I'm a little late posting this.Canonist Ed Peters has an interesting proposal: he believes the communion fast should be extended to three hours and calculated from the start of Mass rather than from the time one receives communion. Here are his reasons:
1. A one hour "fast" is physically insufficient to bring the human body into a fasting state, meaning that the spiritual benefits long associated with corporal preparation for Communion are lost.
2. Making reception of Communion relevant to calculating the fast leads to distracting cogitations about the liturgy itself (e.g., worrying about whether the length of the homily or sung responses or angling to the end of the Communion line might allow one to complete the fast in time).
3. Calculating the fast from reception of Communion reinforces the assumption of many that "going to Communion" is the only important thing about Mass (rather than helping them see, e.g., the Sunday obligation as a liturgical one fundamentally oriented to worship).
4. A fast oriented only to reception of Communion diminishes the faithful's appreciation for the Liturgy of the Word as an encounter with Christ worthy of preparation in its own right (see Mk VI: 34-42 on Jesus' example of teaching hungry people before He fed them).
5. The brevity of the current fast means that Catholics with guilty or doubtful consciences have no discrete way to refrain from going up to Communion without attracting attention, resulting in pressure on them to approach the Eucharist under conditions that risk profanation.
6. Imposing as a requirement of law what is scarcely impossible to avoid doing anyway (how many people really eat and drink on their way to Mass?) makes legal norms seem like empty exercises, in turn fostering a diminished respect for the role of law in ecclesiastical society.
One Australian woman is watching Pope Benedict XVI's arrival in Australia with special interest this week: 83-year-old Erika Kopp of Melbourne is first cousin to the pontiff, and says that while others may address him as "Holy Father" or "Your Holiness," to her he will always be "Joseph."
The pope's given name is Joseph Ratzinger. Kopp was interviewed by Australia's Sunday Herald Sun from her home in Melbourne.
Kopp's father, Benno Riege, was the brother of the pope's mother, Maria. Kopp said that she and the future pope were childhood playmates growing up in Bavaria, when the Riege and Ratzinger families frequently spent holidays together.
"He was a shy boy, very clever, studying all the time. He plays the piano beautifully," she told a reporter.
Kopp said she doesn't expect to see the pope while he's in Australia, since he now has responsibilities "for a billion Catholics."
Kopp added that while she enjoyed her childhood experiences of the Ratzingers, the sentiment wasn't universal.
"Nobody else in the family wanted to visit them because they were so religious," she said.
Making the task more difficult will be the sheer number of liberals present. It is no small thing that a quarter of all Anglican bishops have absented themselves from the conference. The absent Global South bishops represent nearly 40 million Anglicans, out of a total of 77 million worldwide. Of the 37 million that will be represented at Lambeth, 26 million are numbered as baptized members of the Church of England, only one million of whom are regular worshipers. American bishops alone will comprise nearly 25 percent of Lambeth attendance—this notwithstanding the fact that the Episcopal Church’s actions are the cause of the present controversies, and even though its membership of 2.2 million comprises less than 3 percent of the communion’s overall total. In short, the present makeup of the conference is seriously unrepresentative of global Anglicanism. Those bishops representing the orthodox mainstream of the communion will have an uphill battle to ensure that they are not made to seem like the Anglican minority voice, which they most manifestly are not.
...
Perhaps making their task yet more challenging is the structure of the conference itself. Unlike the previous thirteen meetings, this year’s Lambeth conference will not feature large sessions ordered toward producing resolutions. It will instead consist of small discussion groups (called indaba, a Zulu term for “gathering”) aimed toward the eventual production of a communal “Reflections” document.
Some have been skeptical of the intent and effect of the new design. There may well be sound reasons for the change; it can be difficult for all voices to be heard in enormous parliamentary sessions. But some are concerned that the new design will actually have the effect of preventing any outcomes such as the ones at the 1998 meeting, where the numerical strength of Global South bishops led to the passage of resolutions that were unpalatable to Northern liberals.
By dividing the bishops into small groups, and by emphasizing the discussion of issues ordered toward producing reflections, the conference may mute or disperse the voice of the majority on any given issue. Anglicans have long debated the normative status of Lambeth’s resolutions, and the theological import of reflections produced by indaba groups will be of even more peculiar status.
Read the whole article over at FirstThings which is quite informative. I was just particularly interested in this. It seems like this whole thing is a waste of time. Will they agree on anything? If they do, how will they communicate with only small group meetings? If they decide something, does it have any value in terms of enforcement?
The rumor is that Cardinal Arinze, the Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, will be replaced by Cardinal Llovera, the current Archbishop of Toledo, Spain. It's been around for a couple of weeks now and I've been wondering if it would happen before the Curia's August hiatus. Fr. Z. reports that it won't happen until November:
It seems reasonable to assume that such a rare November change would revolve around the fact that Card. Arinze will celebrate his 50th Jubille as a priest on 23 November. Last week Card. Arinze told me that on that day he will celebrate a solemn Mass at San Clemente Cathedral in Velletri (His Eminence is the Cardinal Bishop of Velletri Segni).
The United States will send 15,000 young people to World Youth Day, the international event convened by Pope Benedict XVI, scheduled to take place in Sydney, Australia, from July 15 through 20. According to U.S. organizers, this will be the largest delegation representing any country outside of Australia. The young pilgrims will be joined by 50 U.S. bishops, including Cardinal Francis George, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
The young people, most of whom are in their late teens and young adult years, are traveling to Australia in 1,140 groups that range in varying sizes up to 520 individuals. Typically, the groups are organized by dioceses, parishes, religious associations and schools, though some groups are families who have chosen to make the journey on their own.
The gathering in Sydney marks the tenth international celebration of World Youth Day. The international celebration has occurred every two or three years since Pope John Paul II established it in 1985. In 1993, the international celebration of World Youth Day took place in Denver.
For the first time at World Youth Day the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops will sponsor a Mass for all U.S. groups in Sydney. Cardinal George will preside and deliver the homily on Saturday morning, July 19, at an outdoor location in the center of Sydney. Concelebrating with him will be other U.S. bishops who will also use the opportunity to meet with young people from their dioceses. Musicians from Oregon Catholic Press and World Library Publications will give a concert prior to the Mass.
Young people from the United States will also take prominent roles in other aspects of the World Youth Day events. Armando Cervantes from the Diocese of Orange will be among 12 young adults from all parts of the world who will have lunch with the Holy Father on Friday, July 18, in Sydney. In addition, Juan Martinez from the Diocese of Austin, Texas will receive the Sacrament of Confirmation from Pope Benedict along with other young people at the closing Mass of World Youth Day on Sunday, July 20.
Annalee Moyer, from the Archdiocese of Washington and Leonardo Jaramillo, from the Archdiocese of Atlanta, were selected to be members of a two hundred-person group known as the International Liturgy Group. Members take leading parts in all the major events of World Youth Day including the papal ceremonies and liturgies. They function as a representative group for all the World Youth Day pilgrims.
“I am truly blessed by this opportunity to experience the universal Church in such a unique way with my peers from around the world,” said Moyer.
Australian organizers expect approximately 100,000 youths from their own country and 125,000 international visitors to make the World Youth Day pilgrimage to Sydney this month.
The U.S. bishops failed to approve the English translation of the Proper of Seasons prayers from the Missale Romanum, editio typica tertia, at the June general assembly of the United States Conference of Bishops, in Orlando, Florida. A two-thirds majority of Latin rite members of the Conference is needed for approval of the translation. The vote at the meeting was inconclusive and subsequent mail ballots from absent members kept the measure from passing.
This text, the “Gray Book” draft translation prepared by the International Commission for English in the Liturgy (ICEL), was submitted to the bishops of English–speaking countries for approval. A “Gray Book” is the second draft proposed by ICEL after the bishops of the participating English-speaking conferences have had the chance to review the initial draft (or Green Book). The Proper of Seasons is the second of twelve sections of the full text of the Roman Missal.
Bishop Arthur Serratelli, Chairman of the Bishops’ Committee on Divine Worship indicated that the Committee will now present the Gray Book to the bishops for renewed consideration, including the usual Conference process that allows bishops to submit modifications to the text for consideration. The Committee intends to present the text again for a vote at the November 2008 meeting in Baltimore. Should the text then receive an affirmative vote of two–thirds of the Latin Rite members of the USCCB, the text will be submitted to the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments for subsequent confirmation.
In addition to the Proper of Seasons, the Committee on Divine Worship plans to submit two additional “Gray Book” texts for consideration and vote this fall, in hopes that the USCCB will keep pace with the actions of other English–speaking conferences. If the texts receive an affirmative vote by the body of Bishops, the original timeline will still be maintained, and the final text of the complete Roman Missal will be presented for approval in November 2010.
A decree from the Apostolic Penitentiary was released in the Holy See News Bulletin this morning:
The plenary indulgence is granted to the faithful who, on the occasion of the "Twenty-third World Youth Day", will gather at Sydney in the spirit of pilgrimage; all those who, wherever they are, will pray for the spiritual goals of this Meeting and for its happy outcome can also gain the partial indulgence.
The Youth Meeting held in the year 2005 in Cologne, offered the Apostolic Penitentiary an opportune occasion, with the authority of the Supreme Pontiff, to open wide to youth the spiritual treasures of the Church, with the aim of gathering singular fruits of sanctification.
Hence, this year, from 15 to 20 July, in Sydney, "in the great southern land of the Holy Spirit" (according to the expression of John Paul II), will celebrate the "Twenty-third World Youth Day", with the theme: "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses" (Acts 1:8).
Indeed, young people gathered around the Vicar of Christ will participate in the sacred functions and above all have recourse to the Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist. In the Sacraments received with a sincere and humble heart, they will earnestly desire to strengthen themselves in the Spirit, and, confirmed by the Chrism of salvation, will openly witness the Faith before others even to the ends of the earth. May God grant that the very presence of the Supreme Pontiff among the young people gathered in Sydney express and render it such.
During the Audience the Holy Father granted to the undersigned on 21 June, the Supreme Pontiff has expressly confirmed to the Apostolic Penitentiary the special faculty to declare, through the present Decree, the bestowal of the gift of the Indulgence as follows:
The Plenary Indulgence is granted to the faithful who will devotedly participate at some sacred function or pious exercise taking place during the "Twenty-third World Youth Day", including its solemn conclusion, so that, having received the Sacrament of Reconciliation and being truly repentant, they receive Holy Communion and devoutly pray according to the intentions of His Holiness.
The Partial Indulgence is granted to the faithful, wherever they are during the above-mentioned meeting, if, at least with a contrite spirit, they will raise their prayer to God the Holy Spirit, so that young people are drawn to charity and given the strength to proclaim the Gospel with their life.
So that all the faithful may more easily obtain these heavenly gifts, priests who have received legitimate approval to hear sacramental confessions, should welcome them with a ready and generous spirit and suggest public prayers to the faithful, for the success of the same "World Youth Day".
The present Decree is valid for this event. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary.
Given in Rome, at the Seat of the Apostolic Penitentiary, 28 June in the Year of the Incarnation of the Lord 2008, vigil of the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul.
Cardinal James Francis Stafford Major Penitentiary
+ Gianfranco Girotti, O.F.M. Conv. Titular Bishop of Meta, Regent
I'm re-reading Ratzinger's The Spirit of the Liturgy and I came across this gem:
The only real gift man should give to God is himself. As his religious awareness becomes more highly developed, so his awareness that any gift but himself is too little, in fact absurd, becomes more intense.
Bad news first: Of course, there will be protesting. This time around it's in some ways exacerbated by the law barring people from annoying WYD participants. One way this is expressed is through t-shirts with some interesting messages to say the least. For example, "We close 300 roads so 300,000 can close their minds" [h/t Pope 2008].
On a happier note, one important person has already arrived. Don't forget his feast day is tomorrow (July 4).
Finally, the Sydney Morning Herald has a great audio slide show of the preparations for the Stations of the Cross. Thinking back to Toronto, the Stations were probably my favorite part of WYD. In the various articles I've read in the past few weeks, it looks like the Sydney Stations will be quite a production [h/t Pope 2008].
The cure in question was the disappearance of cancer, without treatment, from the lungs of a Honolulu woman. The case was first documented by Dr. Walter Y.M. Chang, the woman’s physician, in an article he wrote in the October 2000 issue of the Hawaii Medical Journal.
The doctor, who is not a Catholic, wrote that the “lung metastases disappeared with no therapy at all,” over several months following prayers to Blessed Damien and pilgrimages to Kalaupapa by the patient.
Dr. Chang presented his findings to Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo who established a tribunal to examine the claim.
The tribunal, which included doctors and canon lawyers among its members, completed its study on April 16, 2003. It agreed that the healing was dramatic and defied medical explanation.
The tribunal’s report and evidence were sealed and hand-delivered later that month to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints by then postulator Sacred Hearts Father Emilio Vega Garcia.
The Vatican congregation had the case opened for more than a year before sending it back to the diocese for further documentation and clarification. The diocesan tribunal reconvened in early 2005 to address the Vatican’s concerns.
The Vatican accepted the re-submitted work of the diocesan tribunal on Dec. 2, 2005.
A bit of background:
For Father Damien’s beatification, Pope John Paul II approved on June 13, 1992, the 1895 cure of a Sacred Hearts Sister as a miracle attributed to priest’s intercession.
In that case, Sister Simplicia Hue of France began a novena to Father Damien as she lay dying at age 37 of a lingering intestinal illness. The pain and symptoms of the illness disappeared overnight on Sept. 11, 1895, and Sister Simplicia lived for another 32 years.
Pope John Paul II beatified Father Damien on June 4, 1995, in Brussels, Belgium.
Guy Gaucher, the auxiliary bishop of Lisieux, gave this description of the now-approved miracle:
On June 10th 2003, in his private chapel, the Cardinal Archbishop of Milan, Mgr. Dionigi Tettamanzi, surrounded by judges and secretaries, signed a solemn act: the official closure of the process recognizing the miraculous cure, through the intercession of the Venerable Louis and Zélie Martin, of Pietro Schillero, from Monza, born on the 25th May 2002. His family, five brothers and sisters, were there with about a hundred other people and among them were the doctors, witnesses of the process. I was there to represent the diocese of Lisieux.
Pietro was born with lungs in such a terrible condition that, medically speaking, he could not possibly survive. Put under respiratory assistance, nobody thought that one day he would be able to breathe normally. Father Sangalli, a Carmelite Father, suggested to Pietro’s parents that they make a novena to the Martin parents. The parish did likewise. On the 29th June, his Feast Day, Pietro was much better and left the clinic on the 26th July in perfect health.
This cure, humanly inexplicable, was recorded by numerous witnesses, seven of whom were doctors. On the 10th June the miraculous child of thirteen months was parading around the chapel, sometimes crawling under the Cardinal’s desk who was pronouncing the decree; a fairly rare show in this kind of court!
This email was forwarded to me and I thought it was interesting enough to share:
I wanted to give you a heads up on a project that we’re working on and hope that you can help us spread the word. This summer, The Maximus Group is facilitating close to 70 screenings for Catholic leadership nationwide for a new film that will wide release in theaters on September 26. The film is called Fireproof and it is a movie about the restoration of a failing marriage through hard work and faith, trust and hope in God. The creators of the film are the same folks behind Facing the Giants which has become a favorite among churches – especially schools and youth groups. This film appeals to those who are seeking marriage, getting ready for marriage and those already married as well as the people who revere marriage as a sacrament and a covenant to be upheld in our country. Fireproof is a true love story yet a storyline that appeals to men since the drama revolves around the lives of firefighters.
Our website for Catholic leader screening is www.catholicscreenings.com. There you can download a brochure created just for Catholics where you will find endorsements from the WorldWide Marriage Encounter, Retrouvaille, and the Archdiocese of Chicago’s Office of Family Life Ministries. This is where you can register for tickets for a screening!
People are absolutely raving about this movie and how it will impact the culture and be a helpful resource for marriage ministries. Please pass this information to all Catholic leadership at the diocesan, parish, and ministry levels.
NOTE: One does not need to be Catholic to attend the screenings available through the above link. These screenings are being held for all Christian leaders. Maximus happens to be coordinating concentrated effort to the Catholic space.
I looked on the website and the closest screening to me is Hartford on the 24th. I watched the trailer on the movie's website and it looks interesting enough that I might go and watch it. I found the trailer on YouTube as well:
Remember that The Keys Are Mightier is more than just a blog. While we don't have a lot of resources, we do have a few and we're growing everyday. We have a few resources on the Year of Saint Paul which we'll add to as the year continues. One thing you may consider are our weekly bulletin notes that you might include in order to keep parishioners aware of this great jubilee all year.
Now that we've started a new month, you can find links to our daily almanac. Here are just some notes to keep in mind for July:
Pope Benedict's Monthly Prayer Intentions
General: That there may be an increase in the number of those who volunteer to serve the Christian community with generous and prompt availability.
Missionary: That World Youth Day in Sydney, Australia, may kindle the fire of divine love in numerous young people and render them sowers of hope for a new humanity.
July Notes
Since the 16th century Catholic piety has assigned entire months to special devotions. Like the Sacred Wounds of Jesus, His Precious Blood deserves special honor because of its close relation to the Sacred Passion. That honor was given to it from the beginning by the Apostles who praised its redeeming power. (Rom. 5:9 "we are justified by His blood"; Heb. 13:12 "and so Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people by His blood, suffered outside the gate"; 1 John 1:7 "and the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin.")
In recent times the devotion has been encouraged by Blessed Gaspar Buffalo, founder of the Congregation of the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ. When Pope Pius IX was in exile from Rome in 1849, he had as his companion Don Giovanni Merlini, the third general of that Congregation. This saintly priest suggested to the pope that he make a vow to give the feast of the Precious Blood to the entire church, if he should regain the papal territory. Without binding himself by the vow, the pope immediately extended the feast to the whole Church. On the old calendar it was celebrated on July 1, but Catholics may still continue this tradition by increasing their devotion to the most precious Blood throughout the entire month of July.
The Prayer Book, by Reverend John P. O'Connell, M.A., S.T.D. and Jex Martin, M.A., The Catholic Press, Inc., Chicago, Illinois, 1954.
Other Considerations this Month
The month of July is typically a quiet one liturgically. While many people enjoy time to relax and go on vacation, those who are responsible for the planning and execution of the liturgy have the obligation to remind people that the Church’s life of prayer takes no vacation. One way to illustrate this point would be to publicize the website www.masstimes.org, reminding parishioners that the Mass is celebrated anywhere they may travel.
There is a lack of major celebrations during this month. There are no days dedicated to Mary other than the optional celebration on Saturdays. The memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel falls on Sunday this year and is not celebrated.
There is an opportunity to shed light on several saints of the early Church who actually knew Christ personally: Thomas, James, Mary Magdalene, Martha, Joachim, and Anne. This month also features three very important saints in the history of the Church: Benedict, Bonaventure, and Ignatius of Loyola. In the United States, we commemorate the memorials of the two blesseds, Junipero Serra and Kateri Tekakwitha. For the youth of the Church, we are given the memorial of Maria Goretti (which falls on a Sunday this year), also keeping in mind that Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati, although he is not celebrated universally, could be remembered on the day of his death, July 4. An opportunity for catechesis exists in the celebration of St. Sharbel Makhluf, drawing the attention of Latin Rite Catholics to the beauty of the Eastern tradition.
In the United States, Independence Day offers us the opportunity to pray for our country and its leaders.
