Pope's New Encyclical - Caritas in Veritate

Esteemed Catholic Nerds, The moment has come; our "sleeping bags on the cyber-sidewalk outside the Vatican at 4am moment" is over! Today the Pope released his 3rd Encyclical!! Caritas in Veritate (Love in Truth) ... WOOT! WOOT! Benedict XVI has said "this document... intends to focus on some aspects of the integral developments of our time, in the light of love in truth."

SOME QUICK GEMS:

"Without truth, charity degenerates into sentimentality. Love becomes an empty shell, to be filled in an arbitrary way. In a culture without truth, this is the fatal risk facing love. It falls prey to contingent subjective emotions and opinions, the word “love” is abused and distorted, to the point where it comes to mean the opposite."

"Charity in truth places man before the astonishing experience of gift. Gratuitousness is present in our lives in many different forms, which often go unrecognized because of a purely consumerist and utilitarian view of life. The human being is made for gift, which expresses and makes present his transcendent dimension."

- Pope Benedict XVI

The USCCB has a nice summary of CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING to give us some foundation on its blog here.

Peace and Incense, Bill

PopeTube

Wow. The Vatican has teamed up with YouTube, offering news coverage of the main activities of Pope Benedict XVI and other Vatican events. It's got daily updates, with video images produced by Centro Televisio Vaticano (CTV), texts by Vatican Radio (RV) and CTV. This video-news presents the Catholic Church's position on key issues in the world today. There is also a section of links that give access to the official texts of cited documents. Check out the Vatican's YouTube page here.

Fatherhood

"Become who you were born to be."

 I've always loved this line, taken from a scene in Peter Jackson's film "The Return of the King." In a darkened tent where the army of Rohan encamps on the side of a mountain, Elrond speaks a word of challenge and invitation to Aragorn. He is the descendant of a royal line who has for too long wandered and waited for his vocation to be actualized.

In this scene, the Ranger from the North takes up his forefather's sword and takes hold once and for all of his high calling. He rises with a new name, Elessar, and a new mission. Since the adoption of our son last month, I've been feeling the weight of a call; of a new vocation. I think something was activated in me just a few weeks ago, something that has perhaps lain dormant until now, like a seed that was planted but never cracked open until God knocked on the thin shell of my heart and whispered "Let there be life."

It's the glowing ember of fatherhood, which was nearly snuffed out in these past years of trial, of purification and waiting. But now it's stirred by the breath of the Spirit and the gift of this adoption. In our sad experiences of miscarriage and loss, and in the midst of our unborn baby's condition in the womb, I have always felt this vocation growing. Our prayer for a miracle for Baby Grace continues, but it's as if in this time I were looking through a clouded glass, slightly removed, distant in a sense from this new act of "fathering." I know in my heart I am a father, but until now I've been standing in this "Waiting Room," pacing about, back and forth.

A mother's vocation seems to be woven and spun so early, as the little ones are knit together in the womb. For a father, the world is like a second womb; he must wait to receive the new life in its second stage. (I think our Heavenly Father waits at the world's end to receive us all. And what a happy, expectant Father He is! I wonder if God is pacing the halls of Heaven overjoyed for that moment when we are born into the Light of that Unending Day! Maybe all of the angels get cigars when someone enters Paradise?)

Right now, a child sleeps just feet away from me. Unbelievable. My vocation has made its "quantum leap"... has passed a test and is being given a new one. I feel this inspired instinct, this primal proclivity to guard and protect, to sacrifice and to serve my family at a new and deeper level than before. It's amazing! And I can see the design here, the plan of God that allows us massive opportunities for grace. Life is meant to be, in the words of Pope Benedict XVI, an "an ongoing exodus out of the closed inward-looking self towards its liberation through self-giving, and thus towards authentic self-discovery and indeed the discovery of God." It can begin in the self-gift of marriage, and continue for a couple in the gift of children.

 Thank God for this plan, the plan of fatherhood and motherhood, of self-gift and self-emptying love! Like the vocation to celibate love, to spiritual fatherhood and motherhood in the priesthood and religious life, the vocation of marriage allows us to break free of the bonds of self-gratifying gravity and into the Great Wide Open of Selfless Love. It is this kind of love that makes the world go 'round, and that builds a culture of life and love. May we all become what we were born to be!

Fire and Freedom

Before His gaze all falsehood melts away. This encounter with Him, as it burns us, transforms and frees us, allowing us to become truly ourselves... His gaze, the touch of His heart heals us through an undeniably painful transformation “as through fire”. But it is a blessed pain, in which the holy power of His love sears through us like a flame, enabling us to become totally ourselves and thus totally of God. - Pope Benedict XVI, Spe Salvi

I love the Pope. I love this challenging invitation from the Holy Father, a man anointed and appointed by the Holy Spirit to guide and govern the Church on earth. And though this invitation speaks of great pain, I take the greatest comfort from these "burning" words of his, because... 1. I know they are true, and 2. He has the courage to tell us this truth. Christianity is not a sugar-coated religion, an escape, or a crutch. It is not unrealistic, or naive. It is standing arms outstretched in the midst of scorching winds; it is stepping into the white hot furnace where the three young man danced before an evil king of this world in the Old Testament. It is a New Testament. It is a test, it is our testimony.... a blessed pain, in which the holy power of His love sears through us like a flame, enabling us to become totally ourselves and thus totally of God. And as a dear professor of theology once told me, "Everything that happened to Jesus must happen to us." So when we find ourselves in this fire of sorrow, then we find ourselves in the best of company.

OK, Time to Reflect

Well, he is gone, and honestly, I miss him already. There was a certain lightness in the air just knowing Peter was walking our soil again. Now it's time to get busy reading and reflecting and praying over the Spirit-soaked words that he gave us. And we can trust that God was his guide in the prayerful preparation and study he put into every word.

A wonderful collection of each address of the Pope's has been created and aggregated by Christopher Blosser here -

(http://benedictinamerica.blogspot.com/)

And Amy Welborn has pointed us to another wonderful blog with great insights on the effect of Papa Benedict being with us this past week. It's written by Jen, a former atheist turned Catholic, whom Amy calls "one of the best writers in the Catholic blog world" Here's the link - http://www.conversiondiary.com/2008/04/reason-wonder-and-pope-benedict-xvi.html

So... grab a big cup of coffee, carve out an hour or so, and read on!

The Shepherd Speaks

Just a couple of spiritual gems here for you, spoken Wednesday by himself to over 300 of the US bishops:

“Any tendency to treat religion as a private matter must be resisted. Only when their faith permeates every aspect of their lives do Christians become truly open to the transforming power of the Gospel.” (Pope Benedict XVI)

AMEN! How often are we taught or coerced into doing just the opposite? Never talking about the "G" word, or mentioning the grace of Jesus? But if the faith we profess is the antidote to the ills of society, is the breath of life that can fill America's smoke-filled lungs, and is the joy that can overthrow the ennui of the culture today, why hide it? Why bury it under a bushel basket and keep that light from liberating and leading others?

On the vocation of marriage, the Pope said "it is essentially an unconditional and unreserved "yes" to life, a "yes" to love, and a "yes" to the aspirations at the heart of our common humanity, as we strive to fulfill our deep yearning for intimacy with others and with the Lord.”

Yes indeed! What a tribute to a vocation some used to see as "less than" the celibate call. But both lead us home and spill out self-giving love all the way! Both bring the power and love of God into the blood, sweat, and tears of life here, now.

Here's a video clip of this address to the bishops. As I watched it, I thought "He doesn't seem real excited.... in fact, he looks wiped." Then I considered the fact that he's 81 years old and being whisked around the planet, speaking, meeting, giving intense talks to religious leaders, diplomats, students, educators, etc. And did he get a chance to get over his jet-lag from Rome yet? What a guy!! May God give him a blast of strength and vigor for the rest of his journey.



(Today, the Pope has a little break, just two main events as posted at the Knights of Columbus site - www.papaltrip.com)

Friday, April 18, 10:45 a.m.
Pope Benedict XVI will address the United Nations, after an early morning flight to New York.

Friday, April 18, 6 p.m.
Prayer service with leaders from other Christian denominations at St. Joseph’s Church, founded by German Catholics, in Manhattan.

The Pope has Landed!

The Knights of Columbus have set up a very nice website following the Pope's historic visit and journey through the USA. You can find it here.

"If we let Christ into our lives, we lose nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing of what makes life free, beautiful, and great. No! Only in this friendship are the doors of life opened wide. Only in this friendship is the great potential of human existence truly revealed."

"We are not some casual and meaningless product of evolution. Each of us is the result of a thought of God. Each of us is willed, each of us is loved, each of us is necessary."

- Pope Benedict XVI

Saved in Hope - Pope's New Encyclical

Pope Benedict's new encyclical is here!

SOME QUICK GEMS FROM "SPE SALVI" -

"It is not science that redeems man: man is redeemed by love."

"Whoever is moved by love begins to perceive what “life” really is. He begins to perceive the meaning of the word of hope that we encountered in the Baptismal Rite: from faith I await “eternal life”—the true life which, whole and unthreatened, in all its fullness, is simply life."

"In our encounter with the God who in Christ has shown us his face and opened his heart be for us too not just "informative" but "performative" — that is to say, can it change our lives, so that we know we are redeemed through the hope that it expresses?"

"A first essential setting for learning hope is prayer. When no one listens to me any more, God still listens to me. When I can no longer talk to anyone or call upon anyone, I can always talk to God. When there is no longer anyone to help me deal with a need or expectation that goes beyond the human capacity for hope, he can help me. When I have been plunged into complete solitude ...; if I pray I am never totally alone."

A New Podcast Episode is Up!

I've uploaded last week's interview with Christopher West, which was a powerful conversation on the Theology of the Body, human love, and insights into his new book The Love That Satisfies: Reflections on Eros and Agape. So feel free to tune in to my podcast site and listen via the computer, or subscribe through iTunes to download to your iPod! Woohoo!

A beautiful excerpt from the Pope's encyclical:
"Nowadays Christianity of the past is often criticized as having been opposed to the body; and it is quite true that tendencies of this sort have always existed. Yet the contemporary way of exalting the body is deceptive. Eros, reduced to pure “sex”, has become a commodity, a mere “thing” to be bought and sold, or rather, man himself becomes a commodity. This is hardly man's great “yes” to the body... The apparent exaltation of the body can quickly turn into a hatred of bodiliness. Christian faith, on the other hand, has always considered man a unity in duality, a reality in which spirit and matter compenetrate, and in which each is brought to a new nobility. True, eros tends to rise “in ecstasy” towards the Divine, to lead us beyond ourselves; yet for this very reason it calls for a path of ascent, renunciation, purification and healing."
- Pope Benedict XVI, in Deus Caritas Est, n.2

Pope-a-razzi - Even on Vacation, He's Living His Vocation

Pope Benedict on vacation in the mountains, meets some beautiful kids and prays the Rosary along a wooded path in this nearly 5 minute video. Thanks for the link Mary K!

What Does the 'Kingdom of Heaven' Look Like?

We've all grown up with pictures of Heaven in our heads; white robes, floppy little wings, Clarence, fluffy clouds, a harp maybe, Warren Beatty in a running suit, big shiny gates attached to.... more fluffy clouds?

One of the daily Gospel's this week was from Matthew 10. Jesus is sending out the 12 Apostles (like the 12 tribes of a New Israel) and He tells them to pass this on: "As you go, make this proclamation: 'The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.'"

Great! It is? Where would that be? As we look around, heaven is not always clearly seen. At least, not the vision of heaven that perhaps we thought heaven was...

A SWEET TANGENT....

I'm half way through Pope Benedict's new book (it's fantastic). With nearly every page I find myself pausing and going "whoa... I never thought of that before." The Pope weaves together both Old and New Testaments like a fisherman weaving his net, and according to one article I read, he's catching some new readers. Ones who never saw this quiet scholar with the heart of a father coming. A section I recently read talks all about what this "Kingdom of God" (aka Heaven) really looks like.

Here's what it's not:

- It's not a time shrouded in the future when we imagine all the people, living life in peace... woohoo aahaahaah... (little Lennon there)

- It's not a castle in the clouds, where nobody shouts or talks too loud.... although there is a lady all in white, who holds us and sings a lullaby ;) .... (Les Mis, anyone?)

- It's not even, primarily, a place where Republicans and Democrats, liberals and conservatives, Catholics, Protestants, Jews and Muslims finally accept each other and we all just get along..... (...Rodney King?)

- and finally, the Kingdom of Heaven is not a palace with pillars, banners, and trumpets with the whole gaggle of humanity toting togas and sort of fanning God as He sits on a golden throne. (He likes to stoop down low and wash our feet, remember?)

The Pope says that the Kingdom of Heaven is.... a person. It's Jesus.

St. Edith Stein, that pillar of intellect and sanctity who was born Jewish, then became an atheist, then found Jesus, became a nun and was later killed in Auschwitz (what an amazing roller coaster ride that was!); she knew this truth about the Kingdom, that it's a person not a palace.

She said "In the heart of Jesus, which was pierced, the kingdom of heaven and the land of earth are bound together. Here is for us the source of life."

Our longing for love finds its home in a Sacred Heart, not gilded halls. This Kingdom has been misrepresented. I don't want golden streets as much as I want to kneel at His feet. Can I get a witness?

So let's hear this word of Jesus today as a word for us to come closer to Him, the One Whose love drove Him to take on a body for us. And a heartbeat that will never ever stop beating for us. Think about that one for a minute. Whoa.

"The kingdom of heaven is at hand" means here I am! Come and see!

Amen! Thy Kingdom come!

Tony Melendez Plays for the Pope

Maybe you've seen this classic footage of Tony, the beautiful soul, born without arms because of thalidomide taken during pregnancy, who played for Pope John Paul II in LA, 1987. Here are two songs of his, and halfway through you'll see the actual film of John Paul II coming down to embrace Tony after he played. Be sure to read the synopsis of Tony's amazing story in the sidebar of the video.

Pope's New Book: Jesus of Nazareth

I'm excited about picking up Pope Benedict's new book on Jesus. Here's a little excerpt:

"...the great question that will be with us throughout this entire book: But what has Jesus really brought, then, if he has not brought world peace, universal prosperity, and a better world? What has he brought? The answer is very simple: God. He has brought God! He has brought the God who once gradually unveiled his countenance first to Abraham, then to Moses and the prophets, and then in the wisdom literature—the God who showed his face only in Israel, even though he was also honored among the pagans in various shadowy guises. It is this God, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, the true God, whom he has brought to the peoples of the earth. He has brought God, and now we know his face, now we can call upon him. Now we know the path that we human beings have to take in this world. Jesus has brought God and with God the truth about where we are going and where we come from: faith, hope, and love.”

I haven't read any reviews yet but I know it will be a powerful portrait of Our Lord. Here's the link to Ignatius Press if you're interested. Come on, let's be Catholic Nerds and bring this book to the beach this Memorial Day weekend! What do ya say??? Woohoo!!

On This Earth Day Weekend

Some sweet words from the Man:

How could we not feel surrounded by the love of God who opens before us the book of nature and invites us to read there the signs of his presence and tenderness? Far from daily life, which is often frantic and unfortunately sometimes alienating, in this delightful mountain spot we have the opportunity to rediscover the grandeur of God and man in the beauty of creation, and we are invited to achieve a fuller harmony with the Artisan of the universe. - Pope John Paul II

A Video Tribute to Pope John Paul II

I discovered this beautiful tribute to Pope John Paul II this morning on YouTube. The collection of photographs alone is spectacular, and add to it a beautiful song "Be Not Afraid" written just for John Paul by the singer Janelle. Powerful stuff!

The Battle Between Light and Darkness

Today, Pope Benedict XVI spoke of Judas' betrayal in powerful, almost cosmic terms:

"When the traitor exits the Upper Room, darkness penetrates his heart - it is an internal night - discouragement grows in the spirits of the other disciples - they too go toward the night - while the shadows of abandonment and hate grow darker around the Son of Man, who prepares himself for the consummation of his sacrifice on the cross... In the coming days, we will commemorate the supreme battle between Light and Darkness, between Life and Death."

Isn't this the dramatic struggle at work in every human heart? We should ponder the power of our choices in this light. We have this incredible freedom to be heroic or hedonistic, selfless or selfish! We can be like Judas, or as faithful as John.

The Pope went on to speak of us all who have "our own 'night,' of our sins and responsibilities." If we want to draw graces from these days, he said we should "bring light to our hearts, by way of this mystery, which is the center point of our faith."

The Easter mystery of death and sin's final destruction in Jesus! Freedom is near!


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Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless handheld

Lenten Resources from the Vatican

Great resources from Catholic Headquarters, including MP3s of beautiful choir music from the Sistine Choir! Here follows a section of Pope Benedict's powerful Lenten message for 2007:

Dear brothers and sisters, let us look at Christ pierced on the Cross! He is the unsurpassing revelation of God's love, a love in which eros and agape, far from being opposed, enlighten each other. On the Cross, it is God himself who begs the love of his creature: He is thirsty for the love of every one of us. The Apostle Thomas recognized Jesus as "Lord and God" when he put his hand into the wound of his side. Not surprisingly, many of the saints found in the Heart of Jesus the deepest expression of this mystery of love. One could rightly say that the revelation of God's eros toward man is, in reality, the supreme expression of his agape. In all truth, only the love that unites the free gift of oneself with the impassioned desire for reciprocity instils a joy which eases the heaviest of burdens. Jesus said: "When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to myself" (Jn 12: 32). The response the Lord ardently desires of us is above all that we welcome his love and allow ourselves to be drawn to him. Accepting his love, however, is not enough. We need to respond to such love and devote ourselves to communicating it to others. Christ "draws me to himself" in order to unite himself to me, so that I learn to love the brothers with his own love.

- read the Pope's entire Lenten message

Happy Birthday Encyclical Letter of Pope Benedict!

I just read Amy Welborn's post on this happy fact (actually Pope Benedict's first letter was penned on Christmas Day, 2005, but we got it in print later). Here's a couple cool facts about it:

"It's been just over a year since its release, yet Pope Benedict XVI's first Encyclical letter continues to be a best seller. According to the Rome-based ANSA news agency the Pontiff’s profound discussion of human and divine love is proving to be one of the most commercially successful doctrinal tracts ever written by a Pope. The 72-page document, Deus Caritas Est (God is Love), has been reprinted three times in the German Pope's own language, three times in Spanish and sold almost 1.5 million copies in Italian. Its success has also meant that, for the first time in modern history, the Latin version of a papal document has had to be reprinted. The initial run of 1,000 copies sold out in two months."
- from Amy's blog "Open Book"

And here's a couple of highlights from the Pope's letter itself, God is Love:

"God does not demand of us a feeling which we ourselves are incapable of producing. He loves us, he makes us see and experience his love, and since he has “loved us first”, love can also blossom as a response within us." (DC, 17)

"In the gradual unfolding of this encounter, it is clearly revealed that love is not merely a sentiment. Sentiments come and go. A sentiment can be a marvellous first spark, but it is not the fullness of love. Earlier we spoke of the process of purification and maturation by which eros comes fully into its own, becomes love in the full meaning of the word." (DC, 17)

"God has made himself visible: in Jesus we are able to see the Father (cf. Jn 14:9). Indeed, God is visible in a number of ways. In the love-story recounted by the Bible, he comes towards us, he seeks to win our hearts, all the way to the Last Supper, to the piercing of his heart on the Cross..."

WONDERful Quotes

Here's a couple of gems from Pope John Paul II, the Mystic: We must open our eyes to admire God, who hides and at the same time reveals himself in things, and introduces us into places of mystery. The technological culture and excessive immersion in material realities often impede our seeing the hidden face of things. In reality, for those who know how to read in depth, each thing, each event brings a message that.... leads to God. - Pope John Paul II The signs that reveal the presence of God are multiple. However, if they are not to escape us, we must be pure and simple as children, able to admire, be surprised, wonder, be enchanted by the divine gestures of love and closeness to us. - Pope John Paul II