News Vatican Information Service 02/19/2010

SUMMARY:

- Priests: Men of God, Obedient to His Will
- Pope to Canonise Six Blesseds on 17 October
- Spiritual Exercises of Pope and Roman Curia

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PRIESTS: MEN OF GOD, OBEDIENT TO HIS WILL

VATICAN CITY, 19 FEB 2010 (VIS) - During his meeting yesterday with parish priests of the diocese of Rome, Benedict XVI commented on certain verses from the Letter to the Hebrews.

  Beginning with the Old Testament view of the Messiah, and comparing it to what Christ actually represented in the history of salvation, the Pope noted how "Christ is the true King, the Son of God. But He is also the true priest, and thus all worship, all the reality of sacrifices, ... and of the true sacrifice, finds its key and its fulfilment in Christ".

  Thus, he explained, does the priest "emerges in all his pureness and his profound truth". And he went on: "A priest, in order truly to be a mediator between God and man, must be a man, and the Son of God became man precisely in order to become a priest, in order to accomplish the mission of a priest. ... This is the mission of the priest: ... to be a mediator, a bridge that unites and thus brings man to God, to His redemption, to His true light, to His true life".

  If the priest is a "bridge" bringing humankind into communion with the divinity, his soul must draw nourishment from constant daily prayer and from the Eucharist, said the Pope.

  "Only God", he went on, "can enter my life and take me by the hand. ... Ever and anew we must return to the Sacrament, return to this gift in which God gives me what I could never give. ... A priest must truly be a man of God, he must know God up close", and he achieves this "in communion with Christ. We must live this communion".

  Benedict went on to point out that the life choice priests to make requires them to develop their feelings and affections in accordance with God's will. This conversion is anything but simple if we consider the misleading self-indulgence that lies in the modern mentality, he said.

  "Thus do people say: 'He lied, he is human. He robbed, he is human'. But this is not the true human being. Human means being generous, human means being good, human means being a person of justice. ... And so, to leave behind, with Christ's help, this cloud over our nature ... is a life process which must begin with education to the priesthood then continue throughout our life".

  A priest, who is above all other things a completely-fulfilled man, has a heart dedicated to "compassion". Sin is not a sign of "solidarity" with human weakness; rather, such solidarity is evident in the strength to share the burden of sin in order to redeem and purify it, showing the same capacity for emotion which Jesus showed during His life, and which enabled him to carry His cry of compassion "unto the ears of God".

  "We priests cannot withdraw into exile", said the Pope. "We are immersed in the passion of this world and must, with the help of Christ and in communion with Christ, seek to transform it and lead it towards God".

  Finally, on the subject of obedience, the Pope said: "It is an unpopular word in our time, when obedience seems like a form of alienation, an attitude of servility. ... Yet on the contrary, ... the word 'obedience' and the word 'freedom' are inseparable, ... because the will of God is not a tyrannical will; ... rather, it is the place where we find our true identity".
AC/PRIESTHOOD/ROMAN PASTORS                                      VIS 100219 (600)

POPE TO CANONISE SIX BLESSEDS ON 17 OCTOBER

VATICAN CITY, 19 FEB 2010 (VIS) - At 11 a.m. today in the Consistory Hall of the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father presided at an ordinary public consistory for the canonisation of the following Blesseds:

 - Stanislao Soltys, called Kazimierczyk, Polish professed religious of the Order of Canons Regular Lateranense (1433-1489).

 - Andre Bessette (ne Alfred), Canadian professed religious of the Congregation of the Holy Cross (1845-1937).

 - Candida Maria de Jesus Cipitria y Barriola (nee Juana Josefa), Spanish founder of the Congregation of the Daughters of Jesus (1845-1912).

 - Mary of the Cross MacKillop (nee Mary Helen), Australian foundress of the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart (1842-1909).

 - Giulia Salzano, Italian foundress of the Congregation of Sisters Catechists of the Sacred Heart (1846-1929).

 - Battista da Varano (nee Camilla), professed nun of the Order of Poor Clares and foundress of the monastery of St. Clare in the Italian town of Camerino (1458-1524).

  At the end of the meeting, the Pope announced that the canonisation ceremony will take place on 17 October.
OCL/CONSISTORY CANONISATION/...                                     VIS 100219 (190)

SPIRITUAL EXERCISES OF POPE AND ROMAN CURIA

VATICAN CITY, 19 FEB 2010 (VIS) - The annual spiritual exercises of the Pope and the Roman Curia are due to begin on 21 February, the first Sunday of Lent. This year's meditations will be directed by the Salesian priest, Fr. Enrico Dal Covolo..

  The theme of the spiritual exercises, which will take place in the "Redemptoris Mater" Chapel of the Vatican's Apostolic Palace, is: "The 'Lessons' of God and of the Church on the priestly vocation".

  The retreat will begin at 6 p.m. with Eucharistic exposition, the celebration of Vespers, an introductory meditation, adoration and Eucharistic blessing. Over the following days there will be the celebration of Lauds and meditation at 9 a.m.; celebration of Terce and meditation at 10.15 a.m.; meditation at 5 p.m.; and Vespers, adoration and Eucharistic blessing at 5.45 p.m.

  The spiritual exercises will come to an end at 9 a.m. on Saturday 27 February with the celebration of Lauds and a closing meditation.

  During the retreat all audiences will be cancelled, including the weekly general audience of Wednesday 24 February.
PD/CURIA RETREAT/DAL COVOLO                                         VIS 100219 (190)

You can find more information at: www.vatican.va - www.visnews.org

The news items contained in the Vatican Information Service may be used, in part or in their entirety, by quoting the source:
V.I.S. -Vatican Information Service.
Copyright © Vatican Information Service 00120 Vatican City

News Vatican Information Service 02/18/2010

SUMMARY:

- Lent: Crossing the Desert, Abandoning Ourselves to God
- Pope Meets with the Pastors of the Diocese of Rome
- Other Pontifical Acts

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LENT: CROSSING THE DESERT, ABANDONING OURSELVES TO GOD

VATICAN CITY, 18 FEB 2010 (VIS) - Yesterday, Ash Wednesday, Benedict XVI presided over the traditional penitential procession from the church of St. Anselm on the Aventine Hill to the Basilica of Santa Sabina where he celebrated Mass. The Pope received ashes from Cardinal Jozef Tomko, Titular of the basilica and then distributed ashes to the cardinals and bishops present as well as to various faithful.

  In his homily, the Pope stressed that the "absolute certainty" of God's love sustained Christ during the forty days he spent in the Judean desert. "That long time of silence and fasting for him was a complete abandonment to the Father and to His plan of love. (...) Going into the desert (...) meant voluntarily exposing himself to the enemy's attacks, to temptation" (...) and "entering into battle with him on the open field, defying him without any weapon other than his infinite trust in the Father's omnipotent love".

  "Adam was expelled from the earthly paradise, the symbol of communion with God", the pontiff said. "Now, in order to return to that communion and thus to eternal life we must pass through the desert, the test of faith. Not alone but with Jesus (...) who proceeds us and who has already conquered in the fight against the spirit of evil. This is the meaning of Lent, the liturgical time that, each year, invites us to renew our decision to follow Christ on the path of humility in order to participate in his victory over sin and death".

  It is from this perspective that we understand the penitential sign of the ashes, the Holy Father explained. "Essentially, they are a gesture of humility that means: I recognize myself for what I am, a fragile creature made of earth and destined to return to the earth, but also made in the image of God and destined to return to Him. Dust, yes, but dust that is loved and shaped by His love (...) capable of recognizing His voice and responding to Him; free and thus also capable of disobeying, of giving in to the temptation of pride and self-sufficiency".

  "Sin", Benedict XVI stated, "basically consists in disobeying God, in a lack of love. (...) The first act of justice is recognizing one's own iniquity (...) rooted at the heart of each person (...) An expression of penitence is only worthy in God's eyes if it is the sign of a sincerely repentant heart. (...) The true reward is not the admiration of others but friendship with God and the grace that derives from Him, the grace that gives peace and the strength to do good".

  "In Christ's heart, at the center of His human and divine person, the entire drama of freedom was wagered in decisive and definitive terms. God brought His plan of salvation to its ultimate consequences, remaining faithful in His love even at the expense of delivering His only Son to death. (...) Thanks to Christ's action we can enter in to the "greater" justice, which is the justice of love".

  "Lent enlarges our horizon, orients us toward eternal life (...) it makes us to understand the relativity of earthly goods and thus enables us to make the necessary renunciations, frees us to do good", the Holy Father concluded.
HML/ASH WEDNESDAY/SANTA SABINA                                VIS 100218 (540)

POPE MEETS WITH THE PASTORS OF THE DIOCESE OF ROME

VATICAN CITY, 18 FEB 2010 (VIS) - This morning, as is traditional at the beginning of Lent, the Pope met with the priests and pastors of the diocese of Rome. With the motivation of the Year for Priests, the Holy Father presided over lectio divina, during which he commented on some chapters from the Letter to the Hebrews that make reference to the high priest.
.../MEETING ROMAN CLERGY/...                                    VIS 100218 (60)

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, 18 FEB 2010 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

- Appointed Bishop Jose Domingo Ulloa Mendieta, O.S.A., as archbishop of Panama (area 13,275, population 1,615,000, Catholics 1,453,000, priests 211, permanent deacons 54, religious 402) in Panama. The archbishop-elect, previously auxiliary of the same archdiocese, succeeds Archbishop Jose Dimas Ceno Delgado, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

- Appointed Fr. Jose Araneta Cabantan as bishop of Malaybalay (area 8,293, population 1,446,314, Catholics 1,167,465, priests 80, religious 164) in the Philippines. The bishop-elect was born in 1957 in Lagonglong, Phillippines, was ordained to the priesthood in 1990, and until now was the pastor of the Miraculous Medal in Cagayan de Oro, Phillippines. He succeeds Bishop Honesto Pacana, S.J., whose resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

- Accepted the resignation of Bishop Anthony Theodore Lobo from the pastoral care of the diocese of Islamabad-Rawalpindi, Pakistan, in conformity with canon 401, para. 2 of the Code of Canon Law. Bishop Rufin Anthony, previously coadjutor of the same diocese, succeeds him.

- Appointed Bishop Demetrio Fernandez Gonzalez, previously of Tarazona, Spain, as bishop of Cordoba (area 13,717, population 795,356, Catholics 791,098, priests 375, religious 1,047) in Spain.
NER:RE/.../...                                                                       VIS 100218 (210)

You can find more information at: www.vatican.va - www.visnews.org

The news items contained in the Vatican Information Service may be used, in part or in their entirety, by quoting the source:
V.I.S. -Vatican Information Service.
Copyright © Vatican Information Service 00120 Vatican City