To preach well is to...

Insight Scoop posted an article about a book by Fr. Peter John Cameron, O.P., Why Preach: Encountering Christ in God's Word. The article stresses that a preachers task is speaking of the vocation of all men. They quote Pope Benedict, "The aim of preaching is to tell man who is and what he must do to be himself. Its intention is to disclose to him the truth about himself, that is, what he can base his life on and what he can die for."

Feast of Corpus Christi

The feast of Corpus Christi allows us the time to remember the importance of the Blessed Sacrament, the Eucharist. Because we formally celebrate the Institution of the Eucharist on Holy Thursday, a day marked by not only the gift of the Eucharist and the example of love in Jesus' washing of feet, but a day mired in betrayal and denial, the Church gives us this day to remember. In some parts of the world, it is still celebrated on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday, but in our country, we celebrate it this weekend.

As Pope John Paul II stated, every Mass is a cosmic event, that we gather with the angels and saints of all time and places. Vatican II's document Lumen Gentium, states that the Eucharist is the source and summit of our Christian lives. It is a foretaste of the eternal banquet of the Lord, and therefore also the impetus to live our lives in such a way that we can be there! Every Eucharistic encounter is a call to holiness. We hear Christ calling us, leading us as He did the saints who have gone before us.

Sequence for Corpus Christi

For our prayer, I offer you the Sequence for Corpus Christi, written by St. Thomas Aquinas.

Sion, lift thy voice and sing;
Praise thy Savior and thy King;
Praise with hymns thy Shepherd true:
Dare thy most to praise Him well;
For He doth all praise excel;
None can ever reach His due.
Special theme of praise is thine,
That true living Bread divine,
That life-giving flesh adored,
Which the brethren twelve received,
As most faithfully believed,
At the Supper of the Lord.

Let the chant be loud and high;
Sweet and tranquil be the joy
Felt to-day in every breast;
On this festival divine
Which recounts the origin
Of the glorious Eucharist.

At this table of the King,
Our new Paschal offering
Brings to end the olden rite;
Here, for empty shadows fled,
Is reality instead;
Here, instead of darkness, light.

His own act, at supper seated,
Christ ordained to be repeated,
In His memory divine;
Wherefore now, with adoration,
We the Host of our salvation
Consecrate from bread and wine.

Hear what holy Church maintaineth,
That the bread its substance changeth
Into Flesh, the wine to Blood.
Doth it pass thy comprehending?
Faith, the law of sight transcending,
Leaps to things not understood.

Here in outward signs are hidden
Priceless things, to sense forbidden;
Signs, not things, are all we see:-
Flesh from bread, and Blood from wine;
Yet is Christ, in either sign,
All entire confessed to be.

They too who of Him partake
Sever not, nor rend, nor break,
But entire their Lord receive.
Whether one or thousands eat,
All receive the selfsame meat,
Nor the less for others leave.

Both the wicked and the good
Eat of this celestial Food;
But with ends how opposite!
Here 'tis life; and there 'tis death;
The same, yet issuing to each
In a difference infinite.

Nor a single doubt retain,
When they break the Host in twain,
But that in each part remains
What was in the whole before;
Since the simple sign alone
Suffers change in state or form,
The Signified remaining One
And the Same forevermore

Lo! upon the Altar lies,
Hidden deep from human eyes,
Angels' Bread from Paradise
Made the food of mortal man:
Children's meat to dogs denied;
In old types foresignified;
In the manna from the skies,
In Isaac, and the Paschal Lamb.

Jesu! Shepherd of the sheep!
Thy true flock in safety keep.
Living Bread! Thy life supply;
Strengthen us, or else we die;
Fill us with celestial grace:
Thou, who feedest us below!
Source of all we have or know!
Grant that with Thy Saints above,
Sitting at the Feast of Love,
We may see Thee face to face. Amen

Year of the New Priest

Tim Drake has written an article for the National Catholic Register entitled Year of the New Priest. It's worth a read, too.

Heart of a Priest

The National Catholic Register (always a great read!) has a wonderful article on Heart of a Priest by Joseph Pronechen, reflecting on the priesthood in the light of the Sacred Heart and Year of the Priest.

"The day is a perfect reminder to renew this devotion to Jesus, while also remembering the “special sons” of his Sacred Heart."

Msgr. Stuart Swetland says, “We see that in the tenderness and mercy embodied in Jesus’ heart... He also reveals to us how we can be and should be, especially how we are to be tender and merciful to others.”

Jesus makes our vocation clear. “We see both the divine and human aspects,” says Msgr. Swetland. “We see God’s mercy shining through and God’s call for us to be merciful.”

The priest acts “in persona Christi to reveal the merciful love of the Father through the sacrament of reconciliation, through the Eucharist... In his pastoral zeal, he reveals God’s mercy.”

It’s the Year of the Priest. Have you commended to the Sacred Heart a priest close to your heart lately?

Pentecost Sunday Sequence

For our prayer, I am posting the Pentecost Sunday Sequence. It is a beautiful prayer of the Church.

Come, O Holy Spirit, come!
From Your bright and blissful Home
Rays of healing light impart.

Come, Father of the poor,
Source of gifts that will endure
Light of ev'ry human heart.

You of all consolers best,
Of the soul most kindly Guest,
Quick'ning courage do bestow.

In hard labor You are rest,
In the heat You refresh best,
And solace give in our woe.

O most blessed Light divine,
Let Your radiance in us shine,
And our inmost being fill.

Nothing good by man is thought,
Nothing right by him is wrought,
When he spurns Your gracious Will.

Cleanse our souls from sinful stain,
Lave our dryness with Your rain,
Heal our wounds and mend our way.

Bend the stubborn heart and will,
Melt the frozen, warm the chill,
Guide the steps that go astray.

On the faithful who in You,
Trust with childlike piety,
Deign Your sevenfold gift to send.

Give them virtue's rich increase,
Saving grace to die in peace,
Give them joys that never end. Amen. Alleluia.

Plenary Indulgence Offered for Year for Priests

The Vatican is offering a Plenary Indulgence for Year for Priests, made public on May 12, 2009 by Cardinal Stafford and Bishop Girotti. The indulgence to run from 19 June 2009 to 19 June 2010.
Conditions are:

(A) All truly penitent priests who, on any day, devotedly pray Lauds or Vespers before the Blessed Sacrament exposed to public adoration or in the tabernacle, and ... offer themselves with a ready and generous heart for the celebration of the Sacraments, especially the Sacrament of Penance, will be granted Plenary Indulgence, which they can also apply to their deceased confreres, if in accordance with current norms they take Sacramental Confession and the Eucharist and pray in accordance with the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff. Priests are furthermore granted Partial Indulgence, also applicable to deceased confreres, every time they devotedly recite the prayers duly approved to lead a saintly life and to carry out the duties entrusted to them.

(B) All truly penitent Christian faithful who, in church or oratory, devotedly attend Holy Mass and offer prayers to Jesus Christ, supreme and eternal Priest, for the priests of the Church, or perform any good work to sanctify and mould them to His Heart, are granted Plenary Indulgence, on the condition that they have expiated their sins through Sacramental Confession and prayed in accordance with the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff. This may be done on the opening and closing days of the Year of Priests, on the 150th anniversary of the death of St. Jean Marie Vianney, on the first Thursday of the month, or on any other day established by the ordinaries of particular places for the good of the faithful.
...

Partial Indulgence is offered to all faithful each time they pray five Our Father, Ave Maria and Gloria Patri, or any other duly approved prayer "in honour of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to ask that priests maintain purity and sanctity of life".

As found in the VIS release of the Decree (PENT/DECREE INDULGENCES/... VIS 090512 (540))

Letter from Cardinal Hummes

The Congregation for the Clergy released a Letter from Cardinal Hummes regarding The Year of Priesthood.

The Year of Priesthood

Dear Priests,

The Year of Priesthood, announced by our beloved Pope Benedict XVI to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the death of the saintly Curé of Ars, St. John Mary Vianney, is drawing near. It will be inaugurated by the Holy Father on the 19th June, the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests. The announcement of the Year of Priesthood has been very warmly received, especially amongst priests themselves. Everyone wants to commit themselves with determination, sincerity and fervour so that it may be a year amply celebrated in the whole world – in the Dioceses, parishes and in every local community – with the warm participation of our Catholic people who undoubtedly love their priests and want to see them happy, holy and joyous in their daily apostolic labours.

It must be a year that is both positive and forward looking in which the Church says to her priests above all, but also to all the Faithful and to wider society by means of the mass media, that she is proud of her priests, loves them, honours them, admires them and that she recognises with gratitude their pastoral work and the witness of the their life. Truthfully priests are important not only for what they do but also for who they are. Sadly, it is true that at the present time some priest have been shown to have been involved in gravely problematic and unfortunate situations. It is necessary to investigate these matters, pursue judicial processes and impose penalties accordingly. However, it is also important to keep in mind that these pertain to a very small portion of the clergy. The overwhelming majority of priests are people of great personal integrity, dedicated to the sacred ministry; men of prayer and of pastoral charity, who invest their entire existence in the fulfilment of their vocation and mission, often through great personal sacrifice, but always with an authentic love towards Jesus Christ, the Church and the people, in solidarity with the poor and the suffering. It is for this reason that the Church is proud of her priests wherever they may be found.

May this year be an occasion for a period of intense appreciation of the priestly identity, of the theology of the Catholic priesthood, and of the extraordinary meaning of the vocation and mission of priests within the Church and in society. This will require opportunities for study, days of recollection, spiritual exercises reflecting on the Priesthood, conferences and theological seminars in our ecclesiastical faculties, scientific research and respective publications.

The Holy Father, in announcing the Year in his allocution on the 16th March last to the Congregation for the Clergy during its Plenary Assembly, said that with this special year it is intended “to encourage priests in this striving for spiritual perfection on which, above all, the effectiveness of their ministry depends”. For this reason it must be, in a very special way, a year of prayer by priests, with priests and for priests, a year for the renewal of the spirituality of the presbyterate and of each priest. The Eucharist is, in this perspective, at the heart of priestly spirituality. Thus Eucharistic adoration for the sanctification of priests and the spiritual motherhood of religious women, consecrated and lay women towards priests, as previously proposed some time ago by the Congregation for the Clergy, could be further developed and would certainly bear the fruit of sanctification.

May it also be a year in which the concrete circumstances and the material sustenance of the clergy will be considered, since they live, at times, in situations of great poverty and hardship in many parts of the world.

May it be a year as well of religious and of public celebration which will bring the people – the local Catholic community – to pray, to reflect, to celebrate, and justly to give honour to their priests. In the ecclesial community a celebration is a very cordial event which expresses and nourishes Christian joy, a joy which springs from the certainty that God loves us and celebrates with us. May it therefore be an opportunity to develop the communion and friendship between priests and the communities entrusted to their care.

Many other aspects and initiatives could be mentioned that could enrich the Year of Priesthood, but here the faithful ingenuity of the local churches is called for. Thus, it would be good for every Dioceses and each parish and local community to establish, at the earliest opportunity, an effective programme for this special year. Clearly it would be important to begin the Year with some notable event. The local Churches are invited on the 19th June next, the same day on which the Holy Father will inaugurate the Year of Priesthood in Rome, to participate in the opening of the Year, ideally by some particular liturgical act and festivity. Let those who are able most surely come to Rome for the inauguration, to manifest their own participation in this happy initiative of the Pope.

God will undoubtedly bless with great love this undertaking; and the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of the Clergy, will pray for each of you, dear priests.

Cláudio Cardinal Hummes
Archbishop Emeritus of São Paulo
Prefect, Congregation for the Clergy.

Pope2you

This weekend is World Communications Day in the Church Universal. His Holiness Pope Benedict has the theme New Technologies, New Relationships: Promoting a Culture of Respect, Dialogue and Friendship for this year. In his letter for this day, he writes about the new technologies (Cell phones, internet, mobile computers, and social websites) as being great helps to the evangelization effort of the Church, but also at times great hinderance to Christian living. There is a culture of disrespect, crass language, and hostility in many sectors. He states that the desire for connection and friendship is good, but needs to be seen as part of the totality of life to grow in our gifts and talents and put them to use. As part of his effort, the Pope officially launches the Vatican's own youth-oriented website Pope2you.net. (They have a facebook application, iPhone apps, and other items already on!) Check it out!

Fifth Sunday of Easter

Jesus is the vine, we are the branches, and the Father is the vine grower. We are to remain in Christ, but the Father will prune us so that we will bear more fruit. Those who refuse to remain in Christ are cut off and thrown away. When we bear fruit, we give glory to God the Father. As St. Irenaeus (c. 202) wrote, the glory of God is man fully alive - humans bearing the fruits of God. Our lives, surrendered to the Lord, give Him Glory. By living our vocations, we give Him praise.

The Ingredient for Priestly Vocations

Insight Scoop has an article online - The Ingredient for Priestly Vocations, about the necessary ingredient for vocations - priestly inspiration.

In order to fulfill their ideals and challenges, young people are in desperate need of priestly inspiration.

The whole articlewhole article at deserves a read.

Second Sunday of Easter

"Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed." Blessed are the ones who respond to Christ's call, not with hearing His voice, but rather those who walk with faith. The Apostles are incredulous with the Resurrection, but Christ truly was raised and He truly appeared to them. Poor St. Thomas, though, was not so fortunate that first Easter Sunday to be able to see. He responds the way most of us would - unable to believe without the evidence. But when Christ stands in front of them again, he responds with a profound faith. Jesus challenged him, and in doing so, us, too.

We have seen Him, we have received Him. In the Eucharist, He comes to us, too. Like Thomas, we can cry "My Lord and my God."

O Happy Fault

One of the lines of the Exultet, which I posted for Easter, is a little jarring at first read. A good friend asked for clarification and it seems fitting to offer it here, too. The line in question, is officially translated (what I had posted):

"O happy fault,
O necessary sin of Adam
which gained for us so great a redeemer."

Had it not been for the sin of Adam, we would not have 'needed' or 'necessitated' Jesus Christ. Adam's sin made the need for a savior. Words have developed in meaning - necessary is one such word that in Latin has a variety of meanings as an adjective (in my Latin dictionary, it means "necessary/needed/essential/indispensable; inevitable, fateful; urgent/critical; unavoidable/compulsory")
The Latin of the verse in question is

"O certe necessarium Adae peccatum,
quod Christi morte deletum est!
O felix culpa,
quae talem ac tantum meruit habere Redemptorem!"

Here's my quick translation:

O, certainly inevitable sin of Adam,
which because of Christ's death is abolished!
O happy fault,
which gained [humanity] to have so excellent and so great a Redeemer."

I also found Fr. John Zuhlsdorf's more 'slavishly accurate' translation

O truly needful sin of Adam,
that was blotted out by the death of Christ!
O happy fault,
that merited to have such and so great a Redeemer!

One quick little fact that the word translated as 'gain' is meruit - merit ("earn; deserve/merit/have right; win/gain/incur; earn soldier/whore pay, serve"). It can be used for the payment made to a prostitute - perhaps it is ill-gotten gains, Adam's sin 'meriting" us the Redeemer! But thank God for the Redeemer!

God is omniscient. Before the creation of Adam and Eve, before He spoke the world into existence, He knew what was going to happen. He knew that the one rule ("Do not eat of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge...") would be violated. He knew that the human experience of His continual call to conversion through the covenants (Noah, Abraham, and Moses) and the prophets would be futile. He knew that humanity could not be allowed into eternity without Christ to open the gates of heaven and His saving action in the World. Yet He had a plan from all eternity for the redemption of humanity to bring them into His presence. When all was ready for the Second Person of the Trinity to enter into time and space, Jesus Christ did so. With His death and resurrection as the Incarnate God, Jesus restores and reconciles man to God, and Heaven is wedded to earth. He gives us more than what was lost - He gives us eternity!

The Resurrection of Christ, and the redemption that He wins for us is so much greater than that for which we could have hoped. The understanding of the Church is that Adam and Eve enjoyed a state of "original justice" before "original sin" - that is, that he enjoyed a natural harmony with God and the rest of creation. With his sin, that harmony was damaged beyond human repair (but not God's, of course) though man still could chose to follow God in this life (still separated from Him in eternity, though not is Hell as a state of torment). All the same, humanity lost earthly paradise. What Christ gives in His incarnation, death, and resurrection, is not the restoration of natural harmony, or Original Justice, or even earthly paradise. He gives supernatural justice, that we can be made perfect and live with God in eternity in heaven. We are given the right to be in the presence of God in Heaven, while Adam only walked with God in paradise!

In this light, we clearly understand that this verse is not a permission slip to 'sin greater' or as Luther said to "sin boldly" mentalities, but a recognition of St. Paul's observation (Romans 5:20), that where sin increased, grace increased all the more. God's loving response is always greater than our sin, because He is perfect. God's perfect love for us means that He would continually call us to holiness even when we sin. God could have been justified on simply allowing us to live and to die, and to spend eternity separated from Him, but He loves us perfectly, and makes us justified through Christ (but we have to respond to it). It is our ability to choose freely to follow God (free will) that makes us human. In Christ, God makes it possible for us to freely choose Him! God so deeply desires us, that He gives the grace to love Him, to follow Him into eternity. Because of Christ, because of His death and resurrection, we receive the call to become saints! All because of Adam's sin!

Easter's Praise

Happy Easter! Jesus Christ is truly raised, and we are given the hope of eternal life!

Enjoy this piece, the Exultet!

Rejoice, heavenly powers! Sing, choirs of angels!
Exult, all creation around God's throne!
Jesus Christ, our King, is risen!
Sound the trumpet of salvation!

Rejoice, O earth, in shining splendor,
radiant in the brightness of your King!
Christ has conquered! Glory fills you!
Darkness vanishes for ever!

Rejoice, O Mother Church! Exult in glory!
The risen Savior shines upon you!
Let this place resound with joy,
echoing the mighty song of all God's people!

My dearest friends,
standing with me in this holy light,
join me in asking God for mercy,

that he may give his unworthy minister
grace to sing his Easter praises.

Deacon: The Lord be with you.
People: And also with you.
Deacon: Lift up your hearts.
People: We lift them up to the Lord.
Deacon: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
People: It is right to give him thanks and praise.

It is truly right
that with full hearts and minds and voices
we should praise the unseen God, the all-powerful Father,
and his only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.


For Christ has ransomed us with his blood,
and paid for us the price of Adam's sin to our eternal Father!

This is our passover feast,
when Christ, the true Lamb, is slain,
whose blood consecrates the homes of all believers.

This is the night
when first you saved our fathers:
you freed the people of Israel from their slavery
and led them dry-shod through the sea.

This is the night
when the pillar of fire destroyed the darkness of sin!

This is the night
when Christians everywhere,
washed clean of sin and freed from all defilement,
are restored to grace and grow together in holiness.

This is the night
when Jesus Christ broke the chains of death
and rose triumphant from the grave.

What good would life have been to us,
had Christ not come as our Redeemer?
Father, how wonderful your care for us!
How boundless your merciful love!
To ransom a slave you gave away your Son.

O happy fault,
O necessary sin of Adam,
which gained for us so great a Redeemer!

Most blessed of all nights,
chosen by God to see Christ rising from the dead!

Of this night scripture says:
"The night will be as clear as day:
it will become my light, my joy."

The power of this holy night dispels all evil,
washes guilt away, restores lost innocence,
brings mourners joy;
it casts out hatred, brings us peace,
and humbles earthly pride.

Night truly blessed when heaven is wedded to earth
and man is reconciled with God!

Therefore, heavenly Father,
in the joy of this night,
receive our evening sacrifice of praise,
your Church's solemn offering.

Accept this Easter candle,
a flame divided but undimmed,
a pillar of fire that glows to the honor of God.

Let it mingle with the lights of heaven
and continue bravely burning
to dispel the darkness of this night!

May the Morning Star which never sets
find this flame still burning:
Christ, that Morning Star,
who came back from the dead,
and shed his peaceful light on all mankind,
your Son, who lives and reigns for ever and ever.
Amen.

Holy Saturday's Silence

From the Office of Readings for Holy Saturday:

Something strange is happening—there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began. God has died in the flesh and hell trembles with fear.

He has gone to search for our first parent, as for a lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, he has gone to free from sorrow the captives Adam and Eve, he who is both God and the son of Eve. The Lord approached them bearing the cross, the weapon that had won him the victory. At the sight of him Adam, the first man he had created, struck his breast in terror and cried out to everyone: ‘My Lord be with you all.’ Christ answered him: ‘And with your spirit.’ He took him by the hand and raised him up, saying: ‘Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.’

I am your God, who for your sake have become your son. Out of love for you and for your descendants I now by my own authority command all who are held in bondage to come forth, all who are in darkness to be enlightened, all who are sleeping to arise. I order you, O sleeper, to awake. I did not create you to be held a prisoner in hell. Rise from the dead, for I am the life of the dead. Rise up, work of my hands, you who were created in my image. Rise, let us leave this place, for you are in me and I am in you; together we form only one person and we cannot be separated.

For your sake I, your God, became your son; I, the Lord, took the form of a slave; I, whose home is above the heavens, descended to the earth and beneath the earth. For your sake, for the sake of man, I became like a man without help, free among the dead. For the sake of you, who left a garden, I was betrayed to the Jews in a garden, and I was crucified in a garden.

See on my face the spittle I received in order to restore to you the life I once breathed into you. See there the marks of the blows I received in order to refashion your warped nature in my image. On my back see the marks of the scourging I endured to remove the burden of sin that weighs upon your back. See my hands, nailed firmly to a tree, for you who once wickedly stretched out your hand to a tree.

I slept on the cross and a sword pierced my side for you who slept in paradise and brought forth Eve from your side. My side has healed the pain in yours. My sleep will rouse you from your sleep in hell. The sword that pierced me has sheathed the sword that was turned against you.

Rise, let us leave this place. The enemy led you out of the earthly paradise. I will not restore you to that paradise, but I will enthrone you in heaven. I forbade you the tree that was only a symbol of life, but see, I who am life itself am now one with you. I appointed cherubim to guard you as slaves are guarded, but now I make them worship you as God. The throne formed by cherubim awaits you, its bearers swift and eager. The bridal chamber is adorned, the banquet is ready, the eternal dwelling places are prepared, the treasure houses of all good things lie open. The kingdom of heaven has been prepared for you from all eternity.

Pontiff's Message for Vocation Prayer Day

As part of World Day of Prayer for Vocations, His Holiness has released a letter for the day. He has given the letter the name of Faith in the Divine Initiative – the Human Response. In this letter, he urges us to pray for vocations, and that those responding take part in the plan of love and salvation God has for everyone. He encourages prayers and efforts to strengthen families. In contemplating the Eucharist, he reiterates that we can see how our faith in what God has done can lead us to respond. Priests perpetuate this salvific mystery, and every Mass nourishes the faithful and priest to make a response in faith.

St. John Vianney to be declared Patron of all Priests

ST. JEAN MARIE VIANNEY: PATRON SAINT OF ALL PRIESTS. His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI has plans to declare St. John Vianney the patron of all priests.


VATICAN CITY, 16 MAR 2009 (VIS) - "Faithfulness of Christ, faithfulness of priests" is the theme of the Year for Priests announced today by the Holy Father, according to a communique issued by the Holy See Press Office.

The Pope will inaugurate the Year on 19 June, presiding at Vespers in St. Peter's Basilica where the relics of the saintly 'Cure of Ars' will be brought for the occasion by Bishop Guy Bagnard of Belley-Ars, France. He will close the year on 19 June 2010, presiding at a "World Meeting of Priests" in St. Peter's Square.

During the course of the Year, Benedict XVI will proclaim St. Jean Marie Vianney as patron saint of all the priests of the world. A "Directory for Confessors and Spiritual Directors" will also be published, as will a collection of texts by the Supreme Pontiff on essential aspects of the life and mission of priests in our time.

The Congregation for the Clergy, together with diocesan ordinaries and superiors of religious institutes, will undertake to promote and co-ordinate the various spiritual and pastoral initiatives which are being organised to highlight the role and mission of the clergy in the Church and in modern society, and the need to intensify the permanent formation of priests, associating it with that of seminarians.
OP/YEAR FOR PRIESTS/...VIS 090316 (230)

A Year for Priests

Today, the Holy Father announced a year for priests. The statement is as follows:

HOLY FATHER ANNOUNCES A SPECIAL YEAR FOR PRIESTS

VATICAN CITY, 16 MAR 2009 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican the Holy Father received members of the Congregation for the Clergy, who are currently celebrating their plenary assembly on the theme: "The missionary identity of priests in the Church as an intrinsic dimension of the exercise of the 'tre munera'".

"The missionary dimension of a priest arises from his sacramental configuration to Christ the Head", said the Pope. This involves "total adherence to what ecclesial tradition has identified as 'apostolica vivendi forma', which consists in participation ... in that 'new way of life' which was inaugurated by the Lord Jesus and which the Apostles made their own".

Benedict XVI highlighted the "indispensable struggle for moral perfection which must dwell in every truly priestly heart. In order to favour this tendency of priests towards spiritual perfection, upon which the effectiveness of their ministry principally depends, I have", he said, "decided to call a special 'Year for Priests' which will run from 19 June 2009 to 19 June 2010". This year marks "the 150th anniversary of the death of the saintly 'Cure of Ars', Jean Marie Vianney, a true example of a pastor at the service of Christ's flock".

"The ecclesial, communional, hierarchical and doctrinal dimension is absolutely indispensable for any authentic mission, and this alone guarantees its spiritual effectiveness", he said.

"The mission is 'ecclesial'", said the Pope, "because no-one announces or brings themselves, ... but brings Another, God Himself, to the world. God is the only wealth that, definitively, mankind wishes to find in a priest.

"The mission is 'communional' because it takes place in a unity and communion which only at a secondary level possess important aspects of social visibility. ... The 'hierarchical' and 'doctrinal' dimensions emphasise the importance of ecclesiastical discipline (a term related to that of 'disciple') and of doctrinal (not just theological, initial and permanent) formation".

Benedict XVI stressed the need to "have care for the formation of candidates to the priesthood", a formation that must maintain "communion with unbroken ecclesial Tradition, without pausing or being tempted by discontinuity. In this context, it is important to encourage priests, especially the young generations, to a correct reading of the texts of Vatican Council II, interpreted in the light of all the Church's doctrinal inheritance".

Priests must be "present, identifiable and recognisable - for their judgement of faith, personal virtues and attire - in the fields of culture and of charity which have always been at the heart of the Church's mission".

"The centrality of Christ leads to a correct valuation of priestly ministry, without which there would be no Eucharist, no mission, not even the Church. It is necessary then, to ensure that 'new structures' or pastoral organisations are not planned for a time in which it will be possible to 'do without' ordained ministry, on the basis of an erroneous interpretation of the promotion of the laity, because this would lay the foundations for a further dilution in priestly ministry, and any supposed 'solutions' would, in fact, dramatically coincide with the real causes of the problems currently affecting the ministry".

Which Church Father are you?

There is a test to see which Which Church Father you are.
It is a brief 5 question test.

You’re St. Justin Martyr! You have a positive and hopeful attitude toward the world. You think that nature, history, and even the pagan philosophers were often guided by God in preparation for the Advent of the Christ. You find “seeds of the Word” in unexpected places. You’re patient and willing to explain the faith to unbelievers. Find out which Church Father you are at The Way of the Fathers!

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Taipei Times - archives

The Taipei Times printed an article on the Pill, and while their take is pretty polemic, the truth of the Matter still comes to the fore.

‘HORROR SCENARIO’: The fall in the birth rate in Austria, a chemist wrote in an article, is an ‘epidemic’ far worse than obesity and represents national suicide

THE GUARDIAN , BERLIN AND ROME
Thursday, Jan 08, 2009, Page 6
Roman Catholic leaders have pounced on a “confession” by one of the inventors of the birth control pill who has said the contraceptive he helped create was responsible for a “demographic catastrophe.”

In an article published by the Vatican this week, the head of the world’s Roman Catholic doctors broadened the attack on the pill, claiming it had also brought “devastating ecological effects” by releasing into the environment “tonnes of hormones” that had impaired male fertility.

The assault began with a personal commentary in the Austrian newspaper Der Standard by 85-year-old Carl Djerassi. The Austrian chemist was one of three whose formulation of the synthetic progestogen Norethisterone marked a key step toward the earliest oral contraceptive pill.

Djerassi outlined the “horror scenario” that occurred because of the population imbalance, for which his invention was partly to blame. He said that in most of Europe there was now “no connection at all between sexuality and reproduction.” He said: “This divide in Catholic Austria, a country which has on average 1.4 children per family, is now complete.”

He described families who had decided against reproduction as “wanting to enjoy their schnitzels while leaving the rest of the world to get on with it.”

The fall in the birth rate, he said, was an “epidemic” far worse — but given less attention — than obesity. Young Austrians, he said, were committing national suicide if they failed to procreate. And if it were not possible to reverse the population decline they would have to understand the necessity of an “intelligent immigration policy.”

The head of Austria’s Catholics, Cardinal Christoph Schonborn, told an interviewer that the Vatican had forecast 40 years ago that the pill would lead to a dramatic fall in the birth rate in the west.

“Somebody above suspicion like Carl Djerassi ... is saying that each family has to produce three children to maintain population levels, but we’re far away from that,” he said.

Schonborn told Austrian TV that when he first read Pope Paul VI’s 1968 encyclical condemning artificial contraception he viewed it negatively as a “cold shower.” But he said he had altered his views as, over time, it had proved “prophetic.”

Writing for the Vatican daily, L’Osservatore Romano, the president of the World Federation of Catholic Medical Associations, Jose Maria Simon, said research from his association also showed the pill “worked in many cases with a genuinely ... abortive effect.”

Angelo Bonelli, of the Italian Green party, said it was the first he had heard of a link between the pill and environmental pollution. The worst of poisons were to be found in the water supply.

“It strikes me as idiosyncratic to be worried about this,” he said.

A leading gynecologist and member of the New York Academy of Science, professor Gian Benedetto Melis, called Simon’s claims “science fiction,” saying that the pill blocked ovulation only.