Thursday, November 13th, 2008
Daily Archive
Pope Benedict on the Resurrection
Posted by Fr. Aquinas on 13 Nov 2008 | Tagged as: Miscellaneous
In 
his General Audience address yesterday, Pope Benedict continued his catechesis on the life and writings of St. Paul, and in so doing he offered the Church a profound meditation on the resurrection. Pulling together an assortment of Pauline texts and several themes from his encyclical Spe Salvi, the Holy Father explained how the Christian’s faith and hope in his future glory necessarily shapes the way he lives here and now. In other words, Benedict reminded us that there exists in the Christian life a profound connection between the present and the future.
Read and enjoy.
BENEDICT XVI
General Audience
November 12, 2008
Dear brothers and sisters:
The theme of the Resurrection, which we considered last week, opens a new perspective — that of awaiting the return of the Lord. And therefore it brings us to reflect on the relationship between the present time, the time of the Church and the Kingdom of Christ, and the future (éschaton) that awaits us, when Christ will hand over the Kingdom to the Father (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:24). Every Christian discourse on the last things, called eschatology, always starts from the event of the Resurrection: In this event the last things have already begun, and in a certain sense, are already present.
St. Paul probably wrote his first letter in the year 52, the First Letter to the Thessalonians, where he speaks of this return of Jesus, called the parousía, the advent, the new and definitive and manifest presence (cf. 4:13-18). To the Thessalonians, who have their doubts and problems, the Apostle writes thus: “If we believe that Jesus died and rose, so too will God, through Jesus, bring with him those who have fallen asleep” (4:14).
And he continues: “The dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” (4:16-17). Paul describes the parousía of Christ with very living tones and symbolic images, but transmitting a simple and profound message: At the end, we will be always with the Lord. That is, beyond the images, the essential message: Our future is “to be with the Lord.” As believers, in our lives we already are with the Lord — our future, eternal life, has already begun.
Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850-1917)
Posted by Fr. Aquinas on 13 Nov 2008 | Tagged as: Liturgical Feasts
I was hungry and you have me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was homeless and you took me in. Now I tell you this: When you did these things for the most neglected of my brothers, you did them for me.
It rarely occurs in the United States that we celebrate the feast day of one of our compatriots. Our nation is still young, and so is the Church here. The roots of truth and grace must plunge deeper into our soil before many more of our own are raised to honors the altar.
But today we commemorate not only a fellow citizen, but in a sense a fellow New Yorker, St. Frances Xavier Cabrini. An Italian by birth, Mother Cabrini brought her Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart to the United States in the late nineteenth century, landing in New York City in 1889. Rooted in prayer and a deep spirit of sacrifice, Mother Cabrini traveled all over North and South America, establishing schools, convents, and other centers of service to the poor and immigrants. She died in Chicago in 1917, and her relics are enshrined here in Manhattan.
If it weren’t for the cloudy skies and rain, today would be the perfect day for a pilgrimage to the northern tip of the island.
Here’s more on Mother Cabrini’s life from the Catholic Information Network:
St Frances-Xavier (Maria Francesca) Cabrini was born on July 15th, 1850, in the old Lombard town of Santangelo.
She was the youngest of an exemplary Catholic family, although her father’s cousin, Agostino Depretis, was an enthusiast for Mazzini, a prominent anti-clerical, and subsequently prime minister of the new Italian government.
Although a delicate, shy child, she was very intelligent, hard-working, obedient, yet with an iron will and precociously devout, given to prayer, and from very early years an enthusiast for the foreign missions, above all those in China. This inclination needs stressing in view of her later career, for until ordered by Leo XIII to labor elsewhere her life’s resolve and ideal was to enter some religious institute with convents in the far east.
Cardinal George, Part II
Posted by Fr. Aquinas on 13 Nov 2008 | Tagged as: Miscellaneous
Building 
on comments he made two days ago, Cardinal George of Chicago, the president of the USCCB, released the following statement earlier today. In it the Cardinal conveys the collective thinking of the bishops regarding last week’s national election. In the minds and hearts of our shepherds, joy appears mixed with sorrow as the historical election of Obama remains overshadowed by his promises to roll back recent advances made in the cause of life. Foremost among the bishops’ concerns are the dire consequences that passage of the Freedom of Choice Act could have on national unity and the free exercise of religion, not to mention the lethal consequences it promises for the unborn. The statement ends with a pledge of prayers for President-elect Obama and those who will help him govern.
STATEMENT of the President
of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
“If the Lord does not build the house, in vain do its builders labor; if the Lord does not watch over the city, in vain does the watchman keep vigil.” (Psalm 127, vs. 1)
The Bishops of the Catholic Church in the United States welcome this moment of historic transition and look forward to working with President-elect Obama and the members of the new Congress for the common good of all. Because of the Church’s history and the scope of her ministries in this country, we want to continue our work for economic justice and opportunity for all; our efforts to reform laws around immigration and the situation of the undocumented; our provision of better education and adequate health care for all, especially for women and children; our desire to safeguard religious freedom and foster peace at home and abroad. The Church is intent on doing good and will continue to cooperate gladly with the government and all others working for these goods.
The fundamental good is life itself, a gift from God and our parents. A good state protects the lives of all. Legal protection for those members of the human family waiting to be born in this country was removed when the Supreme Court decided Roe vs. Wade in 1973. This was bad law. The danger the Bishops see at this moment is that a bad court decision will be enshrined in bad legislation that is more radical than the 1973 Supreme Court decision itself.