For a Discerning Heart and Mind

Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty,
my memory, my understanding,
and my entire will,
All I have and call my own.
You have given all to me.
To you, Lord, I return it.
Everything is yours; do with it what you will.
Give me only your love and your grace,
that is enough for me.

                  Suscipe, Saint Igatius of Loyola

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Ignatian Spirituality

In celebration of the feast of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, 31 July, learn more about how the spirituality of this great saint can benefit your daily life. 

For more information, please visit: 

http://www.ignatianspirituality.com/

For a Guide to the Examen, please visit:

http://www.diocese.cc/upload/images/originals/Examens070510A.pdf

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Pope Benedict XVI’s Prayer Intentions for August

 

His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI's general prayer intention is:

"That prisoners may be treated with justice and respect for their human dignity".

His mission intention is:

"That young people, called to follow Christ, may be willing to proclaim and bear witness to the Gospel to the ends of the earth".

For more information, please visit:

http://www.news.va/en/news/benedict-xvis-prayer-intentions-for-august-2
http://www.news.va/en/news/praying-for-prisoners

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 International Religious Freedom Report

Religious freedom in the world has taken a step backward. This is the conclusion of the annual International Religious Freedom Report for 2011, released yesterday by the United States State Department. US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton said absence of religious freedom can create a climate of fear and suspicion that weakens social cohesion and alienates citizens from their leaders.

“It’s particularly urgent that we highlight religious freedom, because when we consider the global picture and ask whether religious freedom is expanding or shrinking, the answer is sobering. More than a billion people live under governments that systematically suppress religious freedom,” Clinton said.

“New technologies have given repressive governments additional tools for cracking down on religious expression. Members of faith communities that have long been under pressure report that the pressure is rising. Even some countries that are making progress on expanding political freedom are frozen in place when it comes to religious freedom. So when it comes to this human right, this key feature of stable, secure, peaceful societies, the world is sliding backwards.”

For more information, please visit:

http://www.news.va/en/news/religious-liberty-is-sliding-backwards
http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2011/
http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2012/07/195782.htm

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Offering Our Loaves and Fish

God Multiplies Our Loving Deeds

The miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes and its association with the Eucharist, and the importance of sharing our possessions, were the central themes of the His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI's remarks before praying the Angelus on 29 July 2012 with faithful gathered in the inner courtyard of the Apostolic Palace at Castelgandolfo.

In the narrative of feeding the five thousand as recounted in the day's Gospel, "the emphasis on the topic of 'bread' which is shared, and on giving thanks, are references to the Eucharist", the Holy Father explained. The narrative also mentions a boy who, seeing the difficulty in feeding so many people, shared the little he had: five loaves and two fish. Thus "the miracle did not come from nowhere, it came from an ordinary boy's desire to share what he had. Jesus does not ask us what we do not possess, but shows us that if each of us offers the little we have, a miracle can always happen. God is able to multiply every one of our small deeds of love and make us share in His gift".

In this episode "the crowds were struck by wonder. They saw Jesus as a new Moses, worthy of power, and the new manna as a guarantee for the future. But they stopped at the material aspect, at what they ate, while the Lord, realising 'they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, withdrew again to the mountain by himself'. Jesus is not an earthly king who rules, but a king who serves, who bends to man's level to meet not only his material hunger, but his deeper hunger, his hunger for guidance, meaning and truth, his hunger for God".

 "Let us ask the Lord to help us rediscover the importance of nourishing ourselves not only with bread, but with truth, love, Christ, the body of Christ.... "

For more information, please visit:

http://www.news.va/en/news/god-is-capable-of-multiplying-our-gestures-of-love

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Trust in Jesus Christ! Trust in him, like the boy mentioned in the Gospel story of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes (cf. John 6:1-13). The Evangelist John tells us that a great crowd was following Jesus. Seeing all those people, he asks the Apostle Philip: "How are we to buy bread so that these people may eat?" This was a challenging question: in those circumstances it was hard to find food to satisfy such an enormous number of people. The disciples rightly replied: "Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little". In fact, Jesus wanted to put their faith to the test. He was not relying on an adequate supply of material goods but on their generosity in offering the little they had.

Generosity: this sentiment welled up in the heart of a boy who came forward and offered five barley loaves and two fish. Too little, the disciples thought: "What are they among so many?"  Jesus appreciated the gesture made by this boy…and, taking the loaves, he gave thanks and distributed them to the people, as he did with the fish. What human reason did not dare to hope became a reality with Jesus thanks to a young boy’s generous heart.

…You must become conscious of what you possess, of your five loaves, your two fish, that is, of the resources of enthusiasm, courage and love that God has instilled in your hearts and in your hands, precious talents to be invested for others.

Rediscover the value of your person, where God’s Spirit dwells as in a temple: learn to listen to the voice of the One who came to dwell in you through the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation, to the voice of the "Paraclete" — as Jesus calls him (John 14:16, 26) — of him who teaches and supports, defends and comforts, the soul's sweet Guest….

Turn your gaze to Mary, Mother of the Church and Star of Evangelization. Her whole life tells you that nothing is impossible to God. By imitating her and constantly invoking her, you will be able, like her, to bring joy and love….

His Holiness Pope John Paul II

Letter to Young People
8 September 1997

For the complete text, please visit:

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/letters/1997/documents/hf_jp-ii_let_19970908_missione-cittadina_en.html

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The new evangelization does not consist in proclaiming a new message different from the one that has always existed, nor in merely using new strategies or boisterous methods to attract people…. The new evangelization must be geared to ensuring that the men and women of this secularized society return to living their happiness in the presence and closeness of God's love in their lives. It is a matter of returning to the freshness of the Gospel, of letting themselves be filled with surprise and wonder by the word of Jesus himself, as happened when he began his public life and the people who heard him asked themselves “What is this? A new teaching!”, and were surprised at Jesus' actions (cf. Mark 1:267).

Jesus' words were not only new but were also effective. The newness was not only in his manner of speaking or acting, but in his very Person; the Word of God made flesh, God bursting into our lives. He is therefore always new for all humanity and, through the grace of the Holy Spirit, his words are ever timely.

So it is that we must seek the newness first of all in the Gospel proclaimed: it is the “Good News”, the joyous announcement of the “coming of the kingdom of God promised over the ages in the Scriptures.” (Lumen Gentium, 5)….

His Excellency José Octavio Ruiz Arenas

Secretary, Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization

For the complete text, please visit:

http://www.news.va/en/news/the-return-to-first-love

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Are we always conscious of and generous with the gifts which God has bestowed upon us? 

Sometimes it is beyond our imagination how the Lord can transform our gifts—especially those gifts which we or others might deem to be “simple” or even “inadequate”.  Each of us has been given unique talents, skills, abilities, knowledge, and experiences.  The Bread of Life nourishes and strengthens us so that we may share our God-given gifts in a spirit of faith, hope and love.

What are we willing and able to give to Jesus, in thanks and praise, for God’s glory and the good of the Church and the world?

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Saint Bridget of Sweden

I would like to present Saint Bridget, her message and the reasons why — still today — this holy woman has much to teach the Church and the world.  We can distinguish two periods in this Saint's life.

The first was characterized by her happily married state. Her husband was called Ulf and he was Governor of an important district of the Kingdom of Sweden. The marriage lasted for 28 years, until Ulf's death. Eight children were born, the second of whom, Karin (Catherine), is venerated as a Saint. This is an eloquent sign of Bridget's dedication to her children's education....  Bridget, who was given spiritual guidance by a learned religious who initiated her into the study of the Scriptures, exercised a very positive influence on her family which, thanks to her presence, became a true “domestic church”….

The second period of Bridget's life began when she was widowed. She did not consider another marriage in order to deepen her union with the Lord through prayer, penance and charitable works. Therefore Christian widows too may find in this Saint a model to follow. In fact, upon the death of her husband, after distributing her possessions to the poor — although she never became a consecrated religious — Bridget settled near the Cistercian Monastery of Alvastra. Here began the divine revelations that were to accompany her for the rest of her life….

In 1349 Bridget left Sweden for good and went on pilgrimage to Rome. She was not only intending to take part in the Jubilee of the Year 1350 but also wished to obtain from the Pope approval for the Rule of a Religious Order that she was intending to found….  In Rome, in the company of her daughter Karin, Bridget dedicated herself to a life of intense apostolate and prayer. And from Rome she went on pilgrimage to various Italian Shrines, in particular to Assisi, the homeland of St Francis for whom Bridget had always had great devotion. Finally, in 1371, her deepest desire was crowned: to travel to the Holy Land, to which she went accompanied by her spiritual children, a group that Bridget called “the friends of God”. In those years the Pontiffs lived at Avignon, a long way from Rome: Bridget addressed a heartfelt plea to them to return to the See of Peter, in the Eternal City. She died in 1373, before Pope Gregory XI returned to Rome definitively….

His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI

General Audience, 27 October 2010

For the complete text, please visit:

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2010/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20101027_en.html

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Prayer to Saint Bridget

With hearts full of con­fidence, we turn to you, O Blessed Birgitta, in these times of darkness and unbelief, to invoke your powerful intercession on behalf of those who are separated from the true Church of Jesus Christ. Conscious of your deep knowledge of the cruel sufferings of our crucified Saviour, we beseech you to obtain the gift of Faith for all those who are outside the one fold, so that all the scattered sheep may return to the one true Shepherd, our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen!

St. Birgitta, fearless in the service of God, pray for us.

St. Birgitta, patient in suffer­ing and humiliation, pray for us.

St. Birgitta, marvellous in thy love towards Jesus and Mary, pray for us.

Pater, Ave, Gloria.
 

For more information, please visit:

http://www.brigidine.org/en-EN/Default.aspx

http://www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/B/stbridgetofsweden.asp

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Several years ago I had the privilege to accompany some dear friends on a “mini-pilgrimage” to the Casa di Santa Brigida, General House of the Sisters of Saint Bridget, located in Piazza Farnese in Rome.  Despite our arriving after normal visiting hours, the sisters graciously welcomed a few members of the Board of the World Union of Catholic Women’s Organisations (WUCWO) to visit their chapel as well as the three rooms where Saint Bridget lived and died.  You immediately feel that you are entering an oasis of peace and prayer as you step through the door of the convent from the bustling city square.  Consider the House of Saint Bridget as a holy place to pray and/or stay while in Rome.

For more information, please visit:

http://www.brigidine.org/en-EN/default.aspx?idt=139              

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For the latest updates to the website of the Pontifical Council for the Laity Women’s Section please be sure to visit http://www.laici.va/content/laici/en/sezioni/donna.html.

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Blessed are the Peacemakers

"Blessed are the peacemakers" is the theme chosen by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI for the forty-sixth World Day of Peace, which will fall on 1 January 2013, according to a communique released today by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. "The annual Message of the Pope, in the complexity of the present time, will encourage everyone to take responsibility with regard to peace-building…."

"The Message will embrace, therefore, the fullness and diversity of the concept of peace, starting from the human being: inner peace and outer peace; then, highlighting the anthropological emergency, the nature and incidence of nihilism; and, at the same time, fundamental rights, in the first place freedom of conscience, freedom of expression, freedom of religion. The Message will offer, as well, an ethical reflection on some measures the world is going to take to contain the financial and economic crisis, the educational crisis, the crisis of the institutions and politics, which is also - in many cases - a worrying crisis of democracy."

"The Message will also look at the fiftieth Anniversary of Vatican Council II and of the Encyclical Letter by Pope John XXIII, 'Pacem in Terris', according to which the primacy is always for human dignity and freedom, for the building of an earthly city to the service of every person, without any discrimination, and directed to the common good which is based on justice and true peace."

For more information, please visit:

http://www.news.va/en/news/blessed-are-the-peacemakers

http://www.justpax.it/pls/pcgp/ext_pcgp_new.h_select_attivita?dicastero=2&tema=60&argomento=0&sottoargomento=0&lingua=2&Classe=1&operazione=ges_doc&rif=256&rif1=256lunedi&inevi=2

The Lord Calls Us

…The Lord calls us all, distributing different gifts for different tasks in the Church. He calls us to the priesthood and consecrated life, and He calls us to marriage and commitment as lay people within the Church and in society. What is important is that the wealth of these gifts is fully welcomed, especially by young people: that they may feel the joy of responding to God with their whole heart, gifting it on the path of priesthood and consecrated life or on the path of marriage, two complementary paths that illuminate each other, enrich each other and together enrich the community. Virginity for the Kingdom of God and marriage are both vocations, calls by God to be answered with and for our entire life. God calls: we need to listen, welcome, respond. Like Mary: Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; be it to me according to your word (Luke 1.38).

…The Lord bountifully sows His gifts, He calls you to follow Him and to extend His mission today…. There is need for a new evangelization, which is why I propose you intensely live the Year of Faith, which will begin in October, 50 years from the opening of the Second Vatican Council. The Council documents contain an enormous wealth for the formation of new generations of Christians, for the formation of our consciousness. So read them, read the Catechism of the Catholic Church and rediscover the beauty of being Christians, of being Church to enjoy the great "we" that Jesus has formed around Him, to evangelize the world: the "we" of the Church, never closed, but always open and projected towards the proclamation of the Gospel.

 

His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI

Homily, 15 July 2012
 

For more information, please visit:

http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-in-frascati-god-calls-we-need-to-listen
 

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…In Jesus, God has spoken and given everything, but because He is an inexhaustible treasure, the Holy Spirit never ceases to reveal and actualize His mystery. Therefore, the work of Christ and the Church never regresses, but always progresses.

Dear friends, let us invoke Mary Most Holy, whom tomorrow we celebrate as the Virgin of Mount Carmel, to help us…to respond generously to God's call to proclaim His Gospel of salvation with our words and above all with our lives.

…In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus gives the twelve authority to preach and cast out demons. Relying on His power alone, their efforts bear fruit. Let us continue to strive to keep our lives rooted in Christ so that we too may be effective instruments of the Gospel….

 

His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI

Angelus, 15 July 2012
 

For more information, please visit:

http://www.news.va/en/news/angelus-the-church-of-christ-a-work-in-progress
 

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Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Haifa, Israel

 

O, most beautiful flower of Mount Carmel,

fruitful vine, splendor of heaven,
Blessed Mother of the Son of God,
Immaculate Virgin, assist me in my necessity;
O, Star of the Sea, help me and
show me herein, you are my Mother.

O Holy Mary, Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and Earth,

I humbly beseech you from the bottom of my heart
to succor me in this necessity;
There are none that can withstand your power;
Show me herein that you are my Mother.

Our Lady, Queen and Beauty of Carmel,

pray for me and obtain my requests;

Sweet Mother, I place this cause in your hands.
 

Amen.

  

For more information about Our Lady of Mount Carmel, please visit:

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/angelus/2000/documents/hf_jp-ii_ang_20000716_en.html

 

http://www.ewtn.com/library/Prayer/zbrwnscap.HTM

 

http://theapostoliclady.blogspot.com/2011_07_01_archive.html

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Put Christ Before Everything

Whenever you begin any good work you should first of all make a most pressing appeal to Christ our Lord to bring it to perfection….

Our eyes should be open to the God-given light, and we should listen in wonderment to the message of the divine voice as it daily cries out:  Today if you shall hear his voice, harden not your hearts….

And so, girded with faith and the performance of good works, let us follow in his paths by the guidance of the Gospel; then we shall deserve to see him who has called us into his kingdom.  If we wish to attain a dwelling-place in his kingdom we shall not reach it unless we hasten there by our good deeds.

From the Rule of Benedict, abbot

Office of Readings, 11 July

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To live no longer for ourselves but for Christ: this is what gives full meaning to the life of those who let themselves be conquered by him. This is clearly demonstrated by the human and spiritual life of St Benedict who, having abandoned all things, set out to follow Jesus Christ faithfully.

…Benedict was a shining example of holiness and pointed Christ out to the monks as the one great ideal; he was a teacher of civilization who, in suggesting a balanced and adequate vision of the divine requirements and ultimate destiny of the human being, always also kept clearly in mind the needs and reasons of the heart, to teach and inspire authentic and constant brotherhood so that in the complex social relations people would not lose sight of a spiritual unity that would always be capable of building and fostering peace.

His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI

Homily
Benedictine Archabbey of Monte Cassino, 24 May 2009
 

For the complete text, please visit:

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/homilies/2009/documents/hf_ben-xvi_hom_20090524_vespri-montecassino_en.html

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For the text of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI’s General Audience of 9 April 2008 on his patron, Saint Benedict of Norcia, please visit:

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2008/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20080409_en.html

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Recognizing Signs of God's Love

At midday on 8 July 2012, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI prayed the Angelus with faithful gathered in the inner courtyard of the Apostolic Palace at Castelgandolfo. He commented on the reading from St. Mark's Gospel (Mark 6: 1-6a) concerning the refusal of the people of Nazareth to recognise the divinity of Jesus, and the scandal provoked by the fact that "the carpenter, the son of Mary" who had lived among them, should preach like a prophet.

In this context, the Holy Father mentioned the phrase "Nemo propheta in patria", meaning no one is a prophet in his own land. This, he said, "is understandable because their human familiarity made it hard for them to go further and open themselves to the divine dimension. It was difficult for them to believe that this son of a carpenter was the Son of God", while Jesus Himself drew on the example of the prophets of Israel who were likewise disdained. Because of this spiritual closure in Nazareth, "Jesus 'could do no deeds of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them'. Indeed, the miracles of Christ were not a show of power, but signs of God's love, which is realised wherever it finds reciprocity in the faith of man".

 

"The astonishment and scandal of His fellow citizens was met with amazement on the part of Jesus. In a certain sense, He too was scandalised. Although He knew that no prophet is accepted in his own land, yet His own people's closure of heart was something obscure and impenetrable to Him. How was it possible that they did not recognise the light of Truth? Why did they not open to the goodness of God Who chose to share our humanity?. The man Jesus of Nazareth is the transparency of God, God dwells in Him fully and, while we always seek other signs, other prodigies, we do not realise that the true sign is Him, God made flesh. He is the greatest miracle of the universe: all the love of God contained in a human heart and a human face".

For more information, please visit:

http://www.news.va/en/news/miracles-are-not-a-show-of-power-but-signs-of-gods

http://www.vaticanstate.va/EN/Monuments/Castel_Gandolfo.htm

http://www.vaticanstate.va/EN/Monuments/webcam/index?cam=webcam6&testo=Castel%20Gandolfo
 

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Do we recognize “the light of Truth”?

Are we always open to the power and “the goodness of God”?

Let us give thanks and praise for “the greatest miracle of the universe:  all the love of God contained in a human heart and a human face”.

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