institutions with whom we are in total harmony.
This phenomenon can be seen in a mathematical way in social networks, which offer a confirmation bias, but something similar happens in politics and in society, so often fractured by those antagonistic positions you mention in your question. I believe that today we are called more than ever to seek points of convergence and to discover in others concerns and aspirations related to our own. The Samaritan woman at the well of Sychar led a morally disordered life, but she was above all a person who was searching. Jesus took advantage of her longing and channeled it in a way she could not have imagined.
Jesus said: love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you. In 1932, St. Josemaría arranged for a picture with these words of Jesus to be displayed in the centers of the Work: "A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another."Any comments?
One of the most revolutionary messages of the Gospel is that of love for enemies. It is not usual to have declared or aggressive enemies, but almost all of us keep in some corner of our soul our little black lists. Getting out of this spiral is a real revolution. I think that the novelty of Jesus' commandment has as much to do with the fact that he posed it for the first time as with the evidence that it is always new, precisely because we men easily tend to the contrary.
The new commandment is a call to overcome our inclinations, our accumulated grievances, our prejudices, what appears to be easier or more comfortable; it is an invitation to give the best of ourselves in our relationship with any other person.
The wildfires that started on August 8 on the island of Maui in Hawaii have left, as of August 15, 99 dead, dozens missing and thousands affected. As the days go by, this figure could increase, according to Hawaii Governor Josh Green. Although the fires are already under control, the authorities continue the rescue and search work.
The fire destroyed thousands of structures, mostly residential areas in the town of Lahaina, a city of 12,000 inhabitants on the west coast of the island of Maui and the second largest in the archipelago. Other communities severely affected were the area of "Kihei" and the inland communities known as "Upcountry".
On August 11, President Biden declared the state of Hawaii a disaster area and made available to the state a range of federal assistance ranging from temporary shelters to financial aid for victims. State and local authorities have also made available six temporary shelter centers, shelters, mobile medical centers, transportation and assistance centers.
The Diocese of Honolulu
The Pope FrancisIn his message after the Angelus on August 13, he expressed his sadness for the tragedy and assured his prayers for the victims. Also, in a telegram sent the day before, His Holiness expressed his closeness and solidarity with those who lost loved ones.
Ecclesiastically, Maui and the other islands of the Hawaiian Archipelago belong to the Diocese of Honolulu, governed by Msgr. Clarence R. Silva. The diocese has 66 parishes served by 56 priests. On the island of Maui there are 18 churches, one of them called "Maria Lanakila", located in the historic center of Lahaina, one of the most devastated areas. However, the parish was not affected. This church was built in 1846, although the first Mass celebrated in the city of Lahaina was in 1841.
God is still near
Bishop Clarence Silva visited the disaster area in Maui and presided at Mass on August 13 at Sacred Hearts Church in Kapalua. In his homily he said that even in the midst of these dramatic events, God's voice assures us of his love and care.
Despite this tragedy, he noted, "God never abandons us, but embraces us with whispers of comfort and love. God's hand is near and visible through the thousands of people in Hawaii, the United States and around the world who are praying for you. The whisper of God's love is louder than the noise and drama of the disaster," the cardinal said. During his visit, Bishop Silva listened to the dramatic accounts of families who suffered damage or loss. "Contemplating the rubble of the city of Lahaina was a very sad moment," he said.
Hawaii became the 50th state of the United States in 1959. It is located 3,200 kilometers southwest of California. It is an archipelago of 8 islands with several islets and atolls. Its capital is Honolulu. Due to its natural beauty and climate, tourism is the main economic activity of the state.
To help those affected in Maui, the Catholic Charities of Hawaii have issued a call for donations through their official web site
In addition, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles has asked all of its parishes to take up a special collection on the weekends of August 19-20 and 26-27 to send to disaster victims. The proceeds from the Los Angeles parishes will be sent to Hawaii through the Pontifical Mission Societies of Los Angeles ("The Pontifical Mission Societies in Los Angeles").
Welcoming others. 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)
Joseph Evans comments on the readings for the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time and Luis Herrera offers a short video homily.
Joseph Evans-August 17, 2023-Reading time: 2minutes
How much the Holy Father insists on the care and welcome of migrants and refugees! Time and again Pope Francis has urged the world, and the Church, to be more open to our suffering brothers and sisters who come to our shores fleeing poverty and persecution, whatever their ethnic or religious background. A true Catholic heart makes no distinctions. Being Catholic, for Francis, means both "going out to everyone," especially the excluded - those on the "existential peripheries," as he puts it - and "welcoming everyone," loving first and only then thinking about practical problems, and even then only to solve them.
But this insistence is not an invention of the Pope. It is the teaching of the Bible and, very concretely, of our Lord Jesus. And this is made very clear in today's readings. At a time when holiness, for the people of Israel, was often seen as something exclusive, keeping a distance from the pagan nations, who were seen as idolaters and sources of temptation, God insists through the prophet Isaiah on integrating them into the life and worship of Israel.
"Those strangers who have joined themselves to the Lord to serve him, to love the name of the Lord and to be his servants, who observe the Sabbath without profaning it and keep my covenant, I will bring them to my holy mountain, I will make them rejoice in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and sacrifices shall be acceptable on my altar; for my house is a house of prayer, and so shall all peoples call it.".
In the second reading, St. Paul speaks of having been "sent to the pagans"a fact of which he is proud. In fact, he explains, his ministry to them is in part to incite the Israelites to conversion. Our own outreach to non-Catholics and other ethnic groups can also lead us to conversion.
And the whole gospel is about Jesus reaching out to a person - a pagan woman - beyond the limits considered "acceptable" by the Israelites of that time. Jesus uses a graphic image to teach that his primary mission was certainly directed toward Israel itself: "It is not well", he says, "taking bread from the children and throwing it to the puppies". Certainly, many Israelites would have seen the pagans as mere dogs. But Jesus uses the image in a deeper sense: Israel is God's chosen people, his firstborn, his son, and therefore has a preferential right to his teaching. But the woman's response surprises Jesus and leads him to praise her for her great faith: "But she replied: 'You are right, Sir; but the little dogs also eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table'.". As we also see on other occasions (cf. Mt 8:10), the pagans can, if they have the opportunity, show more faith than God's own people.
And the same is true today: if they have the opportunity, foreigners, immigrants, refugees, migrants can also surpass us in faith. So let us not see them as a problem, but as an evangelizing opportunity.
Homily on the readings of the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)
The priest Luis Herrera Campo offers its nanomiliaA short one-minute reflection for these Sunday readings.
The "Vocation of St. Matthew" is a famous painting by the Italian painter Michelangelo Merisi Caravaggio. The richness of its symbolism and its subject matter express profound realities of Christian doctrine.
Alfonso García-Huidobro-August 17, 2023-Reading time: 9minutes
The "Vocazione di San Matteo" (1599-1600) by the Italian master Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio lends itself, both for the words of the Gospel on which it is inspired and for its rich symbolism, to a theological commentary. The chromatic contrasts, typical of the baroque technique of chiaroscuro, the expressiveness of the faces and the intensity of the gazes, and many other small details, immediately capture the attention of the observer. The same can be said of some elements or objects whose meaning is not understood at first glance, such as, for example, the fact that the blind window located at the top has large proportions, when the light that dominates the scene does not enter through it.
Important aspects of the table
A first glance at the lower part of the painting, delimited by the horizontal projection of the base of the window, reveals a group of seven people. In the upper part it is possible to see, from left to right, an area of darkness, a window and the entrance of a ray of light.
In the lower part, we can see a first group of five people gathered around a tax collection table, which suggests that they are engaged in the tax collection trade or, at least, that they collaborate in that trade. They are dressed in the style of the 15th-16th century, that is, of Caravaggio's time. In the second group, by contrast, we can distinguish two figures dressed in ancient tunics, characteristic of the time of Christ. It can be said, therefore, that between the two groups of people a temporal separation is symbolized. From the point of view of the composition of the painting, the line that separates the present from the past is the projection of the vertical median of the window.
In the group of collectors, first of all, the progressive variety of ages that characterizes the group is striking: the boy in yellow and red, almost a child, with a candid and innocent look; another boy in black and white, with the features and bearing of an adolescent; the one in red and blue, who seems to have already reached a certain maturity; the bearded and mature man in the center and, finally, the old man, half bald and nearsighted.
Some objects carried or used by the collectors are also striking: a showy white feather hat (the second one is in the half-light), a sword, a money bag tied to the belt, the coins and the account book on the table and also a pair of glasses. It could be understood that these are objects more or less characteristic of the trade.
Symbolism
It is therefore not difficult to see a symbolism in this characterization. There is the collector in all the stages of his profession (from apprenticeship to retirement), and, if you want, with a broader vision, the man of all times in the various stages of his life. The collection table and the objects already described are like a staging of the world with its characteristic elements: beauty and vanity, power and strength, money and the desire for profit, and a certain eagerness for self-sufficient wisdom. It is the usual and characteristic place of vocation: man immersed in the cares of the world.
The two figures on the right are both standing. Christ is clearly singled out by the halo on his head. It is noteworthy that only his face is illuminated, partially in the half-light, and his right hand, completely extended. The gaze conveys determination, and the hand, strongly evocative of the gesture it assumes, suggests both empire and softness. The feet, barely perceptible in the half-light, are not in the direction of the face and the hand, but are almost perpendicular to them, in the direction of departure, in line with the Gospel text: "When he was going away from there, he was going out of the house"., As Jesus passed by, he saw a man named Matthew". The left arm and left hand are also barely discernible in the half-light, and the open position in which they are found suggests invitation and welcome.
The second figure -according to common opinion- was added later by Caravaggio himself. It almost completely covers the figure of Christ and it can be affirmed with certainty that it is St. Peter, since he carries in his hand the staff of the shepherd, in charge of shepherding the flock. Peter, in fact, was constituted as the first successor of the Good Shepherd according to the commission he received from him: "Feed my sheep" (cf. Jn 21:16). His position so close to Christ confirms him as his disciple, as does the gesture of his left hand, which is like a replica of the gesture of the Master's hand. His feet, like those of Christ, are in movement, but not in the direction of the exit, but directed towards the interior of the scene.
The relative position, the tonality of the colors, the gestures and movements of the figures of Christ and Peter have a significance. Peter's body almost completely hides Christ and leaves behind him only the face and hand of the Master. His dull and tired appearance contrasts with Christ's youthful bearing, empire and energy.
Hence the figure of Peter can be interpreted as a symbol of the Church: he transmits from generation to generation the gestures and words of Christ, even if he does not always succeed in doing so with the original strength and splendor, due to the fragile human condition of those who compose it. The direction in which she turns, towards the table, confirms her mission of being in the world, in the midst of men; and the staff she carries in her hand, her condition of pilgrim throughout history, until the end of time.
Elements of the upper part
The upper part of the painting, in contrast to the scene depicted in the lower one, is of absolute simplicity and stillness. It consists of only three elements: the ray of light entering from the right, a blind window and an area of complete darkness. The only sign of movement is the beam of light entering the scene, but in such a serene and stable way that it seems motionless. It is possible to understand the relationship of these three elements according to the resource of contrast, so typical of baroque painting: the window is the border between light and darkness.
But now, shouldn't we ask ourselves if the parts of the painting, with meaning and significance in themselves, do not form a whole, a unity of meaning, as happens in every masterpiece? For example, is the window closely related to Mateo's vocation? The answer is obviously yes. There is a unity of meaning and there is also a key to the compression of the whole painting. That key is the outstretched hand of Christ. And now we will see why.
Vocation
Christ's hand is not in the geometric center of the painting, but at the dramatic crossroads of the scene. There converge the line that joins the gaze of Christ and the tax collector seated at the center of the table; the projection of the vertical median of the window that, as already mentioned, constitutes a temporal border of the scene: the group of tax collectors on the left, in the present, Christ and Peter on the right, in the past; and, thirdly, the diagonal formed by the ray of light that seems to govern the direction of Christ's hand.
The gesture of Christ's hand is quite unique and does not go unnoticed to the eye of those who know the Roman art of the time and the rooms of the Vatican. It is an evocation of the scene of the creation painted by Michelangelo Buonaroti on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Christ's right hand is a mirror replica of Adam's left hand. Hence it can be said that Christ is represented as a new Adam: "For if by the fall of the one man all died, how much more did the grace of God and the gift that is given in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abound to all" (cf. Rom 5:15).
Hence it is also clear that vocation is a grace intimately linked to the creation of each man, since it is what gives meaning to his existence. But because it is precisely the right hand of Christ and because Christ not only has the human nature of Adam, but also the divine nature of God the Father, that hand is the image of the omnipotent power and will of the Father: the finger of God.
On the other hand, the blind, opaque and simple window, as already mentioned, does not fulfill the function of letting light into the scene. Its function is symbolic and very important, given its dimensions. It hides something that usually goes unnoticed and is even despised: the cross. In the context of the painting, it can be interpreted as the cross of Christ. Placed on high, just above the Master's hand, it is the sign of the Christian and the place where Christ brings to fulfillment his own vocation: to give his life for the salvation of the world.
The cross is the way of life for the one who has received the vocation and wants to be a disciple of Christ: "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me".(Mt 16:24). Finally, it is the means to attain salvation and beatitude, the goals of the Christian vocation. Not only Christ died in it, but also Peter and Matthew. Both gave proof of their faithfulness as disciples of Christ and crowned their own vocation.
The cross, placed in the composition of the painting as a frontier between light and darkness, symbolizes, then, the instrument that allows to settle the permanent opposition between good and evil, truth and lie, and, in the case of vocation, between indecision and the passage of faith.
Who is Mateo?
Finally, one might ask who of the five collectors is Matthew, since from the point of view of contemporary criticism it has been questioned whether he is the bearded collector in the center, on whom the observer's gaze is naturally focused.
First of all, there is a common element that allows us to characterize each of the seven characters that make up the scene: the gaze. There is an intense play of glances that dominates the silent communication between the characters and fills the instant with dramatic tension. The two collectors on the left keep their gaze fixed on the money that is on the table, absolutely absorbed in it and without even noticing the presence of Christ and the other one on the right. Pedro.
They symbolize that portion of men who, immersed in the material, are as if incapable of perceiving the presence and existence of God and of all that is spiritual. The other three tax collectors, on the other hand, have their eyes fixed on Christ and Peter who, like two mysterious visitors from the past, have suddenly burst onto the scene. They, too, look at the tax collectors. There is, however, only one crossing of gazes that is explicitly singled out: that of Christ and that of the tax collector in the center. Both cross each other in Christ's outstretched hand.
Secondly, it does not seem to be by chance that the gesture of the hand of Christ, Peter and the tax collector in the center are presented in trio: the hand of Christ is the hand of the one who calls; the hand of Peter, the hand of the one who has already been called; and the hand of the tax collector, the hand of the one who is being called. Filled with astonishment and perplexity, he wonders if he is the one being called or if it is his companion seated on his right, at the end of the table.
Thirdly, in the group of collectors there are only two faces visible almost completely and specially illuminated. The one that shines the brightest is the small one in yellow and red, with a white feathered hat. It is not possible to establish with certainty the origin of the source that illuminates him. In the case of the collector in the center, it is clear that the light that illuminates his face does not come from Christ. It comes from the diagonal beam of light. His face is literally framed by the projection of the upper and lower part of that ray, whose origin or source is not possible to see.
Hence it can be said that the collector in the center is precisely Matthew. The soft ray of light that reaches his face is but a symbol of the grace that comes from above, that is, from God the Father. God the Father who is in heaven, transcendent to the world, but condescending to men, has always been considered the invisible, inaccessible and mysterious source of all grace. The immutable and serene tone of the ray of light, which introduces balance and harmony into the scene, symbolizes the timeless origin of that which is prior to vocation, that is, election. The one who chooses is God the Father.
The point of confluence of the soft ray of light, of the gaze and of the hand of Christ, is also the face of the collector of the center. Christ, seconding the will of the Father, actualizes in time the eternal election, and calls: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, (...) for in him he chose us before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love" (Eph 1:4).
The answer to vocation
Now it only remains to wait for the free response from the one who has been chosen and called. From the one who still has his right hand close to the money. It is precisely the instant immortalized by Caravaggio.
By way of conclusion, a question and a consideration: did the artist's creative intuition lead him to interpret in his work the precise moment of Matthew's vocation, not only in a masterly way from the aesthetic point of view, but also with astonishing theological depth... We do not know. What is clear is that the "Vocazione di San Matteo" is still there, in the Contarelli chapel of the church "San Luigi dei Francesi" a few steps from "Piazza Navona", in Rome, causing admiration and amazement in those who contemplate it.
However, one detail cannot go unnoticed: the table represented in the painting, around which the tax collectors are gathered, leaves a free space in the angle where the observer necessarily stands. That emptiness seems to be an invitation for the observer of the 16th century, of the 21st century and of every era to leave his passive contemplation and enter the scene as one more character... And, perhaps, ask himself the decisive question, the most important one: the question about his own vocation, why and for what am I in this world?
Every year, one of the most important pastoral events for Christian families in Austria takes place in Pöllau, a small town in the eastern Austrian region of Styria: the "Styria Festival".Jungfamilientreffen"or "Meeting of young families". This year it was held from July 18 to 23, and 170 families and more than 200 helpers took part, a total of almost 1,000 people from all over Austria and some neighboring countries. The motto of the week was: "Renew the glory!". The focus was on the family: each participating family also came to meet other families, recharge, exchange and encourage each other, pray together, "strengthen the marriage and receive the sacraments".
It all started there more than 30 years ago. Within the Catholic Charismatic Renewal and with great and obvious support from the parish and the parish priest, youth meetings began in Pöllau in 1992. When the young people grew up, got married and had children themselves, meetings for young families began, and so in 2003 there was the first "Meeting of young families": they wanted to experience what they had experienced in Pöllau as young people: the community of young Christians, the renewal in faith and the new joy in Christian life, praying and singing together and also having fun together, now as families, and to pass this on to their children and also to other families.
Not only with "charismatic" enthusiasm, but with much dedication and effort, faith and joy, the organizers and from the beginning many volunteers have so far organized 21 such meetings with about 3,300 families, and have carried them out with great success; success, not only in the worldly sense, but each time with much spiritual gain, an experience with much joy for all, for the participating families and the helpers, who are mostly young people.
Three essential elements
In what for the families - for the parents and for the children - is simply a great all-round program, an objective observer could identify three main elements: conferences and workshops, spiritual program, conviviality.
The titles of the conferences, such as "Truthfulness and love", "Freedom and depth", "Sources of conjugal love" speak for themselves to adults: transmitting lasting values, and at the same time a practical help for families and their future.
But at the center and throughout the week is the spiritual program, with Holy Mass, morning and evening prayer, the vigil or rather the Feast of Mercy, the pilgrimage. The daily Mass is celebrated in the large church of the village, right next to the area where the events take place. In the tent with the Blessed Sacrament the Lord can be adored in the Sacrament of the Altar for several hours a day. Again and again, children and young people come to pray for a while; for them it is very natural to meet Jesus here, "in the middle of the meadow".
And all with joyful conviviality throughout the day, with a special program for children with children's theater and the Mayan Bee, and sessions for young people with talks and discussions. Throughout the day, it's like a constant exchange of families with each other, during meals together, during walks in the meadow, or even couples with each other during the marriage renewal. On the website of the "Young Families Meeting" you can read the testimony of Andreas and Maria: "We received so many graces as a couple, we were comforted at the marriage renewal vigil and God gave us guidance for raising our children".
New approach
The "Encounters of Young Families" are supported by the ICF, the Christian Family Initiative. ICF works on behalf of the Austrian Bishops' Conference. Their website describes their work: "As ICF we see ourselves as providers and organizers of offers for families, married couples and children. Our concern is to serve families and strengthen them in their vocation. With our offers we want to make people aware again of the high value of marriage and family in our society." ICF Director Robert Schmalzbauer has been involved in the young family meetings as an animator together with his wife Michaela from the very beginning. Since then, they have become grandparents, and their eight children participate: the younger ones still in the children's program, the older ones already as parents with their own children.
Not only his own experience, but also decades of pastoral work with families have led Robert Schmalzbauer to the conviction that the family is essential for pastoral work with young people. He says it is clear to everyone that young people are the future. But when young people grow up in a family strengthened in faith and in their own lives, they grow up in a different way. "And when many young people come back here to serve families together with priests and religious, it influences their view of marriage, of the family and also of the priesthood or religious vocation. They see here that families need priests and priests need families."
That is why it is important to take great care of the families in Pöllau, so that this week means for them a strengthening as a family, also as a Christian and believing family: that there is a well thought-out program for all ages; that there are as many volunteers to take care of everything that is needed; that the couples also have space for this with the help of the program for the children, so that they can also have enough time for them during this week.
Thus, the Meeting of Young Families becomes a spiritual event for everyone, for the couples, for the whole family and for the organizers and volunteers, which strengthens them for the coming weeks and months and makes them look forward to the next Meeting of Young Families. On the website https://jungfamilien, Christoph and Katharina say: "Our family has become more deeply united during this week and our relationship has experienced a more intimate dimension. We were able to feel God in our family.
In 2024, the meeting will no longer be held in Pöllau, because the parish no longer has the necessary infrastructure there, so that it is no longer feasible to hold the meeting in the usual way. The new location is the Benedictine Abbey of Kremsmünster in Upper Austria, which was founded in the year 777 and has a lot of experience with large-scale events, with the monthly "Treffpunkt Benedikt" (Benedict Meeting Point) as a spiritual offer for young people.
Artificial Intelligence, advantage or danger in the educational field?
How can technology, and in particular Artificial Intelligence, be used to improve teaching processes and enhance education? What are the challenges and advantages for teachers and students? To answer these questions Omnes interviewed Rushton Huxley, founder of the organization "Next Vista for Learning".
The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) marks a milestone in computing and society. The remarkable progress made in this field will have an increasingly profound impact on all areas of human activity, political, economic and social. Pope Francis has pointed out that it is necessary to be vigilant that a logic of violence does not take root in the use of AI. That is why the theme for the next World Day of Peace, January 1, 2024, is "Artificial Intelligences and Peace."
In this regard, the Dicastery for Human and Integral Development notes that the Holy Father asks to establish a dialogue to learn about the potential and risks of AI. The Pontiff exhorts to guide the use of AI in a responsible way and that it be at the service of humanity. "The guardianship of the dignity of the person and care for human fraternity are indispensable conditions for technological development to contribute to the promotion of justice and peace in the world", the Dicastery indicates.
One of the fields with enormous potential is the use of AI in the service of education. The tools derived from AI have the capacity and potential to change for better (or worse) the way we learn. How to use technology and in particular Artificial Intelligence to improve teaching processes and enhance education? What are the challenges and advantages for teachers and students?
To answer these questions, Omnes interviewed Rushton Huxley, founder of the organization "Next Vista for Learning"and teacher of "Creative Solutions for the Global Good" and "Advanced Solutions for the Global Good" at Junipero Serra Catholic High School in San Mateo California. Huxley was the keynote speaker at the C3 Conference for Global Communication offered by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles Aug. 2-4 to train Catholic school faculty and staff on the potential of AI in Catholic educational institutions.
Could you tell us a little about your work and the organization you founded "Next Vista Learning"?
- I am the founder and executive director of Next Vista Learning, which I have been running for 18 years. The organization has a website that is basically a library of videos made by and for teachers and students around the world on creative approaches to teaching and learning. I'm also the director of innovation at Junipero Serra Institute in San Mateo, California. And I teach there with another teacher.
Why was Next Vista Learning created?
- In 2005 I noticed that many children were having trouble learning some subjects in school. I knew that, somewhere, there was a teacher who had a smarter or more creative way to explain it. So I decided to create a space where those clever and short explanations were freely available to children. Over time, videos were also added to the library where the children themselves explain some topics and demonstrate how they learned them, sharing ideas on how to learn. We already have about 2,800 videos on the website. They cover various topics from learning English to community service. There is different content in this space.
Do you think artificial intelligence will mark a before and after in education?
- Yes. I have been in the world of educational technology for a long time and in recent years many tools have emerged that give you the ability to create your own digital media and the ability to collaborate in teams, for example, with "Google Workspace". Today it is possible to show maps to students through virtual reality. Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), such as GPT chat, or "Google Bard" challenges us in many ways. One of those items is to think about whether in teaching we have been asking students to formulate their questions and answer them correctly. For example, if we want them to learn to write, we may ask them to write a very elaborate text, with precise indications. In that case what we should do is teach them to think about what kind of things there should be before generating the writing. Then evaluate it and finally complement it. It is very important that children learn to write, but there are new ways to do it thanks to the tools we have at our disposal.
From an educational perspective, what are the advantages and disadvantages of artificial intelligence applications?
- For me, the hope of this is that people think very differently about their own possibilities. The biggest advantage for a teacher is that they save time. Because you can tell the application, "Write a syllabus for the class on this topic." The teacher takes that information and uses it in class. The 80 % of the work is already done. Or for example if we ask the AI for ideas to work on the topic of the civil rights struggle in the United States. The app is probably going to tell you to ask students to read Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail". Or ask the AI, "give me 10 questions for students about that argument." With this technology you get what's useful in a matter of seconds and that will allow you as a teacher to be more creative in deciding how to teach or improve your class.
In the case of AI and students there are many ways they can tap into its potential. For example if they write an essay and want to improve it, they can put it into the AI application and ask it for ideas to refine it. Then they can get feedback. This is obtained not because the AI is thinking like a human, but because it can generate writing that is consistent with the question you ask it, based on the vast amount of information it has available. As another example, a student might ask the application, "Give a one-page summary of this topic. Why choose that topic? So that, the next day, that student will go to class and know what the professor is going to present and thus be able to contribute to the class. They are not going to be experts, but when the professor starts teaching the subject they are going to understand it better. And if they have a hard time, they could ask the AI to generate a summary of the same topic using simple terminology in plain English (for English-speaking students). Another example. For English (or language) learners they might ask the AI to generate a list of vocabulary related to some topic. What are learners not going to find in an AI? If they ask it to describe a city like Los Angeles or New York, the AI will do it. But if you ask it for information about the life of your granny who lives in the city of Coalinga, California, it probably won't produce results.
One of the risks of AI is dishonesty or cheating in the classroom, i.e. students copying and pasting a text that is not theirs. This is an extremely sensitive behavior that in American universities carries very serious penalties including expulsion. How to prevent it?
- In that sense it is a risk. If we don't talk to students about the really good, honest and amazing things about how they can use this technology, they are effectively going to see it simply as a tool for cheating. The question we have to ask ourselves is "are we creating the factors to make students more likely to cheat?" The skills are possessed because they have been practiced and improved. On the academic side, the simpler the instructions we give our students, the easier they can do it. AI allows us to challenge students to think more complexly about the world around them, about the validity of sources, about their ability to evaluate the quality of a well-written text with grammar and spelling used correctly. But for a student to think with such a schema, he or she has to have knowledge of grammar and spelling to then recognize and evaluate.
To get them to that point, it's important to show them life stories or experiences where they appreciate how creative and innovative approaches can be helpful to others and make a difference in a community. "Can I do something that makes a difference in my community?" Even if it's something small, that builds confidence. The teacher's task is to enable the student to know that there is a space where they can do something very interesting and academically meaningful. This involves making changes in the way teachers work. A lot of things come from very simple changes. I wrote a book called "Making Your Teaching Something Special." It is based on the premise that little things done in quantity and quality make you a better teacher. For example, something that happens in every classroom is that the students keep yelling and seem to be uncontrollable. The teacher has to find ways to get them to shut up. He or she can yell "shut up" several times in a loud voice; but maybe that yelling reminds a child of the yelling he or she hears at home and results in a bad cognitive association. But if the teacher changes the strategy and instead of yelling, gets a farm bell (I'm from Texas and we use those bells a lot) and smiles at them to tell them to shut up, the students will most likely begin to associate the farm bell noise with silence.
Going back to generative AI, there are little things you can use to be a better teacher. There are many things we can do to make our work more effective and satisfying on a personal and professional level.
Joseph Evans comments on the readings of the Assumption of Mary (A).
Joseph Evans-August 15, 2023-Reading time: 2minutes
The precious holiday that we celebrate today teaches us that MariaAt the end of her life on earth, she was assumed body and soul into Heaven. The Church does not define whether she died or not, but most theologians and saints throughout the centuries have thought that Mary did experience death, not as a punishment for sin, but to be completely united to her Son, who willingly suffered death to save us. Our Lady helps us not to be afraid of death and to die to ourselves every day, because this is the way to life. So too, therefore, is old age.
Today's first reading shows us Our Lady in glory. Not only "shines like the sun"as Jesus says will happen to the righteous. It is "dressed in the sun"with a crown of twelve stars and the moon at his feet. His glory is far greater than ours because his holiness is far greater. This teaches us how God generously rewards us and gives us the hope of Heaven. But this was because Mary humbled herself. She is exalted by her humility, as can be seen in her response to the angel (Lk 1:38) and her Magnificat. The proud and rich are cast down, and the humble are exalted. If we want to share in Our Lady's heavenly glory, we must be humble and poor.
This feast also teaches us the importance of femininity: Mary is assumed into Heaven with a woman's body (not only with a purely spiritual soul), as the first of all holy women. Femininity is very important for God. We are made in the image and likeness of God as male and female. But true womanhood involves all that we see Mary living: her total response to God and her flexibility to respond to his plans, even when they seem to change her own; her generosity in going to help those in need, as she went to help her cousin; and the joy with which she reaches out, praising God with a joyful heart, a heart that rejoices in God's power and saving works, and rejoices in being one of his little ones.
True femininity is Mary's attentive gaze towards the needs of others, as at Cana, and her boldness in turning to her Son, and her gentle insistence. It is her courage at the foot of the Cross. She cannot do much, but she is there, and that is already a lot. True femininity is Mary's maternal concern for the Church, holding her together when she was in danger of breaking, and her presence at Pentecost in the heart of the praying Church, for what is the Church without the prayer of women?
Mary intercedes for us from Heaven and invites us to follow her. And, again, the way to follow her is to ask her help to be humble. "Cast down the mighty from the throne and exalt the lowly"Mary helps us to see ourselves and to live as servants, and to find our joy in this. Mary helps us to see ourselves and to live as servants, and to find our joy in this.
Today, August 15, we celebrate the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, that is, that Mary was taken to Heaven body and soul and that, therefore, her body is already glorified, as a foretaste of what will happen to all the saved at the end of time.
On August 15, we celebrate the Asunción This is one of the most popular Christian feasts, but it is based on one of the most unpopular articles of our creed, that of the "resurrection of the flesh": how few believe it!
It would be a curious exercise if we went to one of those crowded shopping avenues where reporters usually do the typical street surveys to ask citizens about their beliefs in life after death. Many would deny us the major; others would affirm without ambiguity to believe in the reincarnation or in the fusion with an ambiguous cosmic energy; if some would dare to speak of an ethereal sky with clouds and angels?But few, very few, would categorically affirm to believe -as the Church affirms- that their body, that is, their own body (hands, feet, teeth, liver, stomach...), will resurrect transfigured at the end of time for eternal life. Do you think the sample would be very different if the survey were made at the door of a parish church at the exit of Mass? I have my doubts.
The dogma of the Assumption of Mary, whose feast we make coincide in mid-August with countless local Marian invocations, proclaims that the Virgin, like her Son, is risen in body and soul and already lives eternally with Him. Mary's fate is the same that awaits us. This is what Jesus promised us. Her only privilege is to have anticipated the moment. She did not have to wait, as we do, for the end of time. VIP treatment for a truly VIP woman, none other than the mother of God.
But why is it so hard for us to believe it? Forgive me for insisting, but the subject seems to me to be very important because it touches the foundation of Christianity: the empty tomb. If Christ has not risen, what does faith consist in?
I think one of the reasons for this disbelief is that it is quite counterintuitive. When someone dies, we see how their body is corrupted. Even if we read the ancient scriptures, the testimonies of the early Christians and say that we expect the resurrection, we do not know very well how it will be because the material disappears in our temporal dimension. Much more intuitive are the Platonic ideas that permeate our culture and Christianity with it.
The classic division between mortal body and immortal soul causes us to fall again and again into a doctrine, the dualistic one, which is contrary to what the Christian community has believed historically and believes today. From time to time, Manichean ideas (also contrary to the deposit of our faith), such as those that seduced St. Augustine and from which he repented so much, in which the body is considered the origin of evil while the spirit is the origin of good, also adhere to us from time to time.
On these two doctrines are based many of the ideological colonizations that Pope Francis has once again denounced in the WYDW and that today permeate the majority of people's thinking. The younger generations, for example, see it as normal to hand over their body on a night out to an unknown person with whom they would not even share their telephone number, because the body is, after all, just matter that will be eaten by the earth. It's like a different reality to me.
On the other hand, there are more and more people who reject their body because they see in it the origin of the evil that affects them. Some do not agree with their sex, others with their silhouette or their face. They see themselves as pure souls (in which there is no room for error) trapped in a (wrong) body and are willing to mutilate it or force it until it has the shape or use they believe to be perfect. There is also the case of those who ask for their ashes to be scattered in this or that idyllic place as a way to stop being themselves and join an impersonal universe.
In the face of these forms of dualism, Manichaeism or practical materialism, the Church affirms that the human being is both a bodily and a spiritual being. Body and soul have dignity. Hence the centuries-old respect for one's own body and that of one's neighbor even after death. For the flesh is not a kind of disposable sheath or shell, but is, in itself, the human being, the perfect work of the Creator, the temple of the Holy Spirit.
Glorify God with your body," St. Paul asked the Corinthians. Mary was a pioneer in this, placing her flesh, her whole life, at the service of God and humanity. And that is why we commemorate the fact that her flesh is now immortal. A piece of advice to celebrate this feast: look at yourselves in the mirror, contemplate every detail (whether you like it or not) thinking, like Mary, that if God has willed it so: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord". Look at your hands, bring them close to your mouth and kiss them: they will accompany you in eternity. And glorify God with them: join them together to pray, extend them to embrace those who need affection or consolation, raise them to help those who need it and clap them to applaud Mary in her assumption into heaven. She awaits us (here and there) in body and soul.
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.
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies such as cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting, or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The storage or technical access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The storage or technical access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
Technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.Storage or technical access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a request, voluntary compliance by your Internet service provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved solely for this purpose cannot be used to identify you.
Marketing
The storage or technical access is necessary to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or multiple websites for similar marketing purposes.
Equality and migration, in the American spotlight
