From around the world, pilgrims arrive in Madrid, tired but excited

Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims from across the world descended on the Spanish capital Aug. 15 with an array of colorful T-shirts, bloodshot eyes and a combined spirit of excitement about World Youth Day.

On the eve of the festivities' official opening, pilgrims with their specially intended World Youth Day backpacks crowded the streets, Metro cars and cafes. Many were tired, having arrived only hours before.

Sona Mpofu of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, landed at Madrid's Barajas airport at 8 a.m. after a 10-hour bus ride, a night at a Catholic center in Johannesburg, and a succeeding 10-hour flight. Despite the lack of sleep on the plane and the intense, dry heat, she and 21 other pilgrims from southern African were delighted about being at World Youth Day.

"When you come here, you feel at home," said Mpofu, 27. "You don't need to give details of yourself. You are who you are. We understand each other."

"It's been an overwhelming experience when you see that everybody shares the same faith, despite color, race and upbringing and culture," said Fungai Mawada, 20. "We all have that one thing in common. To get here, it's like coming home to a bigger family."

For most of the group, it was not only their initial World Youth Day, but their first time coming to Europe and even their first time getting on an airplane or leaving Zimbabwe. This pilgrimage was particularly poignant for the Zimbabweans because their coordinator, Spanish Marianhill Father Ricardo Davila, died in June from injuries continued in a car accident. The family of the late priest stepped up, helping organize and host the pilgrims for their journey.

Daily Bible Readings for Friday July 08, 2011

Reading 1, Gn 46:1-7, 28-30

1 So Israel set out with all his possessions. Arriving at Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.

2 God spoke to Israel in a vision at night, 'Jacob, Jacob,' he said. 'Here I am,' he replied.

3 'I am El, God of your father,' he said. 'Do not be afraid of going down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there.

4 I shall go down to Egypt with you and I myself shall bring you back again, and Joseph's hand will close your eyes.'

5 So Jacob left Beersheba. Israel's sons conveyed their father Jacob, their little children and their wives in the waggons Pharaoh had sent to fetch him.

6 Taking their livestock and all that they had acquired in Canaan, they arrived in Egypt -- Jacob and all his offspring.

7 With him to Egypt, he brought his sons and grandsons, his daughters and granddaughters -- all his offspring.

28 Israel sent Judah ahead to Joseph, so that Judah might present himself to Joseph in Goshen. When they arrived in Goshen,

29 Joseph had his chariot made ready and went up to Goshen to meet his father Israel. As soon as he appeared he threw his arms round his neck and for a long time wept on his shoulder.

30 Israel said to Joseph, 'Now I can die, now that I have seen you in person and seen you still alive.'

Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 37:3-4, 18-19, 27-28, 39-40

3 Put your trust in Yahweh and do right, make your home in the land and live secure.

4 Make Yahweh your joy and he will give you your heart's desires.

18 The lives of the just are in Yahweh's care, their birthright will endure for ever;

19 they will not be put to shame when bad times come, in time of famine they will have plenty.

27 Turn your back on evil and do good, you will have a home for ever,

28 for Yahweh loves justice and will not forsake his faithful. Evil-doers will perish eternally, the descendants of the wicked be annihilated,

39 The upright have Yahweh for their Saviour, their refuge in times of trouble;

40 Yahweh helps them and rescues them, he will rescue them from the wicked, and save them because they take refuge in him.

Gospel, Mt 10:16-23

16 Look, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; so be cunning as snakes and yet innocent as doves.

17 'Be prepared for people to hand you over to sanhedrins and scourge you in their synagogues.

18 You will be brought before governors and kings for my sake, as evidence to them and to the gentiles.

19 But when you are handed over, do not worry about how to speak or what to say; what you are to say will be given to you when the time comes,

20 because it is not you who will be speaking; the Spirit of your Father will be speaking in you.

21 'Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will come forward against their parents and have them put to death.

22 You will be universally hated on account of my name; but anyone who stands firm to the end will be saved.

23 If they persecute you in one town, take refuge in the next; and if they persecute you in that, take refuge in another. In truth I tell you, you will not have gone the round of the towns of Israel before the Son of man comes. 

Love within Trinity overflows into forgiveness for man, Pope says

The love that exists inside the Holy Trinity overflows into love and forgiveness for man, as shown by Christ’s death on the cross. That was the message of Pope Benedict XVI in his Trinity Sunday sermon throughout his visit to the tiny European state of San Marino June 19.

“So, in the mystery of the cross, there are three Divine Persons,” he told the 25,000 strong congregation at the country’s Serravalle Stadium.

“The Father, who gave his only begotten Son for the deliverance of the world, the Son, who carries out the will of the Father to the very end and the Holy Spirit - poured out by Jesus at the instant of his death - who comes to render us participants in divine life, to transform our lives, so that our lives are lively by divine love.”

San Marino is located in the north-eastern part of the Italian peninsula and is one of just three independent states in the world to be totally surrounded by another country, in this case Italy. It has a population of only 30,000. Pope John Paul II also visited San Marino back in 1982. That visit was for just one day, as is Pope Benedict’s today.

New evangelization must start with the heart, Pope teaches

The effort to renovate the evangelization of mankind begins in the human heart, Pope Benedict XVI told the clergy, religious and laity of the Diocese of Rome, June 13.

“To be effectual the proclamation of faith must begin with a heart that believes, hopes, loves, a heart that loves Christ and believes in the power of the Holy Spirit!” the Pope told those gathered at St. John Lateran Cathedral for the Rome diocese’s annual convention.

The Pope sharp to how St. Peter’s proclamation of Jesus’ resurrection at Pentecost was “not limited to a simple list of facts” but “cut to the heart” of those who heard him.

“The resurrection of Jesus was able and is able to light up human existence. In fact, this event has seen a new understanding of the self-respect of man and his eternal destiny.”

Mindful of his liability to lead the 2.5 million Catholics in the Diocese of Rome, Pope Benedict told those in St. John Lateran that there was a real danger to the health of the Church if it downplays the religion of Jesus Christ.

“If people forget God it is also because the person of Jesus is often abridged to that of a wise man and his divinity is weakened, if not denied. This way of thinking prevents people from greedy the radical novelty of Christianity, because if Jesus is not the only Son of the Father, then God never came to visit the history of man.”

Pentecost shows universality of the Church, Pope declares

Pentecost shows the Holy Spirit shaped the Catholic Church for all people, Pope Benedict said in his homily to mark Pentecost Sunday June 12.

“From the first moment, in fact, the Holy Spirit created (the Church) as the Church of all people. It embraces the whole world, transcending the boundaries of race, class, nation - it breaks down all barriers and unites people in the profession of the Triune God. From the beginning, the Church is one, catholic and apostolic,” said the Pope to a packed congregation within St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.

Pentecost is the one of the most well-known feast days in the Christian calendar. It is frequently referred to as the “birthday of the Church.”

It marks the day, nearly 2,000 years ago, when the Holy Spirit descended ahead the Apostles who had been living in fear for 50 days following the resurrection of Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday. The Holy Spirit emboldened them and the same disciples then set forth to tell all people in Jerusalem of the Resurrection. All nationalities present could appreciate them in their own mother tongue.

“With this we are told something very important: that from the outset the universality of the Catholic Church is not the result of the enclosure of subsequent communities,” explained the Pope.

He added that the Catholic Church refers to itself as holy “not because of the merits of its members, but since God himself, with his Spirit, is always creating and sanctifying.”

Bishop Johnston encourages survivors of Joplin tornado

In the aftermath of the deadly Sunday tornado in Joplin, Missouri, Bishop James V. Johnston of Springfield-Cape Girardeau tried to console survivors and expressed thanks that more were not killed.

“We’re just cheering survivors of the prayers and the support of the Body of Christ. We’re just trying to bring the charity of the Church to bear in the distress of the people here. We’re just trying to support and comfort the people here right now, because there’s still just a lot of recovery to continue,” he told CNA from Joplin on May 24.

The bishop and Kyle Schott, executive director of the local Catholic Charities agency, surveyed the damage of the deadly tornado.

“It’s just so hard to fathom the destructive power of the storm,” the bishop said, relating the scale of the destruction as “mind-boggling.”

“When you’re out there in the middle of it, you can’t see something but devastation: leveled houses and rescue crews trying to find people in the mess,” Schott said.

At least 117 people died in the Joplin tornado on Sunday, the deadliest single tornado in almost six decades.

St. John’s Regional Medical Center was strike hard. The nine-storey building took a direct hit, blowing out windows and throwing gurneys a distance of five blocks away. About 183 patients and 200 staffers were evacuated, according to media reports.

Latin American bishops: Rebuild society based on the Gospel

The Latin American Bishops' Council has called on Catholics to strive for personal change based on the Gospel in order to transform society.

“As the Church, the bearer of the life of the Kingdom of God, we feel called to carry out a new evangelization that lifts the fallen, welcomes those barred from our society, heals the hurting, answers those who ask where God is amidst all the calamities, and return hope in the plentiful life that springs forth from the Risen Crucified One,” the council said in the statement released May 20.

The council free the message at the conclusion of its 33rd General Assembly.

The Latin American bishops also urged that life be promoted amid the culture of death, which has resulted in many young people falling victim to the aggression of drug trafficking and “becoming disenchanted with the institutions that have lost their reliability because of ingrained corruption.”

“Jesus teaches not to remain motionless before this situation,” they said.

The evangelization of the continent today is a “continuous” task that requires attentiveness in overcoming “not a few obstacles and resistance.”

“In Jesus people sense the attendance of our faithful God who journeys with his people and His answers to their genuine desires,” they added. They invited all the bishops of the region “and the entire People of God to endorse living and vibrant experiences of the Gospel.”

Pope Benedict: proclaiming Jesus Christ is the chore of the Church

Proclaiming Jesus Christ as “the way, the truth and the life” is the main task of the Church, Pope Benedict said in his Sunday Regina Coeli remarks.

“The New Testament put an end to invisibility of the Father. God showed his face, as long-established by the response of Jesus to the Apostle Philip, ‘Whoever has seen me has seen the Father’,” the Pope told the faithful in St. Peter’s Square on May 22.

For Christians, he explained, “the way to the Father is to be guided by Jesus, by his word of truth, and in tolerant the gift of his life.”

Pope Benedict optional the way of Jesus Christ is to be found in “following him every day, in simple actions that make up our day.”

He then quoted his own words from the second volume of his book Jesus of Nazareth:

“That's the mystery of God: to act in the quietest way. He only builds gradually in the great story of mankind’s history. He becomes a man, but in order to be unnoticed by his contemporaries and powerful forces in history ... He continually knocks in the quietest way on the doors of our hearts, and if we open ourselves to him, he gradually makes us able to ‘see’.”

Pope Benedict drew upon the gospel reading for today, the fifth Sunday of Easter, in which Jesus Christ tells his disciples “Have faith in God, believe also in me.” The Pope piercing out that this belief is a single act of faith, and not two separate actions.

He cited the guidance of the 13th-century Italian theologian St. Bonaventure, who said “Open your eyes, therefore, tend the spiritual ears, open your lips and you have your heart, that you can in all creatures see, hear, praise, love, worship, glorify, honor your God.”

Pope reflects on how prayer can spark God’s mercy

Pope Benedict XVI sustained his series of reflections on Christian prayer today as he spoke about the relationship flanked by intercessory prayer and God’s mercy throughout history.

In his third installment on prayer, Pope Benedict looked at Abraham’s example of praying for mercy.

“We now turn to sacred Scripture and its witness to the dialogue between God and man in history, a dialogue culminating in Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh. We can begin with the prayer with which Abraham, the father of all believers, implores God not to obliterate the sinful city of Sodom.”

At Sodom, Abraham asked God not to take revenge upon the notoriously sinful city.

“Abraham’s prayer of intercession appeals to God’s justice, begging him not to obliterate the innocent with the guilty. But it also appeals to God’s mercy, which is able of transforming evil into good through forgiveness and reconciliation.”

This aspect of prayer, said the Pope, reflects God’s certain mercy for his creation.

“God does not desire the death of the sinner but his conversion and release from sin,” he explained.

“In reply to Abraham’s prayer, God is willing to spare Sodom if 10 virtuous men can be found there. Later, through the prophet Jeremiah, he promises to pardon Jerusalem if one just man can be found,” the pontiff recalled.

He completed by saying that God’s mercy was most spectacularly manifested over 2,000 years ago in Bethlehem.

“In the end, God himself becomes that just Man, in the mystery of the Incarnation. Christ’s prayer of intercession on the cross brings deliverance to the world. Through him, let us pray with dependable trust in God’s merciful love for all mankind, conscious that our prayers will be heard and answered.”

This is the third week Pope Benedict has used his Wednesday audience to teach pilgrims about Christian prayer. His preceding theme – the lives of the saints – took two years to complete.

Local Church says Vatican guidelines already established here

The Australian Church said protocols from the Vatican's latest recommendations for treatment abuse were already well-established here - but the new guidelines have been met with scepticism from victims' groups, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

The secretary of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, Father Brian Lucas, said the letter would be taken into account by the Australian church, but he was fairly certain all the guidelines were already covered here by the ''Towards Healing'' protocols introduced in 1996.

The Vatican wants ''clear and co-ordinated procedures'' to deal with instances of abuse to be in place within 12 months.

It has made recommendations on the church's treatment of victims and their families, including ''their spiritual and psychological assistance''; abuse prevention programs, and co-operation with civil authorities.

'Sexual abuse of minors is not just a canonical delict but also a crime prosecuted by civil law,'' the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith said.

It also covered the significance of vetting priests, including those transferring from other areas, and said the guidelines should also apply to ''religious or lay persons who function in ecclesiastical situations''.

The US Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) said the letter had not addressed the crux of the abuse crisis: complicit bishops. ''They are merely recommendations, not obligatory policy with no penalties for non-compliance,'' it said.

Dr Bernard Barrett, a spokesman for the Broken Rites Australia victim support group, said the Vatican has traditionally unnoticed and concealed sex abuse crimes within the church, which was a criminal act in NSW.

"The Vatican would be more credible if it sacked all the bishops who have covered up these crimes."

Bring expect to modern man, Pope tells Venetians

On Sunday Pope Benedict XVI renowned Mass near Venice for a congregation of 300,000, telling them to give hope to modern man by “listening to and loving the Word of God.”

“Dear brothers and sisters! I have come among you as the Bishop of Rome and successor of Peter's ministry to corroborate fidelity to the Gospel and communion,” he told those gathered in San Giuliano Park in Mestre, an industrial town on the other side of the lagoon from the famous island city of Venice.

“As in the past, when those churches were known for apostolic zeal and pastoral dynamism, so today we need to endorse and protect the truth with courage and unity of the faith. You must give an account of Christian hope for modern man, often overwhelmed by vast and worrying issues that arise in crisis and shake the very foundations of his organism and his activity.”

In a grand imitation of the byzantine splendor of the city’s St. Mark’s basilica, the organizers of today’s Mass had erected a domed sanctuary draped with golden mosaics on paper on cloth.

There, the Pope gave a explanation on today’s gospel, which recounts the disappointment of two disciples after the crucifixion of Jesus. They shared their gloom while on foot towards the town of Emmaus near Jerusalem.

Rosary movement offers prayers for World Youth Day participants

Holy Cross Family Ministries is promoting a three-month rosary campaign foremost up to World Youth Day 2011 in Madrid, Spain.

The prayer plan, called Firm in the Faith with Mary, aims to make World Youth Day, “ a truly religious event for all the young people,” Father John Phalen, president of the ministry, told.

“We know that many young people have originate their calling to a religious vocation at World Youth Day, so we're particularly asking people to offer their rosaries to that,” he added.

The rosary campaign is being promoted by Family Rosary International, one of Holy Cross' quite a few ministries. They are asking families and persons to pray the rosary every Saturday from now until World Youth Day in August, for young people just about the world to be awakened and deepened in their faith.

The ministry aims in exacting to spread the word through social media.

Blessed Marianne Cope relics settle in Hawaii

Relics of Blessed Marianne Cope, a 19th century religious sister who ministered to exiled leprosy patients, will tour Hawaii and settle enduringly in a local cathedral.

“The relic helps serve as a reminder of the holiness of her life which inspires us to live righteous lives,” Sister Davilyn Ah Chick, a tour organizer, told the Associated Press.

Bl. Marianne's bone wreckage will be brought on tour from May 6-8 in the regions of Molokai, Lanai, Kahului and the Big Island previous to going on permanent display at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace in downtown Honolulu.

The reliquary is a small mahogany box fixed with plumeria flowers and will be displayed in a koa wood case.

“To those of us who venerate the first-class relic of Bl. Marianne, it is not the bone wreckage themselves that are meaningful, but who they were part of and what they represent,” Sr. Davilyn added.

Vatican says Bin Laden ‘gravely in charge,’ hopes for peace

The Vatican says it does not celebrate in the death of Osama bin Laden.

“Faced with the death of a man, a Christian never rejoices, but reflects on the serious liability of each and every one of us before God and before man, and hopes and commits himself so that no event is an opportunity for additional growth of hatred, but for peace,” spokesman Father Federico Lombardi, S.J. said on May 2.

Fr. Lombardi’s comments follow the statement earlier today that the Al-Qaeda leader had been killed by U.S. forces in Pakistan. President Barack Obama conversant the media that Bin Laden had died in a “firefight” at a compound in an urban area outside the Pakistani capital, Islamabad. A U.S. official quoted by the Associated Press said Bin Laden's body has now been buried at sea.

Bin Laden was wanted in association with a number of terrorist atrocities counting the attacks on New York and Washington, D.C. on Sept. 11, 2001. Those attacks alone killed over 3,000 people. Fr. Lombardi reflected upon the crimes Bin Laden stood accused of.

“Osama bin Laden – as we all know – was gravely in charge for promoting division and hatred between peoples, causing the end of countless innocent lives, and of exploiting religions to this end.”

Divine Mercy image in Chicago's Daly Plaza reaching thousands

One of the fastest-growing devotions in the Catholic Church is attainment the heart of downtown Chicago through the job of the Heralds of Divine Mercy. The organization is openly displaying a large image of Christ through a nine-day campaign of 24-hour prayer and evangelism.

“The Divine Mercy Project is actually about having an opportunity to witness to the culture, in environments we're usually pushed out of,” said Michael C.X. Sullivan, a 40-year-old lawyer who developed the idea previous this year. “It's specifically for the change of Chicago, America, and the world.”

The prayer vigil is taking place in Daly Plaza, a crowded area that features a numeral of civil administrative buildings. There, the Heralds of Divine Mercy are displaying a large cross down with a ten-foot-tall image of Christ based on the visions of St. Faustina Kowalska. While some participants remain in prayer, others take their turn distributing cards that endorse the message of God's mercy.

New start available for those who believe Christ, says Pope

"A new form of existence driven by love and intended to eternity" is possible through imitation of Christ, said Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday.

Before the conventional noon Angelus prayer in St. Peter's Square on Feb. 20, the Pope spoke of the day's Mass readings. He said the readings "speak ... of the will of God to make men participants in his life."

The words, "Be holy, for I, the Lord, your God, am holy," from the Book of Leviticus were an request to the chosen people to be faithful to the agreement with the Lord, the Pope said. They also "founded social legislation on the commandment 'you shall love your neighbor as yourself'."

"If we listen, then, to Jesus ... we find that same call, that same daring objective. The Lord says, in fact, 'be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect'."

"But who could become perfect?" asked the Pope. "Our perfection is living as children of God satisfying concretely his will."

Man corresponds to God's fatherhood by praising and glorifying him through good conduct, he explained.

"In what way can we imitate Jesus?" the Pope asked.