No Strength Without Prayer

Once again I am posting Pope Benedict's message from his Wednesday audience. His theme is prayer and how vital prayer is to the mission of the Church.  Without prayer, we can accomplish nothing.  He gives us the example of the rescue of the Apostle Peter from prison and shows us that this could not have been accomplished without the unified Church praying together.  Need we wonder why the Church seems so impotent in the world today, why her own people seem to have completely lost their faith and no longer have God at the center of their lives?  We are withering away because we have lost the power of prayer.  Here in this talk given on Wednesday, May 9, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI explains how inseparable prayer is from growth in the Church, and how prayer can give us peace and calm. 

On St. Peter's Imprisonment and Miraculous Release

"True freedom is found in following Jesus" 

VATICAN CITY, MAY 9, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the Italian-language catechesis Benedict XVI gave today during the general audience held in St. Peter’s Square. The Pope continued his reflection on prayer in the Acts of the Apostles, today considering St. Peter’s imprisonment and miraculous release.

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Dear brothers and sisters,



Apostle Peter In Prison

Today I would like to consider the final episode of St. Peter’s life recounted in the Acts of the Apostles: his imprisonment by order of Herod Agrippa and his liberation through the prodigious intervention of the angel of the Lord, on the eve of his trial in Jerusalem (cf. Acts 12:1-17).

The prayer of the Church once again marks the account. St. Luke writes, in fact: “So Peter was kept in prison; but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the Church” (Acts 12:5). And after having miraculously been led forth from prison, on the occasion of his visit to the home of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, it is affirmed: “Many were gathered together and were praying” (Acts 12:12). Peter’s detainment and release, which span the whole night, are placed between these two important annotations, which illustrate the attitude of the Christian community when faced with danger and persecution. The power of the Church’s unceasing prayer rises to God, and the Lord hears and accomplishes an unthinkable and unhoped-for release through the sending of His angel.  [The Holy Father is pointing out that when the Church prays together, great and miraculous events can and do happen as a result.  Maybe the reason the Church is in crisis and the world is spiraling into destruction is because the Church is not praying?]  



Angel Frees Peter From Prison

[The Pope now recounts the importance of angels in the plan of salvation and how the release of Peter from prison mirrors the release of the Israelites from Egypt, both done through angels] The account recalls the great elements of Israel’s liberation from the slavery of Egypt, the Jewish Passover. As had occurred in that foundational event, here too the angel of the Lord who frees Peter carries out the principal action. And the very actions of the Apostle -- who is asked to get up quickly, to put on his belt and to gird himself -- mirror those of the chosen people on the night of their deliverance by God’s intervention, when they were invited to eat the lamb in haste with loins girt, sandals on their feet, staff in hand, ready to leave the country (cf. Exodus 12:11). Thus Peter can exclaim: “Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod” (Acts 12:11).



The angels at Christ's Resurrection

But the angel recalls not only the event of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt, but also that of Christ’s Resurrection. The Acts of the Apostles says, in fact: “And behold, an angel of the Lord appeared, and a light shone in the cell; and he struck Peter on the side and woke him” (Acts 12:7). The light that fills the prison cell, the very action of awakening the Apostle, recall the liberating light of the Passover of the Lord, who conquers the shadows of night and of evil. Lastly, the invitation: “Wrap your mantle around you and follow me” (Acts 12:8), echoes the words of Jesus’ initial call (cf. Mark 1:17), which is repeated after the Resurrection on the Lake of Tiberias, where the Lord says twice to Peter: “Follow Me” (John 21:19; 22). It is a pressing invitation to follow: for it is only in going out of ourselves in order to walk with the Lord and to do His will that we live in true freedom.  [Our world focuses very much on self fulfillment, telling us that we need to first fulfill ourselves before we can do anything for anyone else.  Our Lord tells us just the opposite, as the Holy Father says here.] 

I would also like to emphasize an aspect of Peter’s attitude in prison; indeed, we note that while the Christian community was praying persistently for him, Peter “was sleeping” (Acts 12:6). In such a critical and dangerous situation, it is an attitude that may seem strange but that rather denotes tranquility and confidence. He trusts in God, he knows that the solidarity and prayer of his own surround him, and he abandons himself totally into the Lord’s hands. So must our prayer also be: assiduous, united in solidarity with others, fully trusting in God who knows us intimately and who cares for us to the point -- Jesus says -- that “even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore” (Matthew 10: 30-31).  [A beautiful message from the Holy Father, which tells us that if we have our total trust in God, we can never be shaken.]

Peter lives the night of imprisonment and release as a moment in his following of the Lord, who conquers the darkness of night and frees [him] from the slavery of chains and the danger of death. His is a miraculous liberation, which is marked by various carefully described passages: guided by the angel, despite the surveillance of the guards, he passes through the first and second guard, to the iron gate leading into the city: and the gate opened to them of its own accord (cf. Acts 12:10). Peter and the angel of the Lord together cover a long stretch of road until, coming to himself, the Apostle realizes that the Lord has actually delivered him; and after having reflected upon this, he goes to the home of Mary, the mother of Mark, where many of the disciples were gathered together in prayer; once again, the community’s response to difficulty and danger is to rely upon God, to intensify their relationship with Him.

Here is seems to me useful to recall another difficult situation through which the early Christian community lived. St. James speaks of it in his Letter. It is a community in crisis, in difficulty, not so much on account of persecutions, but because of the jealousies and contentions present within it (James 3:14-16). And the Apostle asks why this situation exists. He finds two principal causes: the first is allowing oneself to be dominated by one’s passions, by the dictatorship of one’s own will, by egoism (James 4:1-2a); the second is the lack of prayer -- “you do not ask” (James 4:2b) -- or the presence of a prayer that cannot be defined as such -- “you ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions” (James 4:3). This situation would change, according to St. James, if the whole community were to speak with God, if they were to pray assiduously and of one accord.

Indeed, even discussion about God risks losing its interior strength, and witness withers, if they are not animated, sustained and accompanied by prayer, by the continuity of a living conversation with the Lord. This is an important reminder for us and for our communities, for small communities such as the family, as well as those that are more extensive such as the parish, the diocese and the whole Church. And it gives me pause that they prayed in the community of St. James, but they prayed badly, for they prayed only for the sake of their own passions. We must always learn anew to pray well, to pray truly, to orient ourselves toward God and not toward our own good.  [Christianity is all about thinking beyond ourselves.  When we become self focused, we are turning away from God and cutting ourselves off spiritually.]



Peter was crucified upside down
because he did not feel worthy
to be crucified in the same
manner as Christ 

The community that accompanies St. Peter in his imprisonment, on the other hand, is a community that truly prays, for the whole night, united. And the joy that floods their hearts when the Apostle knocks unexpectedly at the door is uncontainable. It is the joy and amazement at the action of God who listens. Thus, prayer for Peter arises from the Church, and to the Church he returns in order to recount “how the Lord had brought him out of the prison” (Acts 12:17). In that Church where he is placed as a rock (cf. Matthew 16:18), Peter recounts his “Easter” of liberation: he experiences that true freedom is found in following Jesus; he is enveloped by the radiant light of the Resurrection, and for this reason he can testify unto martyrdom that the Lord is the Risen One and has “truly sent his angel and rescued him from the hand of Herod” (Acts 12:11). The martyrdom he will undergo in Rome will unite him definitively to Christ, who had told him: “When you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish to go. (This he said to show by what death he was to glorify God)” (John 21:18-19). 

Dear brothers and sisters, the episode of Peter’s release recounted by Luke tells us that the Church, and each one of us, passes through the night of trial, but that the unceasing vigilance of prayer sustains us. I too, from the first moment of my election as Successor of St. Peter, have always felt supported by your prayer, by the prayer of the Church, especially in the moments of greatest difficulty. I offer you my heartfelt thanks. Through constant and confident prayer, the Lord frees us from chains, he guides us through every night of imprisonment that may grip our hearts, he gives us serenity of heart to face life’s difficulties -- even rejection, opposition and persecution. The episode concerning Peter reveals the power of prayer. And the Apostle, even though in chains, remains at peace in the certainty that he is never alone: the community is praying for him; the Lord is close to him; indeed, he knows that “the power of Christ is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Constant prayer of one accord is also a precious instrument for overcoming the trials that can arise along the path of life, for it is being deeply united to God which allows us to be deeply united also to others. Thank you.

[Translation by Diane Montagna]

Our Holy Father has once again given us one of the major reasons for the chaos and evil we see in the world, and that which has crept into the Church.  "Through constant and confident prayer, the Lord frees us from chains, he guides us through every night of imprisonment that may grip our hearts, he gives us serenity of heart to face life’s difficulties -- even rejection, opposition and persecution."  Without prayer, we are completely defenseless in the face of the evil that we face each and every day of our lives.  Without prayer, the Church cannot go forward.  Without prayer, unified and unceasing, we will be destroyed by our Enemy.  We must unite ourselves with God and each other in prayer.  Only then will we find the peace and liberty that we seek.

Science Without Faith

I think it would be very easy to devote my entire blog to talks by Pope Benedict XVI.  Every talk, every speech and every homily that he gives contains profound truth and invaluable insight into what is happening in our world, why it is happening and how to overcome the evil we see around us.  The Holy Father's depth of thinking and vision is matched by few in this world today. 

This is seen again in a speech he gave on May 3, 2012 to Rome's Sacred Heart Catholic University, to mark the 50th anniversary of the "Agostino Gemelli" faculty of medicine and surgery.  In this speech, he gave the reasons why science has gone astray in our world and led humanity to evil and ultimately, to death.  Our world, on the whole, keeps science and faith separate, and this is the perfect recipe for ultimate destruction, which is where we seem to be headed.  Here is the translation of Pope Benedict XVI's speech from Zenit.org:

Pope's Address at Sacred Heart Catholic University

"Love alone guarantees the humanity of research"


ROME, Italy, MAY 3, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave today when he visited Rome's Sacred Heart Catholic University, to mark the 50th anniversary of the "Agostino Gemelli" faculty of medicine and surgery.

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Lord Cardinals, Venerable Brothers in the Episcopate and Priesthood,

Illustrious Pro-Rector, Distinguished Authorities, Docents, Doctors,

Distinguished Health and University Staff,

Dear Students and Dear Patients!

With particular joy I meet with you today to celebrate the 50 years of the foundation of the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery of the “Agostino Gemelli” Polyclinic. I thank the President of the Toniolo Institute, Cardinal Angelo Scola, and the Pro-Rector, Professor Franco Anelli, for the courteous words they addressed to me. I greet the Lord President of the Chamber, The Honorable Gianfranco Fini, the Lord Ministers, the Honorable Lorenzo Ornaghi and Honorable Renato Balduzzi, the numerous Authorities, as well as the Docents, the Doctors, the Staff and the Students of the Polyclinic and of the Catholic University. A special thought goes to you, dear patients.

Technology can cut us off from the rest of life

In this circumstance I would like to offer some reflections. Ours is a time in which the experimental sciences have transformed the vision of the world and the very self-understanding of man. The many discoveries, the innovative technologies that succeed one another at a feverish rhythm, are reasons for motivated pride, but often they are not lacking in disquieting implications. In fact, projected on the background of the widespread optimism of scientific learning, is the shadow of a crisis of thought. Rich in means but not as much in ends, the man of our time often lives conditioned by reductionism and relativism, which lead to losing the meaning of things; almost dazzled by technical efficiency, he forgets the fundamental horizon of the question of meaning, thus relegating the transcendent dimension to irrelevance. [We are so caught up in what technology can do (which in many cases means little more than new games to play for the average person) that we don't even realize how this is affecting us mentally and even more importantly, spiritually, and thus we are led astray from Truth, we forget the meaning of life and God Himself becomes unimportant in our lives] On this background, thought becomes weak and an ethical impoverishment also gains ground, which clouds the normative references of value. What was the fertile European root of culture and progress [i.e., God and obedience to Him] seems to be forgotten. In it, the search for the absolute -- the quaerere Deum -- included the need to study further the natural sciences, the whole world of learning (cf. Address to the College of Bernardins of Paris, Sept. 12, 2008). In fact, scientific research and the question of meaning, also in their specific epistemological and methodological physiognomy, spring from only one source, the Logos that presides over the work of creation and guides the intelligence of history. [If Jesus Christ is not at the center of science, it will lead us astray from real truth.  Without the Logos, who is Jesus Christ, science will and has become the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.]  An essential techno-practical mentality generates a risky imbalance between what is technically possible and what is morally good, with unforeseeable consequences.  [Science keeps going ahead with new innovations and inventions, without ever questioning if any of this is good or will it only lead to more evil in the world.] 

Science minus faith=disaster

Hence it is important that culture rediscover the meaning and dynamism of transcendence, in a word, that it open with determination the horizon of the quaerere Deum. ["Quaerere" is a Latin term that means "to ask, to question, to inquire."  "Deum", of course, means "God."  The Holy Father is saying that science should be about searching for God and for true meaning in life.] The well-known Augustinian phrase comes to mind “You have created us for yourself [Lord], and our heart is restless until it rests in You” (The Confessions, I,1). It can be said that the very impulse to scientific research springs from nostalgia for God, who dwells in the human heart: at bottom, the man of science tends, even unconsciously, to reach that truth that can give meaning to life. However, no matter how passionate and tenacious human research is, it is not capable, on its own, to come to a safe conclusion, because “man is not able to clarify completely the strange faint light that rests on the question of the eternal realities … God must take the initiative to come to meet us and to address man” (J. Ratzinger, Benedict’s Europe in the Crisis of Cultures, Cantagalli, Rome, 2005, 124; Zenit translation) [We cannot find God, he must come to us, and he has done just this in the person of the Logos, Jesus Christ.] To restore to reason its native, integral dimension, it is necessary then to rediscover the source that scientific research shares with the search of faith, fides quaerens intellectum, in keeping with Anselm’s intuition [From St. Anselm:  "Nor do I seek to understand that I may believe, but I believe that I may understand. For this, too, I believe, that, unless I first believe, I shall not understand."]  Science and faith have a fecund reciprocity, almost a complementary need of the intelligence of the real. However, the quaerere Deum of man would be lost in a confusion of paths if he was not met by a way of illumination and sure orientation, which is that of God himself who comes close to man with immense love: "In Jesus Christ God not only speaks to man but also seeks him out [...] It is a search which begins in the heart of God and culminates in the Incarnation of the Word." (John Paul II, Tertio Millennio Adveniente, 7).  [True science must involve the search for God, but that search must begin with "God himself who comes close to man with immense love."] 

A religion of the Logos, Christianity does not relegate faith to the realm of the irrational, but attributes the origin and meaning of reality to a creative Reason, which in the crucified God manifested itself as love and which invites us to undertake the path of the quaerere Deum: “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.” Saint Thomas Aquinas comments here: “The point of arrival of this way is, in fact, the end of human desire. Now man desires two things primarily: in the first place, that knowledge of truth which is proper to his nature. In the second place, permanence in being, the common property of all things. One and the other are found in Christ. Hence, if you seek to know where to go, receive Christ because he is the way” (Esposizioni su Giovanni, chapter 14, lectio 2). Therefore, the Gospel of life illumines man’s arduous way, and in face of the temptation to absolute autonomy, it reminds that "man's life comes from God; it is his gift, his image and imprint, a sharing in his breath of life" (John Paul II, Evangelium vitae, 39). And it is precisely by following the way of faith that man is able to discern in the very realities of suffering and death that cut across his existence, a genuine possibility of goodness and life. In the Cross of Christ he recognizes the Tree of life, revelation of the passionate love of God for man. The care of those who suffer is then a daily encounter with the face of Christ, and the dedication of the intelligence and the heart is a sign of the mercy of God and of his victory over death.  [The Holy Father is telling us that Christianity, the belief system given to us by Jesus Christ, will help us discern the meaning of suffering and will lead us to the true meaning of life.  The Cross of Christ - the quintessential picture of suffering - is also the sign of the great love of God for man.  Hence, to care for those who suffer is to encounter Christ.]

Lived in its integrality, research is illumined by science and faith, and from these two “wings” it draws impulse and outburst, without ever losing the rightful humility, the sense of its own limit  [sadly, science and faith seldom go together in our world, and hence the great evil that too often comes from science]. In this way the search for God becomes fecund for the intelligence, ferment of culture, promoter of true humanism, a search that does not stop on the surface. Dear friends, allow yourselves always to be guided by the wisdom that comes from above, by a learning illumined by faith, remembering that wisdom calls for passion and the effort of research.

Inserted here is the irreplaceable task of the Catholic University, a place in which the educational relationship is placed at the service of the person in the construction of a qualified scientific competence, rooted in a patrimony of learning that the change of generations has distilled in wisdom of life; a place in which the relationship of care is not a job but a mission; where the charity of the Good Samaritan is the first chair, and the face of suffering man the very Face of Christ: “you did it to me” (Matthew 25:40). In its daily work of research, teaching and study, the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart lies in this tradition which expresses its own potential for innovation: no progress, much less so on the cultural plane, is nourished by mere repetition, instead, it calls for an ever new beginning. Moreover, it requires that willingness to confront and dialogue that opens the intelligence and attests to the rich fecundity of the patrimony of the faith. Thus shape is given to a solid personality structure, where Christian identity penetrates daily living and is expressed from within an excellent professionalism.

The Catholic University, which has a particular relationship with the See of Peter, is called today to be an exemplary institution which does not restrict learning to the functionality of economic success, but widens the extension of the project in which the gift of intelligence investigates and develops the gifts of the created world, exceeding a productive and utilitarian vision of existence, because "the human being is made for gift, which expresses and makes present his transcendent dimension" (Caritas in veritate, 34). In fact this combination of scientific research and unconditional service to life delineates the Catholic physiognomy of the "Agostino Gemelli" Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, because the perspective of faith is interior -- not superimposed or juxtaposed -- to the acute and tenacious search of learning.  [True faith is all about learning. True faith means we are not stagnant, but always growing in our understanding, appreciation and love for God and our fellow man, and thus is completely compatible with true science, and in fact, goes hand in hand with it.]

A Catholic Faculty of Medicine is the place where transcendent humanism is not a rhetorical slogan, but a rule lived by daily dedication. Dreaming of an authentic Catholic Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, Father Gemelli – and with him so many others, such as Professor Brasca -- put at the center of care the human person in his fragility and greatness, in the ever new resources of a passionate research and no less awareness of the limit and mystery of life. This is why you wished to institute a new Athenaeum Center for life, which supports other already existing realities, such as, for example, the Paul VI International Scientific Institute. Therefore, I encourage care of life in all its phases.

I would now like to turn to all the patients present here at the “Gemelli,” to assure them of my prayer and affection and to tell them that they will always be followed with love so that in their faces, the suffering face of Christ is reflected.

It is in fact the love of God, which shines in Christ, which renders acute and penetrating the look of research and to grasp what no research is able to grasp. Blessed Giuseppe Toniolo had this very present, who affirmed how it is of man’s nature to read in others the image of God-love and his imprint on creation. Without love, science also loses its nobility. Love alone guarantees the humanity of research. [The Holy Father has reduced the reason for the evil in science and in the world to a few words.  Without love - God's love - science has lost its way, as has most of the world] Thank you for your attention.

[Translation by ZENIT]

The Pope's theme in this talk is that Christian faith and belief in God must be at the center of everything we do, and that includes secular practices such as the sciences.  Because our world has not done that, because we have pushed God completely out of our lives, we are on the edge of total destruction.  People's lives are empty and meaningless, and they try to fill that lonely void with anything that will take their minds off of the pain they feel.  Science gives us many things that seem exciting and dazzling, as our Holy Father says, but in the end lead only to more emptiness and destruction.,  As Pope Benedict XVI tells us in this speech, the sciences apart from God lose their nobility and humanity.  Only Christ and His Love can give us the meaning and direction that we search for. 

Meditation on the First Glorious Mystery - The Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the Dead

Today, May 5, is the First Saturday of the month.  As I have reported in other posts, the First Saturday of the month has great significance to Catholics.  When Our Lady appeared to the three children of Fatima in 1917, she made a request for special devotions on the First Saturday of the month:

It consists in going to Confession, receiving Communion, reciting five decades of the Rosary and meditating for a quarter of an hour on the mysteries of the Rosary on the first Saturday of five consecutive months. The Confession may be made during the eight days preceding or following the first Saturday of each month, provided that Holy Communion be received in the state of grace. Should one forget to form the intention of making reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, it may be formed at the next Confession, occasion to go to confession being taken at the first opportunity.

I have been making it a practice to post my meditation on the Rosary here. I have posted about the fourth Sorrowful Mystery - the Carrying of the Cross,  and the first Sorrowful Mystery - Jesus' Agony in the Garden.  Today, since we are now in the Easter season, my post is about the first Glorious Mystery - the Resurrection of our Lord.

When Christ died on that first Good Friday, there was no doubt in anyone's mind that he was dead.  There was barely an ounce of blood left in his body, he was beaten to such a bloody pulp that he was hardly recognizable as a human being.  There was no part of his body that was not wounded.  His tormentors had pushed a crown of thorns into his head so that parts of his brain were even showing.  As a final wounding, even after he had died, one of the Roman soldiers thrust a sword into his heart, from which blood and water poured forth.  When Jesus was finally taken down from the Cross and placed in his Loving but Sorrowful Mother's arms, there was no mistaking that he was dead.  When the few remaining disciples placed Jesus' body in the tomb, they knew they were leaving a lifeless body.  Our Lord was gone.

So after a series of events early Sunday morning following the crucifixion, including the appearance of the angel telling the women Jesus had risen, and Mary Magdalene actually meeting the risen Lord, the disciples were still incredulous.  How could our Lord be alive when he had been so brutally murdered?  But when they saw the wounds in his hands, feet and side, they knew it was true.  The impossible had happened.  Our Lord had conquered death.  Christ had become the victor over man's greatest enemy - sin and death - and through Jesus, we are all victorious.  As I Corinthians 15:5 says:  "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?"

Now Christ's statement in Matthew 10:28 - "And fear not them that kill the body, and cannot kill the soul: but rather fear him that can destroy both soul and body in hell" has real meaning for us.  We need no longer be afraid of physical death, because it has no power over us.  Christ has conquered death for us.  We are now able to comprehend Jesus' statement recorded in John 11:25 - "I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, although he be dead, shall live."  We know that, though our body will die, we will still live through Jesus Christ.  We can spend eternity with the One who created us and conquered the sin and death that threatens to destroy us.  Now that Our Lord has rendered death meaningless, there is nothing left for us to fear.  Almost.

Despite Christ's great defeat over death, there is one enemy that can still rob us of Christ's victory. Christ has conquered death, he has opened the doors to eternal life in heaven with the Trinity, and all the angels and saints.  But that last obstacle standing between us and the eternal reward which Christ offers to us is none other than ourselves.  Satan is standing close by trying to snatch it away, but the only power he has over us is what we give him.  The decision is now completely up to us.  We can either say yes to Jesus and to life, or we can say yes to Satan and to death.  No one can make that decision for us.  Will we rise with Christ, or will we fall with Satan? 

By rising from the dead, Christ said we are no longer victims.  He has given us the means to overcome death and sin.  No one will go to heaven or hell by accident.  We will each choose our own eternity. 

Here it is wise to look to our Blessed Mother.  We are in the same position that she was when she was asked by the angel to consent to become the Mother of God.  Christ has risen from the dead and now asks us to become his brothers and sisters in eternal life.  Just as it was up to Mary to say yes or no, it is up to each of us as to how we will answer our Saviour.  That is the meaning of the resurrection.  Christ told us that wide is the way that leads to destruction, and narrow is the path that leads to life.  Which will we choose? 

Jesus Is the Temple of God

Solomon's Temple Foreshadowing Christ

Pope Benedict XVI gave us another wonderful message in his Wednesday audience on May 2. In this message, he spoke of Stephen, the first martyr, and focused on Stephen's speech to the Sanhedrin given just before he was stoned to death. The Holy Father shows us, through Stephen's speech, that Jesus is the center and focus of all of history. Everything leads up to Jesus, and everything flows from Him. Jesus, sitting at the right hand of the Father, is literally the temple to which all men must go. The temple built by Solomon is but a foreshadowing of Jesus Christ, "who is the new temple, who inaugurates a new worship and who replaces the ancient sacrifices with his self-offering on the Cross", as Pope Benedict tells us in his message.  In the Old Testament, the Temple was the place where the priest went to offer sacrifices for the sins of the people.  It was where the Holy of Holies was, the place that God resided.  The Vicar of Christ in this message shows that this was all a prefigurement of Jesus Christ  Christ is now the sacrifice for our sins, he is the temple where we worship.  The religion of the Israelites in the Old Testament prefigured Christianity, but the reality is utterly unlike anything the world has ever known.  Our God, our Creator, has made himself a sacrifice for us and the temple at which we worship.  Worship starts with Him and ends with Him.  Our Salvation starts and ends with Him. Jesus Christ truly is the "Alpha and Omega", the "Beginning and End."

Dear brothers and sisters,
In the most recent catecheses, we have seen how in personal and communal prayer, reading and meditation on Sacred Scripture open us to hear God who speaks to us, and infuse us with light in order that we may understand the present. Today I would like to speak about the witness and prayer of the Church’s first martyr, St. Stephen, one of the seven who were chosen for the service of charity to those in need. At the moment of his martyrdom, as narrated in the Acts of the Apostles, the fruitful relationship between the Word of God and prayer is again revealed.

"Destroy this temple; in 3 days I will raise it"

Stephen is brought into court before the Sanhedrin, where he is accused of having declared that “Jesus … will destroy this place, [the temple], and will change the customs which Moses delivered to us” (Acts 6:14). During his public life, Jesus had in effect foretold the destruction of the temple of Jerusalem: “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19). Yet, as the Evangelist John notes, “he spoke of the temple of his body. When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken” (John 2:21-22).

St. Stephen Before the Sanhedrin

Stephen’s address before the tribunal, the longest in the Acts of the Apostles, expands precisely upon this prophecy of Jesus, who is the new temple, who inaugurates a new worship and who replaces the ancient sacrifices with his self-offering on the Cross. Stephen wants to show that the accusation made against him of subverting the law of Moses is unfounded and to illustrate his vision of salvation history, of the covenant between God and man. Thus, he reinterprets the whole biblical narrative, the itinerary contained in Sacred Scripture, in order to show that it leads to the “place” of God’s definitive presence, which is Jesus Christ, particularly His Passion, Death and Resurrection. [Everything leads to Christ and from Christ, the "Beginning and the End."]

Radiant Face of Moses

Stephen also interprets his discipleship of Jesus within this perspective, following him to the point of martyrdom. Meditation on Sacred Scripture thus allows him to understand his mission, his life, his present circumstances. [The Holy Father is showing us the importance of meditating on scripture, for it was through studying and meditating on scripture that Stephen came to understand and accept his mission and martyrdom] In this, he is guided by the light of the Holy Spirit, by his intimate relationship with the Lord, so much so that the members of the Sanhedrin saw that his face “was like that of an angel” (Acts 6:15). This sign of divine assistance recalls the radiant face of Moses as he descended from Mount Sinai after having encountered God (cf. Exodus 34:29-35; 2 Corinthians 3:7-8).

God comes to Moses in the Burning Bush

In his address, Stephen begins with the call of Abraham, a pilgrim to the land indicated by God, which he possessed only as a promise; he then passes on to Joseph, who was sold by his brothers but was assisted and liberated by God, to finally reach Moses, who becomes God’s instrument to liberate his people but who also meets many times with rejection by the same people. What emerges from these events narrated by Sacred Scripture, which show Stephen’s devout hearing, is God, who never tires of going out to man even though he often meets with obstinate opposition, and this is true in the past, the present and the future. Therefore, he sees in the whole of the Old Testament the prefiguration of the coming of Jesus himself, the Son of God made flesh, who -- like the ancient Fathers -- encounters obstacles, refusal and death.

In his meditation on God’s action in salvation history, by emphasizing the perennial temptation to reject God and His action, he affirms that Jesus is the Righteous One announced by the prophets; in him, God himself has made himself present in a unique and definitive way: Jesus is the “place” of true worship. Stephen does not deny the importance of the temple for a certain period of time, but he underscores that “God does not dwell in houses made with hands” (Acts 7:48). The new, true temple where God abides is His Son, who put on human flesh; it is the humanity of Christ, the Risen One who gathers the nations and unites them in the Sacrament of his Body and Blood.  [No temple built by man can contain God, only Jesus Christ can be the true temple]

Icon known as "Made Not By Hands"

The expression of the temple as “not made by hands” is also found in the theology of St. Paul and in the Letter to the Hebrews; the body of Jesus, which he assumed in order to offer himself as a sacrificial victim for the expiation of sins, the body of Jesus is the new temple of God, the place of the presence of the living God; in Him, God and man, God and the world are really in contact: Jesus takes upon himself all the sin of humanity in order to cast it into God’s love and to “burn it” in this love. To approach the Cross, to enter into communion with Christ, means entering into this transformation. This is what it is to enter into contact with God, to enter into the true temple. [The only true temple is Jesus Christ Himself.  This is where we must enter]

Stephen's Vision of Jesus at
Right Hand of the Father

Stephen’s life and words are interrupted suddenly when he is stoned, but his martyrdom is the fulfillment of his life and of his message: he becomes one thing with Christ. Thus, his meditation on God’s action in history, on the divine Word, which in Jesus finds its complete fulfillment, becomes a participation in the same prayer of the Cross. [Through prayer and meditation on the scriptures we, too, can become "one thing with Christ."]  Before dying, in fact, he exclaims: “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit” (Acts 7:59), taking as his own the words of Psalm 31 (verse 6) and following the last words of Jesus on Calvary: “Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46). Lastly, like Jesus, he cries out in a loud voice before those who are stoning him: “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (Acts 7:60). Let us note that, if on the one hand the prayer of Stephen harkens back to Jesus’, it is addressed to someone different, because the invocation is addressed to the Lord; that is to Jesus, whom he contemplates glorified at the right hand of the Father: “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God” (verse 55).

Dear brothers and sisters, St. Stephen’s witness offers us several pointers for our prayer and for our lives. We may ask ourselves: where did this first Christian martyr find the strength to face his persecutors and in the end to attain to the gift of himself? The answer is simple: from his relationship with God, from his communion with Christ, from meditation on the history of salvation, from seeing God’s action, which in Jesus Christ reached its summit. Our prayer, too, should be nourished by listening to God’s Word, in communion with Jesus and his Church.

A second element: St. Stephen sees the figure and mission of Jesus prefigured in the story of the relationship of love between God and man. He -- the Son of God -- is the temple “not made by hands” where the presence of God the Father becomes so close that it enters into our human flesh, in order to lead us to God -- in order to open to us the gates of Heaven. Our prayer, then, should be a contemplation of Jesus at the right hand of God, of Jesus as Lord of our, or my, daily life. In him, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we too can address God, we can make real contact with God, with the faith and abandonment of children who turn to a Father who loves them infinitely. Thank you.

[Translation by Diane Montagna]

[In English, he said:]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

In our catechesis on Christian prayer, we now consider the speech which Saint Stephen, the first martyr, delivered before his death. Stephen’s words are clearly grounded in a prayerful re-reading of the Christ event in the light of God’s word. Accused of saying that Jesus would destroy the Temple and the customs handed down by Moses, Stephen responds by presenting Jesus as the Righteous One proclaimed by the prophets, in whom God has become present to humanity in a unique and definitive way. As the Son of God made man, Jesus is himself the true temple of God in the world; by his death for our sins and his rising to new life, he has now become the definitive “place” where true worship is offered to God. Stephen’s witness to Christ, nourished by prayer, culminates in his martyrdom. By his intercession and example may we learn daily to unite prayer, contemplation of Christ and reflection on God’s word. In this way we will appreciate more deeply God’s saving plan, and make Christ truly the Lord of our lives.

As St. Stephen said "God does not dwell in houses made with hands."  If we are to be one with Christ, we must rise about the material and mortal and dwell in the Spiritual Temple which is Jesus Christ.

The Liberal Media Love Affair With Nuns

I have posted very favorably in the past about the New York Times, despite their reputation as the most liberal, secular, humanistic newspaper in the United States.  Well, today they lived up to their liberal reputation with not one but two editorials decrying the Pope over his "mistreatment" of liberal nuns.  For background on this issue, according to speroforum.com:

After a four-year “Apostolic Visitation,” during which the condition of female religious communities in the United States was assessed, the Vatican released a Doctrinal Assessment of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR). LCWR is an “association of the leaders of congregations of Catholic women religious in the United States” – or, at least, of a good percentage of them.

For decades, US Catholics have been concerned about the direction many Catholic women religious have gone. Donna Steichen’s Ungodly Rage: The Hidden Face of Catholic Feminism was published in 1992; Ann Carey’s Sisters in Crisis: The Tragic Unraveling of Women’s Religious Orders came out five years later. It is no secret that new vocations to the older, established communities are rare, that many professed religious have abandoned those communities, and that among those who remain, there are a startling number who promote anything and everything except Catholicism. The newer, traditional communities, by contrast, are vital, growing, and passionately committed to Church teaching.

Shortly after Easter, the Vatican assessment of the LCWR confirmed what the laity have been averring for so long, namely that “the current doctrinal and pastoral situation of LCWR is grave and a matter of serious concern, also given the influence the LCWR exercises on religious congregation in other parts of the world.” The Vatican looked at three particular “areas of concern,” citing “problematic statements and serious theological, even doctrinal, errors” at LCWR assemblies, policies of dissent, and a prevalence of “certain radical feminist themes incompatible with the Catholic Faith.”

According to the actual document released by the Vatican:

Addresses at the LCWR Assemblies. Addresses given during LCWR annual Assemblies manifest problematic statements and serious theological, even doctrinal errors. The Cardinal offered as an example specific passages of Sr. Laurie Brink’s address about some Religious “moving beyond the Church” or even beyond Jesus. This is a challenge not only to core Catholic beliefs; such a rejection of faith is also a serious source of scandal and is incompatible with religious life. Such unacceptable positions routinely go unchallenged by the LCWR, which should provide resources for member Congregations to foster an ecclesial vision of religious life, thus helping to correct an erroneous vision of the Catholic faith as an important exercise of charity. Some might see in Sr. Brink’s analysis a phenomenological snapshot of religious life today. But Pastors of the Church should also see in it a cry for help.

Jeanine Gramick: co-foundress of
the homosexual, lesbian
activist organization
New Ways Ministry.

Policies of Corporate Dissent. The Cardinal spoke of this issue in reference to letters the CDF received from “Leadership Teams” of various Congregations, among them LCWR Officers, protesting the Holy See’s actions regarding the question of women’s ordination and of a correct pastoral approach to ministry to homosexual persons, e.g. letters about New Ways Ministry’s conferences. The terms of the letters suggest that these sisters collectively take a position not in agreement with the Church’s teaching on human sexuality. It is a serious matter when these Leadership Teams are not providing effective leadership and example to their communities, but place themselves outside the Church’s teaching.

Radical Feminism. The Cardinal noted a prevalence of certain radical feminist themes incompatible with the Catholic faith in some of the programs and presentations sponsored by the LCWR, including theological interpretations that risk distorting faith in Jesus and his loving Father who sent his Son for the salvation of the world.  Moreover, some commentaries on “patriarchy” distort the way in which Jesus has structured sacramental life in the Church; others even undermine the revealed doctrines of the Holy Trinity, the divinity of Christ, and the inspiration of Sacred Scripture.

The LCWR was completely stunned, and many in the liberal mainstream media and other liberal arenas are running to the defense of these nuns, saying that all the nuns want to do is help people and the Vatican are just a bunch of sexist misogynistic bigots who care nothing about women. 

Leading the pack of defenders of the LCWR is The New York Times.  Here is the always dependable Maureen Dowd, who never misses an opportunity to bash the Church.  Maureen just can't understand why the Church is so upset with nuns who thumb their noses at Church teachings and insist on following their own rules.  Maureen uses the pedophile scandal to say that the Church has no right to criticize the nuns and discipline them for disobedience.  This will always be the mantra for all who want to destroy the Church, and the enemies of the Church have been and will continue to use it every chance they get.

What is most interesting about Maureen Dowd's editorial is that everything she writes about her now beloved nuns bolsters the Vatican's report on them and their radical disobedience to church teachings.

Bishops Play Church Queens as Pawns 

By MAUREEN DOWD


WASHINGTON

IT is an astonishing thing that historians will look back and puzzle over, that in the 21st century, American women were such hunted creatures.

Even as Republicans try to wrestle women into chastity belts, the Vatican is trying to muzzle American nuns.  [With liberals, it is always ultimately about sex.]

Yet the nuns must be yanked into line by the crepuscular [I had to look this word up.  It means:  of, pertaining to, or resembling twilight; dim; indistinct], medieval men who run the Catholic Church.

“It’s not terribly unlike the days of yore when they singled out people in the rough days of the Inquisition,” said Kenneth Briggs, the author of “Double Crossed: Uncovering the Catholic Church’s Betrayal of American Nuns.” [Liberals just love to use the word "Inquisition" when it comes to the Catholic Church]  

How can the church hierarchy be more offended by the nuns’ impassioned advocacy for the poor than by priests’ sordid pedophilia? [This is such a bogus, worn-out argument.  Let's ignore one crisis in the church because something else is happening over here.  So what if nuns are leading people into spiritual oblivion.  They're just trying to "help" people.]

How do you take spiritual direction from a church that seems to be losing its soul? [In some instances, Maureen has a point here, but not for the reason she would like.  Too much of the Church hierarchy has ignored dissidents throughout the last 50 years, and now the chickens have come home to roost, and we all have to deal with the disastrous consequences.]

It has become a habit for the church to go after women. A Worcester, Mass., bishop successfully fought to get a commencement speech invitation taken away from Vicki Kennedy, widow of Teddy Kennedy, because of her positions on some social issues. [Some "social issues"?  Like abortion and contraception and same sex marriage?] And an Indiana woman named Emily Herx has filed a lawsuit saying she was fired from her job teaching in a Catholic school and denounced as a “grave, immoral sinner” by the parish pastor after she used fertility treatments to try to get pregnant with her husband. [Maureen knows this is condemned by the Church as inherently evil.  Gimme a break!] 

Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York recently told The Wall Street Journal that only “a tiny minority” of priests were tainted by the sex abuse scandal. But it’s a global shame spiral. The church leadership never recoiled in horror from pedophilia, yet it recoils in horror from outspoken nuns. [Again, the church is reaping the terrible consequences of ignoring the dissidents within her own midsts over the past decades.]   

In Philadelphia, Msgr. William Lynn, 61, is the first church supervisor to go on trial for child endangerment. He is fighting charges that he may have covered up for 20 priests accused of sexual abuse and left in the ministry, often transferred to unwitting parishes. [What does this have to do with nuns who flaunt church teachings and refuse to conform to the Magesterium?] 

Somehow the Philadelphia church leaders decided that the Rev. Thomas Smith was not sexually motivated when he made boys strip and be whipped playing Christ in a Passion play. Somehow they decided an altar boy who said he was raped by two priests and his fifth-grade teacher was not the one in need of protection. [Again, this has nothing to do with the discipline of dissident nuns.  To use Maureen's argument, why in the civil world should we go after white collar crime when there are murderers out there?]

Instead of looking deep into its own heart and soul, the church is going after the women who are the heart and soul of parishes, schools and hospitals.  [Is that why all of these "parishes, schools and hospitals" are closing?  I guess these women have lost some of their "heart and soul".]

The stunned sisters are debating how to respond after the Vatican’s scorching reprimand to the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, the main association of American Catholic nuns. The bishops were obviously peeved that some nuns had the temerity to speak out in support of President Obama’s health care plan, including his compromise on contraception for religious hospitals. [Yes, Maureen, the bishops were a bit "peeved" that the nuns are going against the Church and against their own bishops.]

The Vatican accused the nuns of pushing “radical feminist themes,” and said they were not vocal enough in parroting church policy against the ordination of women as priests and against abortion, contraception and homosexual relationships.  [You know, Maureen, these are the rules of the Church, and for good reason, which you will always refuse to admit.  If the nuns don't like the way the Church is run and the Magesterium, they are always free to leave.  They are not free to destroy souls.]

In a blatant “Shut up and sit down, sisters” moment, the Vatican’s doctrinal office, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, noted, “Occasional public statements by the L.C.W.R. that disagree with or challenge positions taken by the bishops, who are the church’s authentic teachers of faith and morals, are not compatible with its purpose.”   [Again, Maureen, you and the nuns are free to go off on your own and ignore what the Church teaches.  But the nuns are not free to break their vows and still be nuns.]  

Pope Benedict, who became known as “God’s Rottweiler” when he was the cardinal conducting the office’s loyalty tests, assigned Archbishop J. Peter Sartain of Seattle to crack down on the climate of “corporate dissent” among the poor nuns.  

When the nuns push for social justice, they’re put into stocks. Yet Archbishop Sartain has led a campaign in Washington to reverse the state’s newly enacted law allowing same-sex marriage, and he’s a church hero. [Maureen, do you give any thought at all to what you write?  What does one have to do with the other?]

Sister Simone Campbell, executive director of Network, a Catholic lobbying group slapped in the Vatican report, said it scares the church hierarchy to have “educated women form thoughtful opinions and engage in dialogue.”

She told NPR that it was ironic that church leaders were mad at sisters over contraception when the nuns had committed to a celibate life with no families or babies. Given the damage done by the pedophilia scandals, she said, “the church’s obsession, at times, with the sexual relationships is a serious problem.” [This nun proves that she has no concept of church teaching and does not belong in the position she occupies.  Why wasn't she booted out long ago?]

Asked by The Journal if the church had a hard time convincing the flock to follow its strict teachings on sexuality, Cardinal Dolan laughed: “Do we ever!”  [Our "let's not offend anyone" Cardinal strikes again.]

Church leaders behave like adolescent boys, blinded by sex. That’s the problem with inquisitors and censors: They become fascinated by what they deplore. 

The situation with the nuns, who have gotten so deeply involved in "social justice" and gone off the deep end spiritually is a prime example of what our Holy Father spoke of on Wednesday, April 25 in his weekly audience and which I posted here.  The Holy Father said that unless prayer is at the center of our lives, unless we give first place to prayer, we become the sounding brass and tinkling cymbal spoken of in I Corinthians 13, works with no substance of love.  As the Holy Father said:  " Without daily prayer faithfully lived out, our activity becomes empty, it loses its deep soul, it is reduced to mere activism, which in the end leaves us unsatisfied."  One can only surmise that the Pope may well have been thinking of these poor unfortunate nuns when he made that statement. 

I truly fear for Maureen Dowd's soul, and certainly for the souls of all these dissident nuns.  We need to be praying for these people.  We can sit around and criticize them, but what they really need are our prayers so that they will repent and turn away from the devil, who seems to have them firmly in his grasp. 

Pray for all souls

The Supreme Importance of Prayer

One mark of Modernism is the emphasis on social justice.  There are those who feel it is at least as important, and maybe even more so, to concentrate on taking care of the physical needs of people than on our personal prayer and our relationship with Our Lord.  But in his weekly audience on April 25, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI specifically stated:  "It is significant that the Apostles acknowledge the importance of both prayer and works of charity, yet clearly give priority to prayer and the proclamation of the Gospel."  The most important part of our lives is prayer, even above works of charity.  Why would that be?  Without prayer, we are living our lives apart from God, who is the source of all that is good.  Works of charity, apart from God, who is True Love, are meaningless, as the Apostle Paul told us in I Corinthians 13:1-3:

If I speak with the tongues of men, and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And if I should have prophecy and should know all mysteries, and all knowledge, and if I should have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And if I should distribute all my goods to feed the poor, and if I should deliver my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

Works of charity will flow out of our relationship with God, as surely as planting a seed in the ground will cause a plant to grow and bloom.  But we must first have that relationship with God, and that is what our Holy Father is telling us.  Apart from God and a close personal relationship with our Creator, we are nothing more than sounding brass and clanging symbols.

Dear brothers and sisters,

In the last catechesis, I showed that from the beginning of her journey, the Church found herself having to face unforeseen situations, new questions and emergencies, which she sought to respond to in the light of faith, by allowing herself to be guided by the Holy Spirit.

Today I would like to pause to reflect on another of these situations, on a serious problem that the first Christian community in Jerusalem had to face and resolve, as St. Luke tells us in the sixth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, regarding the pastoral care of charity shown to those were alone and in need of help and assistance. The question is not of secondary importance for the Church and, at the time, it risked creating divisions within the Church; in fact, the number of the disciples was increasing, but the Hellenists began to murmur against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution (cf. Acts 6:1). Faced with this urgent need involving a fundamental aspect of the life of the community; i.e. charity shown to the weak, the poor, and the defenseless -- and justice -- the Apostles summon the whole group of the disciples.

At this time of pastoral emergency what stands out is the Apostles’ discernment. They are faced with the primary need to proclaim the Word of God according to the mandate of the Lord; but even though this is the primary demand placed upon the Church -- they consider with equal seriousness the duty of charity and of justice, that is, the duty of assisting widows and the poor, of lovingly providing for their brothers and sisters in situations of need, in order to respond to Jesus’ command: love one another as I have loved you (cf. John 15:12,17).

Therefore, the two realities they must live out within the Church -- the proclamation of the Word, the primacy of God, and concrete charity, justice -- are creating difficulties and a solution must be found, so that both may have their place, their necessary relation. The Apostles’ reflection is very clear; they say, as we heard: “It is not right that we should give up preaching the Word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brethren, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word” (Acts 6:2-4).

Two things appear: first, that from that moment in the Church, there is a ministry of charity. The Church must not only proclaim the Word; she must also make the Word, which is charity and truth, a reality. And the second point: these men were to be not only of good repute; they must be men filled with the Holy Spirit and wisdom; that is, they cannot be mere organizers who know how to “do”; they must “do so” in the spirit of faith by the light of God, in wisdom of heart. Therefore also their role -- though primarily of a practical nature -- is still a spiritual role. Charity and justice are not only social actions; rather, they are spiritual activities realized in the light of the Holy Spirit.

Therefore, we may say that the situation is handled with great responsibility on the part of the Apostles, who make this decision: seven men are chosen; the Apostles pray in order to ask for the power of the Holy Spirit; and then they lay hands on them so that they might be dedicated in a special way to this service of charity. Thus, in the Church’s life, in the first steps she takes, what happened during Jesus’ public life, in the home of Martha and Mary in Bethania, is reflected in a certain way. Martha was wholly given over to the service of hospitality offered to Jesus and to His disciples; Mary, on the other hand, devotes herself to listening to the Word of the Lord (cf. Luke 10:38-42). In both cases, the moments of prayer and of listening to God, and daily activity, i.e. the exercise of charity, are not placed in opposition. Jesus’ reminder: “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things; one thing is needful. Mary has chosen the better part, which shall not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:41-42), as well as the Apostles’ reflection: “We … will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the Word” (Acts 6:4), demonstrate the priority that we must give to God.

I do not wish to enter now into an interpretation of this Martha-Mary pericope. At any rate, activity on behalf of one’s neighbor, for the other, should not be condemned; however, it should be emphasized that activity must also be penetrated interiorly by the spirit of contemplation. On the other hand, St. Augustine says that the reality of Mary is a vision of what shall be ours in heaven; therefore, on earth we can never have it completely, but a little taste of anticipation must nonetheless be present in all of our activities. The contemplation of God must also be present. We must not lose ourselves in pure activism, but should always allow ourselves to be penetrated, even in our activity, by the light of God’s Word and thereby learn true charity, true service of our neighbor, who doesn’t need many things -- certainly he has need of the necessities -- but who above all needs our heart’s affection, the light of God. [The Holy Father is telling us that yes, we must take care of the physical needs of our neighbors, but first and foremost are the spiritual needs.]

St. Ambrose, commenting on the episode of Martha and Mary, thus exhorts his faithful and also us: “Let us also seek to have what cannot be taken away from us, by offering diligent, undistracted attention to the Lord’s Word: for it also happens that the seeds of the heavenly word are carried off, if they are strewn along the path. Like Mary, stir up within yourself the desire to know: this is the greatest, most perfect work.” And he adds: “may the care of ministry not distract us from the knowledge of heavenly words,” from prayer (Expositio Evangelii secundum Lucam, VII, 85: PL 15, 1720).

The saints, then, have experienced a profound unity of life between prayer and action, between total love of God and love for the brethren. [Our ultimate goal - to love God and to love our fellow man] St. Bernard, who is a model of harmony between contemplation and industriousness, in the book De consideratione, addressed to Pope Innocent II in order to offer him a few reflections on his ministry, insists precisely upon the importance of interior recollection and of prayer in defending oneself from the dangers of excessive activity, whatever be the condition in which we find ourselves and the task we carry out. St. Bernard affirms that too many occupations, a frenetic life, often end in hardening the heart and in making the spirit suffer (cf. II, 3).  [Action without contemplative prayer will lead to burnout and make us ineffectual and spiritually impotent.]

It is a precious reminder for us today, habituated as we are to evaluate everything based upon the criteria of productivity and efficiency. The passage from the Acts of the Apostles reminds us of the importance of work -- whence, undoubtedly, true ministry is born – and of the importance of commitment to daily activity responsibly carried out with dedication, but it also reminds us of our need for God, for His guidance, for His light, which gives us strength and hope. Without daily prayer faithfully lived out, our activity becomes empty, it loses its deep soul, it is reduced to mere activism, which in the end leaves us unsatisfied.

There is a beautiful invocation from the Christian tradition to be recited before each activity, which goes like this: “Actiones nostras, quæsumus, Domine, aspirando præveni et adiuvando prosequere, ut cuncta nostra oratio et operatio a te semper incipiat, et per te coepta finiatur”, that is: “Inspire our actions, Lord, and accompany them by your help, so that our every word and act may always have its beginning in you and in you be brought to completion.” Every step of our lives, every action -- also of the Church -- must be carried out before God, in the light of His Word.

In last Wednesday’s catechesis I had emphasized the first Christian community’s undivided prayer in the face of trial and how, precisely in prayer, in meditation on Sacred Scripture, it was able to understand the events it was going through. When prayer is nourished by the Word of God we are able to see reality with new eyes, with the eyes of faith, and the Lord -- who speaks to the mind and heart -- gives new light on the journey at every moment and in every situation. We believe in the power of God’s Word and in prayer. Even the difficulties the Church was living through when faced with the problem of service to the poor -- the question of charity -- were overcome through prayer, in the light of God, of the Holy Spirit.

St. Peter Ordaining St. Stephen

The Apostles did not merely ratify their choice of Stephen and the other men, but “after having prayed, they laid their hands upon them” (Acts 6:6). The Evangelist will record these acts again on the occasion of the election of Paul and Barnabas, where we read: “after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off” (Acts 13:3). It again confirms that the practice of charity is a spiritual service. Both realities must go together.

With the laying on of hands, the Apostles confer a particular ministry upon seven men, so that they might be given the corresponding grace. The emphasis on prayer -- “after praying,” they say -- is important because it highlights the action’s spiritual dimension; it is not simply a matter of conferring a task, as happens in a social organization; rather, it is an ecclesial event in which the Holy Spirit appropriates to Himself seven men whom the Church has chosen by consecrating them in the Truth, who is Jesus Christ: He is the silent protagonist, present in the imposition of hands so that those who are chosen might be transformed by His power and sanctified in order to face the practical challenges, the challenges of pastoral life. And the emphasis on prayer reminds us, moreover, that it is only through an intimate relationship with God cultivated each day that a response to the Lord’s choice is born and that every ministry in the Church is entrusted.

Dear brothers and sisters, the pastoral problem that led the Apostles to choose and lay hands on seven men charged with the task of the service of charity, in order that they might dedicate themselves to prayer and to preaching the Word, indicates also to us the primacy of prayer and of God’s Word, which then also produces pastoral action. For Pastors, this is the first and most precious form of service paid to the flock entrusted to them. If the lungs of prayer and the Word of God fail to nourish the breath of our spiritual life, we risk suffocating amid a thousand daily cares: prayer is the breath of the soul and of life. And there is another precious reminder that I would like to emphasize: in our relationship with God, in listening to His Word, in conversation with God, even when we find ourselves in the silence of a church or in our room, we are united in the Lord with so many brothers and sisters in faith, like an ensemble of instruments that, though retaining their individuality, offer to God one great symphony of intercession, of thanksgiving and of praise. Thank you.

Once more, the depth and wisdom of the Holy Father amazes me.  He strikes at the core of the ills we face, and shows that we have and are nothing apart from our Creator.  The Holy Father, in his message, emphasizes how absolutely vital prayer is to our lives.  As Pope Benedict XVI said:  "If the lungs of prayer and the Word of God fail to nourish the breath of our spiritual life, we risk suffocating amid a thousand daily cares: prayer is the breath of the soul and of life. "