(Vatican Radio) The importance of safeguarding our Christian identity and not living double lives: that was the theme at the heart of Pope Francis’ homily at the Santa Marta Mass on Tuesday morning. The Pope based his words on the daily readings which focus on the need for coherence between our spiritual and our temporal lives.
Listen to Philippa Hitchen’s report:
Pope Francis began by reflecting on the elderly Jewish Rabbi Eleazar who chose to be martyred rather than submit to the unjust laws that we read about in the second book of Macceabees. The 90 year old Eleazar refused to eat pork meat and rejected the offer of his “worldly” friends to compromise his integrity, choosing instead to die a martyr’s death.
Spiritual worldliness, Pope Francis said, tempts us towards an inconsistent lifestyle, in which we pretend to be one thing but live in another way. It may be difficult to recognize, he said, but just as woodworm slowly destroys things, so worldliness slowly leads us to lose our Christian identity.
Worldliness, he went on, leads to inconsistency between the things we say – “Oh, I’m a good Catholic, Father, I go to Mass every Sunday” – and the things we do at work, such as offering or receiving bribes for example. This is not being consistent, the Pope said, rather it leads to a double life which distances us from God and destroys our Christian identity.
For this reason, Pope Francis continued, Jesus strongly pleads with his Father to save his disciples from such a worldly spirit. The Christian spirit, on the other hand, the Christian identity, he said, is never egoistic, but always tries to be consistent, avoiding scandal, helping others and showing a good example.
The Pope responded to objections such as, “It’s not easy, Father, to live in this world where there are so many temptations and we are lured by the attractions of a double life every single day!” For us it is impossible, he said, and only God can help us avoid such worldliness, which is why we pray in the Psalms, “The Lord, upholds me”. He is our support against that spirit which destroys our Christian identity.
That is why we pray with humility, saying “Lord, I am a sinner, all of us are sinners, but I ask You to uphold me so that I don’t pretend to be a Christian while living like a pagan, worldly person.
Pope Francis concluded by urging his listeners to pick up a bible and read the story of Eleazar in chapter six of the book of Maccabees. It will do you good, he said, and give you courage to be an example to others. It will give you strength and support to uphold your Christian identity, without compromise and without leading a double life.
(from Vatican Radio)…
Vatican City, 16 November 2015 (VIS) – At midday today in the Holy See Press Office, a press conference was held to present the “Ratzinger Prize”, instituted by the “Vatican Foundation: Joseph Ratzinger-Benedict XVI”, to be awarded on 21 November to Professor Nabil el-Khoury, Lebanon, and Fr. Mario de Franca Miranda, S.J., Brazil. The speakers at the conference were Archbishop Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer, S.J., member of the Foundation’s Scientific Committee, Msgr. Giuseppe Scotti, president of the Foundation, and Professor Pietro Luca Azzaro, executive secretary. Nabil el-Khoury is professor of philosophy and comparative literature at the Lebanese University in Beirut, where he has taught since 1977, and at the University of Tubingen, Germany. He is the translator into Arabic of the Opera omnia of Joseph Ratzinger-Benedict XVI. He has held courses at the Eberhard Karls University of Tubingen, the Catholic University of Eichstatt-Ingolstadt, the Johannes Gutenburg University of Mainz, and the University of Freiburg in Germany, and the University of Salzburg in Austria. Fr. Mario de Franca Miranda, S.J. began teaching in the theological faculty of the Pontifical Catholic University (PUC) in Rio de Janeiro in 1974, and served as ordinary professor of systematic theology and subsequently in the Jesuit faculty of theology in Belo Horizonte, where in 1990 he was appointed as academic rector. He returned to the PUC in 1993, where he served as dean of the faculty from 2001 to 2003. In recent years he has devoted himself to ecclesiological studies. He has given courses in various dioceses throughout Brazil, and has collaborated extensively with the Conference of Brazilian Bishops. He has also served as a member of the International Theological Commission in the Vatican under during two periods between 1992 and 2003, under the direction of the then-cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. In his discourse, Archbishop Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer, S.J., emphasised that with its decision this year, the Foundation continues to broaden its horizons. “Indeed, from the beginning the Ratzinger Prizes have been granted to theologians of various nationalities: Italy, France, Spain, Germany, Great Britain, Poland and the United States, and by virtue of the ecumenical spirit that inspires the Foundation, this important award has also been given to some representatives of other Christian confessions. This year both prizewinners are Catholics, but neither of them belongs to the so-called ‘Western world’. … With these two figures, the list of theologians who have deservedly received the Ratzinger Prizes is further enriched not only quantitatively, but also qualitatively”….
(Vatican Radio) The single thought, humanism that takes the place of Jesus, destroys the Christian identity. We don’t put that identity card up for auction. Those were the words of Pope Francis on Monday during Mass at the Casa Santa Marta.
Worldliness leads to the single thought and apostasy
The first reading of the day from the first Book of the Maccabees, tells of “a root of evil” that arose in those days: the Hellenistic King Antiochus Epiphanes imposes pagan customs in Israel, to the ” chosen people “, that is, the” Church of that time. ” Pope Francis commented that, “the image of the root is under the ground.” The “phenomenology of the root” is this: “What is not seen does not seem to do any harm, but then it grows and shows its true nature.” “It was a rational root” that pushed some Israelites to ally with neighbouring nations to be protected: “Why so many differences? Because since we went our own way many evils have come upon us. We go to them, we are equal. ” The Pope explained this reading with three words: “Worldliness, apostasy, persecution”. Worldliness in life is to do what the world does. It’s saying: “We put up for auction our identity card; we are equal to everyone. ” Thus, many Jews “disowned the faith and fell away from the Holy Alliance.” And what “seemed so rational- ‘we are like everyone else, we are normal’ – became their destruction”:
“Then the king recommended that his whole kingdom should be one people – the one thought; worldliness – and each abandoned their own customs. All peoples adapted themselves to the orders of the king; also many Jews accepted his worship: they sacrificed to idols and profaned the Sabbath. Apostasy. That is, worldliness that leads you to one unique thought, and to apostasy. No differences are permitted: all are equal. And in the history of the Church, the history we have seen, I think of a case, where religious feasts were renamed – the birth of the Lord has another name – in order to erase its identity “.
Humanism today destroys the Christian identity
In Israel the books of the law were burned “and if someone obeyed the law, the judgment of the king condemned him to death.” That’s “persecution”, initiated by a “root of bitterness”. “I have always been struck – the Pope said – that the Lord, at the Last Supper, in that long prayer, praying for unity and asking the Father that he would deliver them from every spirit of the world, from all worldliness, because worldliness destroys identity; worldliness leads to the single thought “:
“It starts from a root, but it is small, and ends up an abomination of desolation, in persecution. This is the deception of worldliness, and why Jesus asked the Father, at that Supper: ‘Father, I do not ask you to remove them from the world, but keep them from the world’, this mentality, this humanism, which is to take the place of the true man, Jesus Christ, that comes to take away the Christian identity and brings us to the single thought: ‘They all do it, why not us?’. This, in these times, should make us think: what is my identity? Is it ‘Christian or worldly? Or do I say to myself Christian because I was baptized as a child or was born in a Christian country, where everyone is Christian? Worldliness that comes slowly, it grows, it justifies itself and infects: it grows like the root, it defends itself – ‘but, we do as others do, we are not so different’ -, always looking for a justification, and eventually it becomes contagious, and many evils come from there. ”
Beware of poisonous roots that grow and infect
“The liturgy, in these last days of the liturgical year” – said the Pope – exhorts us to beware of “poisonous roots” that “lead away from the Lord”:
“And we ask the Lord for the Church, that the Lord will guard it from all forms of worldliness. That the Church will always have the identity given to it by Jesus Christ; that we will all have the identity that we received in baptism. May the Lord give us the grace to maintain and preserve our Christian identity against the spirit of worldliness that always grows, justifies itself and is contagious. ”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, has granted an interview to France’s Catholic newspaper La Croix, saying “in this world torn by violence, now is the right time to launch an offensive of mercy”.
Listen to Devin Watkins’ report:
In the interview with La Croix newspaper, Cardinal Parolin spoke about the terrorist attacks which took place in Paris on Friday, calling the upcoming Jubilee Year of Mercy the perfect opportunity to mobilize “all spiritual resources to provide a positive response to evil”.
“It is understandable that after the attacks there are feelings of revenge,” he said, “but we must fight against this urge. The Pope wants the Jubilee to help people see eye-to-eye, understand one another, and overcome hatred. After these attacks, this goal is strengthened. We receive the mercy of God to adopt this attitude toward others. The Merciful is also the most beautiful name of God for Muslims, who could be involved in this holy year, as the Holy Father desires.”
General mobilization needed
Turning to events following Friday’s attack, the Cardinal Secretary of State said “As the Pope said, there is no justification for what happened. It will take time to recover from such a terrible shock. I am touched by the strength of the French authorities’ reactions. There is a desire in the people to continue life there where the terrorists sought to interrupt and crush it.”
“In reaction, what is needed is a general mobilization of France, of Europe, and of the whole world. A mobilization of all means of security, of police forces, and of information, to root out this evil of terrorism. But also a mobilization which would involve all spiritual resources to provide a positive response to evil. That passes through education to the refutation of hatred, giving responses to the young people who leave for jihad. There is a need to convoke all the actors, political and religious, national and international. There is a great need to combat this together. Without this union, this difficult battle will not be won. And it is necessary to involve the Muslim community; they must be part of the solution.”
‘Blind violence is intolerable’
When asked if the Holy Father still upholds his words from August of 2014 that “it is licit to stop the unjust aggressor”, Cardinal Parolin said “Yes, because blind violence is intolerable, whatever its origin may be.”
He said, “The Pope cited the Catechism of the Catholic Church which says ‘The defense of the common good requires that an unjust aggressor be rendered unable to cause harm. For this reason, those who legitimately hold authority also have the right to use arms to repel aggressors against the civil community entrusted to their responsibility.’ This corresponds to the legitimate defense of a State within its borders to protect its citizens and repel terrorists. In occasion of a foreign intervention, it is necessary to seek out legitimacy through the organizations which the international community has given itself. Our role is to remember these conditions, not to specify means to stop the aggressor.”
Pope’s Jubilee schedule unchanged
“What happened in France shows, in an even more powerful way, that no one is excluded from terrorism. The Vatican could be a target because of its religious significance. We can augment the level of security measures in the Vatican and its surroundings, but they cannot paralyze us with fear. Therefore, nothing will be changed in the Pope’s schedule,” Cardinal Parolin affirmed.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis’ visit to Rome’s Lutheran church on Sunday reflects the “very good” ecumenical relations that have developed as Lutherans and Catholics prepare to commemorate together the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.
That’s the view of Rev Martin Junge, General Secretary of the World Lutheran Federation which is working together with the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity on a joint 500th anniversary event to be held in Sweden in October 2016.
The event will build on the substantial progress presented in the 2013 joint document ‘From Conflict to Communion’ designed as a resource for Catholics and Lutherans marking both 500 years since the Reformation and 50 years since the start of the official dialogue between the two global Christian communities. That publication presents new perspectives on the theology of Martin Luther, explores controversial questions such as indulgencies and sets out five ecumenical imperatives for witnessing to the Gospel together.
Rev Martin Junge talked to Philippa Hitchen about his hopes for the forthcoming anniversary event and about the importance of Pope Francis’ visit to the local Lutheran community in Rome….
Listen:
Rev Junge says he is very encouraged by the Pope’s visit to the local Lutheran congregation in Rome, following in the tradition begun by his predecessors, Benedict XVI and John Paul II. This tradition, he says, reflects the “very good moment of Lutheran-Catholic relations” at global level, following on from the publication, two years ago, of the joint document ‘From Conflict to Communion’ setting out the way in which Lutherans and Catholics will be marking the anniversary of the Reformation together.
The Lutheran leader says he’s also very encouraged that the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity has accepted the request to jointly host an ecumenical event to “express what we found out together in the dialogue report and make that public and accessible and visible and ‘experiencable’ for everybody”. That event will take place on October 31st 2016 and further details will be announced as the preparations progress.
Asked about the divisions and conflict provoked by the Reformation, Rev Junge says Catholics and Lutherans can now celebrate the Gospel together and also affirm the “positive contributions and insights that the Lutheran Reformation brought to the surface in the body of Christ”. However he says we cannot be blind to the divisions and the way in which those conflicts became aligned with the political struggles in Europe of that time, causing a lot of suffering to families and communities.
At the same time, he says, we want to “look ahead together into what is our common faith calling us” as we witness to the Gospel in our fragmented world, so in need of compassion, hope and encouragement….
(from Vatican Radio)…