To You, My Jesus

"I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" (John 11:25-26)

After doing some Internet searching tonight, I was very saddened by what I found. As I stumbled upon Myspace, I found countless users that claim to be atheists or agnostics. I found pagans and scientologists. I found a few Catholics who obviously didn't follow the faith since they cursed using our Lord's Holy Name in vain on that page. I found not only faithful Catholic - not a single one.

I was reminded of the account of Abraham speaking to the Lord in Genesis 18:20-32. There the Lord promised to spare Sodom and Gomorrah from destruction even if there were as little as ten righteous people left. Yet, as we know, the cities were destroyed because not even ten God-fearing men could be found. Is our world today any better?

I wonder what will happen in our world today. So many people do not believe and live there lives away from God seeking happiness and money - all without God. They will fail in this life and be condemned in the life to come. Then there are people even more horrifying - those that truly hate God and chastity and all things holy. They seek to destroy it. These people are corrupted by the devil. They too shall fail. For hell is not just intense pain, it is more terrible than that. Hell is painful not because God seeks to torture souls. No, not at all. Rather, the souls that go to Hell go there because it is the one place that God is not present. And the deprivation of God's love is the torture suffered by those souls. They rejected the Holy Church and refused to turn aside from sinful ways. These people turned away from God and earned what they had all along - a life without God.

St. Catherine received a vision of the devil once from Our Lord. And she told Him that she would rather walk on burning coals for the rest of eternity than go to hell and look upon the devil's face for one more moment. For in hell, the condemned will look on the face of satan, the father of lies, for all eternity. There truly shall be no end. This is the faith of those that ignore God, hate God, and die in the state of mortal sin.

So now I sit here gazing at the Crucifix contemplating his most precious wounds and the blood loss and pain He endured. Yet He endured that suffering for me as much as for each one of those people hate Him. And even if one of those people had been the only one to ever exist, Jesus would have mounted that cross just for him too. I once saw a picture in store. In the photo a little girl was looking up to Heaven and asked, "How much do you love me, Jesus?" Jesus answered, "I love you this much," and then He opened up His arms and died.

I am re-posting the rest:

I ask you to say this prayer for all that still live in darkness and do not see the great joy of Jesus Christ!

Dear Lord:

On the night before your passion you were taken from us, beaten and mocked and condemned to death. Bound and beaten on your precious head, the very head that lay in a beautiful manager in Bethlehem. Your back was ripped open in the Scourging, and on the road to Calvary so many hated you; you almost died on the way. Your precious face was disfigured - your body beaten and ripped apart. O Lord, your precious hands which worked so many wonders, were pierced. On that day Lord, you liberated me. May your blessings be upon me and transform me on my pilgrimage to Life Everlasting. May the grace and joy of Christmas and Easter enkindle an eternal flame in my heart for love of you and neighbor that shall never abate. And, permit me O Lord, to die in love of Thee for Thou hast died for love of me.

O Lord, so many hate you. So many call you false and a liar. So many pretend as if you ascended to Heaven and left us here - alone. So many pretend the Eucharist is not truly YOU. So many hate the good of your Church and deny your eternal word of scripture; so many utter lies against your faithful. Lord, so many ignore you. They refuse to acknowledge you, and they practice political correctness instead of acknowledging You as the only God to have worked wonders. But, You, O Lord, are the only truth. You are the only light on our journey. If I died today, would I be no more? No! For the miracles you worked are forever recorded in scripture, the miracle of the Eucharist is ever before us. May your light shine upon those that hate you Lord. For, O Lord, your skin was ripped open for them. Your blood poured forth from your heart for them. It was by your Cross alone we are saved. The God of all Creation truly took flesh and mounted a tree to redeem our disfigured race. What love! And what greater love is there than truly giving yourself to me in the Holy Eucharist each and every Mass!

Lord, you need nothing as You alone are perfect. Please, permit me, if you will, to offer up the sacrifices in my life to you in reparation for those that hate you, my best friend, my Love, my All. O Lord, you let your apostles help you in the miracles of the loaves, permit me to offer my small sacrifices in union with Your perfect gift on the Cross. May my sufferings offered for you bring one soul to the truth of your Church. O Lord, grant that my work may produce much fruit and at the end, when I leave this world, you may say, "Well done, my good and faithful servant." Lord, I love you. Forgive us all, my Crucified Lord. Forgive us, for you are the Savior of the World.

Amen

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The Council of Trent: Part 1

I have recently purchased a copy of the Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent on CD-ROM. In addition, I have obtained a copy of "The Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent" translated and introduced by Reverend H.J. Schroeder, O.P. Since no decrees of a Council may ever be contradicted, and since the Council of Trent has profoundly impacted the Church, I feel it is proper to study the anathemas issued by the Council.

First and foremost, "anathema" is defined thusly

"After the time of the apostolic church, the term anathema has come to mean a form of extreme religious sanction beyond excommunication, known as major excommunication. The earliest recorded instance of the form is in the Council of Elvira (c. 306), and thereafter it became the common method of cutting off heretics. Cyril of Alexandria issued twelve anathemas against Nestorius in 431. In the fifth century, a formal distinction between anathema and excommunication evolved, where excommunication entailed cutting off a person or group from the rite of Eucharist and attendance at worship, while anathema meant a complete separation of the subject from the Church."

Background:

The Council of Trent convened three times between December 13, 1545 and December 4, 1563 in the city of Trent, Italy. It opened primarily as a response to the theological errors by the Protestant Reformation and to clearly specify Catholic doctrines on such subjects as salvation, the Seven Sacraments, the Biblical canon, and the standardizing of the Mass.

The following is the first set of anathemas to come out of the Council. These come from the Fifth Session celebrated on June 17, 1546, which dealt with the topic of original sin. Additional posts will follow as this will be a regular series on my blog. It is important that we believe exactly what the Catholic Church teaches, so it is important to study the anathemas issued by the Council.

Fifth Session:

1. If any one does not confess that the first man, Adam, when he had transgressed the commandment of God in Paradise, immediately lost the holiness and justice wherein he had been constituted; and that he incurred, through the offence of that prevarication, the wrath and indignation of God, and consequently death, with which God had previously threatened him, and, together with death, captivity under his power who thenceforth had the empire of death, that is to say, the devil, and that the entire Adam, through that offence of prevarication, was changed, in body and soul, for the worse; let him be anathema.

2. If any one asserts, that the prevarication of Adam injured himself alone, and not his posterity; and that the holiness and justice, received of God, which he lost, he lost for himself alone, and not for us also; or that he, being defiled by the sin of disobedience, has only transfused death, and pains of the body, into the whole human race, but not sin also, which is the death of the soul; let him be anathema:--whereas he contradicts the apostle who says; By one man sin entered into the world, and by sin death, and so death passed upon all men, in whom all have sinned.

3. If any one asserts, that this sin of Adam,--which in its origin is one, and being transfused into all by propogation, not by imitation, is in each one as his own, --is taken away either by the powers of human nature, or by any other remedy than the merit of the one mediator, our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath reconciled us to God in his own blood, made unto us justice, santification, and redemption; or if he denies that the said merit of Jesus Christ is applied, both to adults and to infants, by the sacrament of baptism rightly administered in the form of the church; let him be anathema: For there is no other name under heaven given to men, whereby we must be saved. Whence that voice; Behold the lamb of God behold him who taketh away the sins of the world; and that other; As many as have been baptized, have put on Christ.

4. If any one denies, that infants, newly born from their mothers' wombs, even though they be sprung from baptized parents, are to be baptized; or says that they are baptized indeed for the remission of sins, but that they derive nothing of original sin from Adam, which has need of being expiated by the laver of regeneration for the obtaining life everlasting,--whence it follows as a consequence, that in them the form of baptism, for the remission of sins, is understood to be not true, but false, --let him be anathema. For that which the apostle has said, By one man sin entered into the world, and by sin death, and so death passed upon all men in whom all have sinned, is not to be understood otherwise than as the Catholic Church spread everywhere hath always understood it. For, by reason of this rule of faith, from a tradition of the apostles, even infants, who could not as yet commit any sin of themselves, are for this cause truly baptized for the remission of sins, that in them that may be cleansed away by regeneration, which they have contracted by generation. For, unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

5. If any one denies, that, by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is conferred in baptism, the guilt of original sin is remitted; or even asserts that the whole of that which has the true and proper nature of sin is not taken away; but says that it is only rased, or not imputed; let him be anathema. For, in those who are born again, there is nothing that God hates; because, There is no condemnation to those who are truly buried together with Christ by baptism into death; who walk not according to the flesh, but, putting off the old man, and putting on the new who is created according to God, are made innocent, immaculate, pure, harmless, and beloved of God, heirs indeed of God, but joint heirs with Christ; so that there is nothing whatever to retard their entrance into heaven. But this holy synod confesses and is sensible, that in the baptized there remains concupiscence, or an incentive (to sin); which, whereas it is left for our exercise, cannot injure those who consent not, but resist manfully by the grace of Jesus Christ; yea, he who shall have striven lawfully shall be crowned. This concupiscence, which the apostle sometimes calls sin, the holy Synod declares that the Catholic Church has never understood it to be called sin, as being truly and properly sin in those born again, but because it is of sin, and inclines to sin.

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Pope Benedict XVI's 2007 Lenten Message

From the Vatican:

It is in the mystery of the Cross that the overwhelming power of the heavenly Father’s mercy is revealed in all of its fullness. In order to win back the love of His creature, He accepted to pay a very high price: the blood of His only begotten Son. Death, which for the first Adam was an extreme sign of loneliness and powerlessness, was thus transformed in the supreme act of love and freedom of the new Adam. One could very well assert, therefore, together with Saint Maximus the Confessor, that Christ “died, if one could say so, divinely, because He died freely” (Ambigua, 91, 1956). On the Cross, God’s eros for us is made manifest. Eros is indeed – as Pseudo-Dionysius expresses it – that force “that does not allow the lover to remain in himself but moves him to become one with the beloved” (De divinis nominibus, IV, 13: PG 3, 712). Is there more “mad eros” (N. Cabasilas, Vita in Cristo, 648) than that which led the Son of God to make Himself one with us even to the point of suffering as His own the consequences of our offences?

“Him whom they have pierced”

Dear brothers and sisters, let us look at Christ pierced in 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 instills 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.

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St. Valentine's Day

Today is St. Valentine's Day. Do read about the history of St. Valentine's Day from my post that I wrote last year.

Prayer:

O glorious advocate and protector, St Valentine, look with pity upon our wants, hear our requests, attend to our prayers, relieve by your intercession the miseries under which we labour, and obtain for us the divine blessing, that we may be found worthy to join you in praising the Almighty for all eternity: through the merits of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

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Why the Church must keep Priestly Celebacy

I am suggesting the following article: "Why the Church must continue to uphold priestly celibacy" by Fr. Pat Stratford.

As someone that is planning on embarking on that journey leading me to ordination, I can not publicly support mandatory priestly celebacy enough. Priestly celebacy is a necessary component of serving God completely. If a priest were allowed to marry, he would have a family and a parish - two vocations. The result would be that one would be primarily focused on, thereby neglecting the other. Celebacy is not meant to be easy, but it is meant to be a sacrifice endured for the greater glory of the Kingdom of Christ.

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Pope Benedict XVI on World Day of the Sick

This past Sunday, February 11, was the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes as well as World Day of the Sick. Here are some photos from the Mass celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI for the World Day of the Sick:



Photo Sources: AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca

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The Beautiful Hands of a Priest

The Beautiful Hands of a Priest
We need them in life's early morning,
We need them again at its close;
We feel their warm clasp of true friendship,
We seek them when tasting life's woes.
At the altar each day we behold them,
And the hands of a king on his throne
Are not equal to them in their greatness;
Their dignity stands all alone;
And when we are tempted and wander,
To pathways of shame and of sin,
It's the hand of a priest that will absolve us--
Not once, but again and again.
And when we are taking life's partner,
Other hands may prepare us a feast,
But the hand that will bless and unite us--
Is the beautiful hand of a priest.
God bless them and keep them all holy,
For the Host which their fingers caress;
When can a poor sinner do better,
Than to ask Him to guide thee and bless?
When the hour of death comes upon us,
May our courage and strength be increased,
By seeing raised over us in blessing--
The beautiful hands of a priest.
Author Unknown

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French Tridentine Mass Video

I had to share this French video of a priest presiding at the Consecration in a Tridentine Mass. I found it rather beautiful. While watching, note the great care and honor given to the Lord. After the priest touches the Consecrated Host (which truly is Jesus Christ), the fingers that touched it are to be kept together. The priest shall touch nothing except Our Lord in the Eucharist until they have had water and wine poured over them. The priest will then consume the water and wine to insure that no particle of Our Lord's true presence would be neglected and fall to the ground. Each particle of the Eucharist is truly Jesus! I love the reverence found in the Tridentine Liturgy.

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Indulgence: World Day for the Sick

Today is the World Day for the Sick.

Pope Benedict XVI has decreed a plenary indulgence to the faithful who, under the usual conditions (sacramental confession, Eucharist, prayer for the Holy Father's intentions and detachment from sin) on February 11th in Seoul, Korea and to those who participate in a similar ceremony that day at any other place decided by the ecclesiastical authorities.

Via Argent by the Tiber

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Nuns Should Wear the Habit

All religious sisters and nuns should wear the habit of their respective orders. No longer should these women, who have given their lives to the service of God and the Church, be dressing like laypeople. It is time to return to the ancient practice of wearing a distinct habit - this is not fulfilled by wearing laypeople's clothing!

The habit inspires women to leave their lives and gives themselves to God. The same is true for men who are inspired by the garments worn by priests and monks. To enter a religious order, one does not just experience a change of heart and soul, rather, there is also a change in the physical realm. For example, many religious orders require the women to adopt a new name when they become a nun in addition to wearing the habit.

Over the past 30 years, the number of women in Catholic religious orders has decreased by around 50 percent. There remains 85,412 religious sisters in the United States, and the average age is 68. The religious orders actually seeing growth are the ones that wear a traditional habit including The Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia and Mother Teresa's religious order.

The fact is that the habit is truly a spiritual treasure. The key to increasing the number of religious sisters and nuns in the world is to again bring back the mandatory habit. No longer should nuns be allowed to live in apartments and wear laypeoples' clothing; rather, they should be living in a monastery to praise and serve God.

Code of Canon Law: "Religious are to wear the habit of the institute determined according to the norm of proper law as a sign of their consecration and as a testimony of poverty" (Canon 669, 1).

Wearing laypeople's clothing does not serve as a "sign of their consecration". I hope and pray that more orders will again adopt the traditional habit. As for me, it is always inspiring to see a nun out in public because she is out there living her life for Jesus. Having nuns wear habits brings God to others. And those that live today in doubt or fear can be comforted by the sight of a nun, who is prayerfully serving the Lord.

Examples of the beauty, simplicity, and witness to the Faith when a habit is worn:

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Pray for my success tomorrow

Update: I did very well today. Honestly, it was not as good as I had hoped, but I am very proud of my achievements. I know that God stood by my side through it all. Thank you for your prayers. Your prayers meant a lot to me.

Original: Tomorrow I will be attending a large competition. To be honest, it may be the most important academic competition of my life. I am hoping and praying that I might succeed after years of preparation. Even if I don't win, though, I will have won a lot over the years. But, I would still really like to win. So, I would so greatly appreciate any prayers offered up for me. I am so amazed by the generous of my readers. You truly are an inspiration for me. I would appreciate any prayers.

Thank you.

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Why Catholics Cannot be Freemasons: What to Know and How to Get out!

No organization has been more condemned by the Church, and rightfully so, than the masons. The first condemnation against Freemasonry given by Pope Clement XII per In Eminenti (1738) was repeated and even extended by Benedict XIV (1751), Pius VII (1821), Leo XII in Quo Graviora (1826), Pius VIII (1829), Gregory XVI (1832), Pius IX (Qui Pluribus in 1846, 1849, 1864, 1865, 1869, 1873), and by Pope Leo XIII in both Humanum Genus (1884) and Custodi di Quella Fede (1890). 

Those who would like to better understand the errors of the freemasons should pick up a copy of “Why Catholics Cannot be Masons” written by John Salza , a Catholic attorney and former 32nd degree Mason, who explains why the Masons and the Shriners are actually a secretive, false religion.

Is it still forbidden to join the freemasons or similar organizations? 

Yes! The Papal Bull issued by Pope Clement XII (On Freemasonry) in 1738 stated in part: "with the plenitude of the Apostolic power do hereby determine and have decreed that these same Societies, Companies, Assemblies, Meetings, Congregations, or Conventicles of Liberi Muratori or Francs Massons, or whatever other name they may go by, are to be condemned and prohibited, and by Our present Constitution, valid for ever, We do condemn and prohibit them."

The Holy Father continued later on by stating clearly: “…[Catholics] must stay completely clear of such Societies, Companies, Assemblies, Meetings, Congregations or Conventicles, under pain of excommunication for all the above mentioned people, which is incurred by the very deed without any declaration being required, and from which no one can obtain the benefit of absolution, other than at the hour of death, except through Ourselves or the Roman Pontiff of the time.” 

The first Code of Canon law in 1917 explicitly declared that Catholics who joined a Masonic organization incurred a penalty of ipso facto excommunication: 

Can 2335: Affiliation With Masonic or Similar Societies. Those who join a Masonic sect or other societies of the same sort, which plot against the Church or against legitimate civil authority, incur ipso facto an excommunication simply reserved to the Holy See.

The result of membership in the freemasons is automatic excommunication. Yet, some question if this is still the case due to the change of wording in the 1983 Code of Canon Law, which does not specifically mention the masons, when it states:

Can. 1374. A person who joins an association which plots against the Church is to be punished with a just penalty; one who promotes or takes office in such an association is to be punished with an interdict.

In order to clarify the issue, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith published a declaration on Nov. 26, 1983, signed by then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, which states:

“It has been asked whether there has been any change in the Church’s decision in regard to Masonic associations since the new Code of Canon Law does not mention them expressly, unlike the previous Code. 

“This Sacred Congregation is in a position to reply that this circumstance in due to an editorial criterion which was followed also in the case of other associations likewise unmentioned inasmuch as they are contained in wider categories. 

“Therefore, the Church’s negative judgment in regard to Masonic association remains unchanged since their principles have always been considered irreconcilable with the doctrine of the Church and therefore membership in them remains forbidden. The faithful who enroll in Masonic associations are in a state of grave sin and may not receive Holy Communion.”

Take Action Against Masonry

Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum University acknowledges that unfortunately many people view the masons as a mere civic organization and one that is not anti-Christian and an alternative religion as its core. 

We have a responsibility to bring those Catholics who are members of the masons to understand the errors of their ways and the need for them to seek the Sacrament of Penance and receive absolution and a lifting of the excommunication. Father McNamara states: “Of course, for many people active in Masonic lodges, the conversations and activities are more social in nature and rarely veer toward the realm of philosophical speculation. A Catholic, however, cannot ignore the fundamental principles behind an organization, no matter how innocuous its activities appear to be.”

Do not visit masonic halls. If you see their literature posted in community bulletin boards, throw it away. Do everything you can to encourage all the small towns and communities across America that have a masonic hall to close it down. And pray for the conversion of the freemasons. We can especially invoke the intercession of St. Maximilian Kolbe, who wrote strongly against them.

Prayer for Conversion of Freemasons

O LORD JESUS CHRIST, who showest forth thy omnipotence most manifestly when Thou sparest and hast compassion; Thou who didst say, “Pray for those who persecute and calumniate you,” we implore the clemency of thy Sacred Heart on behalf of souls, made in the image of GOD, but most miserably deceived by the treacherous snares of Freemasons, and going more and more astray in the way of perdition. Let not the Church, thy spouse, any longer be oppressed by them; but, appeased by the intercession of the blessed Virgin thy Mother and the prayers of the just, be mindful of thy infinite mercy; and, disregarding their perversity, cause these very men to return to Thee, that they may bring consolation to the Church by a most abundant penance, make reparation for their misdeeds, and secure for themselves a glorious eternity; who livest and reignest world without end. Amen.

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Words of Inspiration: Extreme Unction

St Alphonsus speaks of a sick man who delayed to receive Extreme Unction until it was almost too late, for he died shortly afterwards (Praxis Confess., n. 274). Now, God made known by way of revelation, says the holy doctor, that if he had received the Sacrament earlier, he would have been restored to health. However, the most precious effect of the last Sacraments is that which they produce upon the soul; they purify it from the remains of sin, and take away, or at least diminish, its debt of temporal punishment; they strengthen it to bear suffering in a holy manner; they fill it with confidencein God, and assist it to accept death from His Hands in union with that of Jesus Christ (Purgatory Explained by the Lives and Legends of the Saints, Schouppe 1926, TAN p 390)

For more information see this article: What is Extreme Unction

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World Youth Day 2007

MESSAGE OF THE HOLY FATHER
BENEDICT XVI
TO THE YOUTH OF THE WORLD
ON THE OCCASION
OF THE 22nd WORLD YOUTH DAY, 2007
“Just as I have loved you, you also
should love one another” (Jn 13:34).
(This is not a World Youth Day like the one in Cologne in 2005. This year it is celebrated on the diocesan level. Bold parts below were emphasized by me.)
My dear young friends,

On the occasion of the 22nd World Youth Day that will be celebrated in the dioceses on Palm Sunday, I would like to propose for your meditation the words of Jesus: “Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another” (John 13:34).

Is it possible to love?

Everybody feels the longing to love and to be loved. Yet, how difficult it is to love, and how many mistakes and failures have to be reckoned with in love! There are those who even come to doubt that love is possible. But if emotional delusions or lack of affection can cause us to think that love is Utopian, an impossible dream, should we then become resigned? No! Love is possible, and the purpose of my message is to help reawaken in each one of you - you who are the future and hope of humanity-, trust in a love that is true, faithful and strong; a love that generates peace and joy; a love that binds people together and allows them to feel free in respect for one another. Let us now go on a journey together in three stages, as we embark on a “discovery” of love.

God, the source of love

The first stage concerns the source of true love. There is only one source, and that is God. Saint John makes this clear when he declares that “God is love” (1 John 4: 8,16). He was not simply saying that God loves us, but that the very being of God is love. Here we find ourselves before the most dazzling revelation of the source of love, the mystery of the Trinity: in God, one and triune, there is an everlasting exchange of love between the persons of the Father and the Son, and this love is not an energy or a sentiment, but it is a person; it is the Holy Spirit.

The Cross of Christ fully reveals the love of God

How is God-Love revealed to us? We have now reached the second stage of our journey. Even though the signs of divine love are already clearly present in creation, the full revelation of the intimate mystery of God came to us through the Incarnation when God himself became man. In Christ, true God and true Man, we have come to know love in all its magnitude. In fact, as I wrote in the Encyclical Deus Caritas Est, “the real novelty of the New Testament lies not so much in new ideas as in the figure of Christ himself, who gives flesh and blood to those concepts Can unprecedented realism” (n. 12). The manifestation of divine love is total and perfect in the Cross where, we are told by Saint Paul, “God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us” (Rm 5:8). Therefore, each one of us can truly say: “Christ loved me and gave himself up for me” (cf Eph 5:2). Redeemed by his blood, no human life is useless or of little value, because each of us is loved personally by Him with a passionate and faithful love, a love without limits. The Cross, - for the world a folly, for many believers a scandal-, is in fact the “wisdom of God” for those who allow themselves to be touched right to the innermost depths of their being, “for God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength” (1 Cor 1:25). Moreover, the Crucifix, which after the Resurrection would carry forever the marks of his passion, exposes the “distortions” and lies about God that underlie violence, vengeance and exclusion. Christ is the Lamb of God who takes upon himself the sins of the world and eradicates hatred from the heart of humankind. This is the true “revolution” that He brings about: love.

Loving our neighbour as Christ loves us

Now we have arrived at the third stage of our reflection. Christ cried out from the Cross: “I am thirsty” (Jn 19:28). This shows us his burning thirst to love and to be loved by each one of us. It is only by coming to perceive the depth and intensity of such a mystery that we can realise the need and urgency to love him as He has loved us. This also entails the commitment to even give our lives, if necessary, for our brothers and sisters sustained by love for Him. God had already said in the Old Testament: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Lev 19:18), but the innovation introduced by Christ is the fact that to love as he loves us means loving everyone without distinction, even our enemies, “to the end” (cf Jn 13:1).

Witnesses to the love of Christ

I would like to linger for a moment on three areas of daily life where you, my dear young friends, are particularly called to demonstrate the love of God. The first area is the Church, our spiritual family, made up of all the disciples of Christ. Mindful of his words: “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35), you should stimulate, with your enthusiasm and charity, the activities of the parishes, the communities, the ecclesial movements and the youth groups to which you belong. Be attentive in your concern for the welfare of others, faithful to the commitments you have made. Do not hesitate to joyfully abstain from some of your entertainments; cheerfully accept the necessary sacrifices; testify to your faithful love for Jesus by proclaiming his Gospel, especially among young people of your age.

Preparing for the future

The second area, where you are called to express your love and grow in it, is your preparation for the future that awaits you. If you are engaged to be married, God has a project of love for your future as a couple and as a family. Therefore, it is essential that you discover it with the help of the Church, free from the common prejudice that says that Christianity with its commandments and prohibitions places obstacles to the joy of love and impedes you from fully enjoying the happiness that a man and woman seek in their reciprocal love. The love of a man and woman is at the origin of the human family and the couple formed by a man and a woman has its foundation in God’s original plan (cf Gen 2:18-25). Learning to love each other as a couple is a wonderful journey, yet it requires a demanding “apprenticeship”. The period of engagement, very necessary in order to form a couple, is a time of expectation and preparation that needs to be lived in purity of gesture and words. It allows you to mature in love, in concern and in attention for each other; it helps you to practise self-control and to develop your respect for each other. These are the characteristics of true love that does not place emphasis on seeking its own satisfaction or its own welfare. In your prayer together, ask the Lord to watch over and increase your love and to purify it of all selfishness. Do not hesitate to respond generously to the Lord’s call, for Christian matrimony is truly and wholly a vocation in the Church. Likewise, dear young men and women, be ready to say “yes” if God should call you to follow the path of ministerial priesthood or the consecrated life. Your example will be one of encouragement for many of your peers who are seeking true happiness.

Growing in love each day

The third area of commitment that comes with love is that of daily life with its multiple relationships. I am particularly referring to family, studies, work and free time. Dear young friends, cultivate your talents, not only to obtain a social position, but also to help others to “grow”. Develop your capacities, not only in order to become more “competitive” and “productive”, but to be “witnesses of charity”. In addition to your professional training, also make an effort to acquire religious knowledge that will help you to carry out your mission in a responsible way. In particular, I invite you to carefully study the social doctrine of the Church so that its principles may inspire and guide your action in the world. May the Holy Spirit make you creative in charity, persevering in your commitments, and brave in your initiatives, so that you will be able to offer your contribution to the building up of the “civilization of love”. The horizon of love is truly boundless: it is the whole world!

“Dare to love” by following the example of the saints

My dear young friends, I want to invite you to “dare to love”. Do not desire anything less for your life than a love that is strong and beautiful and that is capable of making the whole of your existence a joyful undertaking of giving yourselves as a gift to God and your brothers and sisters, in imitation of the One who vanquished hatred and death forever through love (cf Rev 5:13). Love is the only force capable of changing the heart of the human person and of all humanity, by making fruitful the relations between men and women, between rich and poor, between cultures and civilizations. This is shown to us in the lives of the saints. They are true friends of God who channel and reflect this very first love. Try to know them better, entrust yourselves to their intercession, and strive to live as they did. I shall just mention Mother Teresa. In order to respond instantly to the cry of Jesus, “I thirst”, a cry that had touched her deeply, she began to take in the people who were dying on the streets of Calcutta in India. From that time onward, the only desire of her life was to quench the thirst of love felt by Jesus, not with words, but with concrete action by recognizing his disfigured countenance thirsting for love in the faces of the poorest of the poor. Blessed Teresa put the teachings of the Lord into practice: “Just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me” (Mt 25:40). The message of this humble witness of divine love has spread around the whole world.

The secret of love

Each one of us, my dear friends, has been given the possibility of reaching this same level of love, but only by having recourse to the indispensable support of divine Grace. Only the Lord’s help will allow us to keep away from resignation when faced with the enormity of the task to be undertaken. It instills in us the courage to accomplish that which is humanly inconceivable. Above all, the Eucharist is the great school of love. When we participate regularly and with devotion in Holy Mass, when we spend a sustained time of adoration in the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, it is easier to understand the length, breadth, height and depth of his love that goes beyond all knowledge (cf Eph 3:17-18). By sharing the Eucharistic Bread with our brothers and sisters of the Church community, we feel compelled, like Our Lady with Elizabeth, to render “in haste” the love of Christ into generous service towards our brothers and sisters.

Towards the encounter in Sydney

On this subject, the recommendation of the apostle John is illuminating: “Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. And by this we will know that we are from the truth” (1 Jn 3: 18-19). Dear young people, it is in this spirit that I invite you to experience the next World Youth Day together with your bishops in your respective dioceses. This will be an important stage on the way to the meeting in Sydney where the theme will be: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8). May Mary, the Mother of Christ and of the Church, help you to let that cry ring out everywhere, the cry that has changed the world: “God is love!” I am together with you all in prayer and extend to you my heartfelt blessing.

From the Vatican, 27 January 2007
BENEDICTUS PP. XVI

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Pray for the Repose of the Soul of Irmgard

Requiem aeternam dona ei, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat ei. Requiescat in pace. Amen.

I was not going to blog anymore tonight, but I had to post about this. The grandmother of the author of Letters from a Young Catholic has died. Please see these posts on her and pray for the repose of her soul:

• Post 1
• Post 2
• Post 3

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