I Believe in the Power of God's Love

The first and most fundamental definition that the Creed teaches us about God is that He is the Almighty Father. This was the theme of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI's catechesis during the 30 January 2013 general audience.

"It isn't always easy today to speak about fatherhood," the Pope began, "...and, not having adequate role models, it even becomes problematic to imagine God as a father. For those who have had the experience of an overly authoritarian and inflexible father, or an indifferent, uncaring, or even absent one, it is not easy to calmly think of God as Father or to confidently surrender themselves to Him. But Biblical revelation helps us to overcome these difficulties by telling us about a God who shows us what it truly means to be a 'father'. Above all it is the Gospel that reveals to us this face of God as Father, who loves us even to the point of giving us the gift of His Son for the salvation of humanity."

In the light of the Scriptures and the writings of the evangelists, the Holy Father explained that God is our Father because "He has blessed us and chosen us before the foundation of the world. He has truly made us His children in Jesus. And, as Father, God accompanies our existence with love, giving us His Word, His teaching, His grace, His Spirit. ...If He is so good as to 'make His sun rise on the bad and the good and … rain to fall on the just and the unjust', then we can always, without fear and in complete faith, entrust ourselves to His forgiveness as Father when we choose the wrong path."

…Psalm 136 repeats "for his mercy endures forever", and the pontiff emphasized, "The love of God the Father never fails, never tires of us. … Faith gives us this certainty that becomes the sure rock upon which to build our lives. We can face every difficulty and every danger, the experience of the darkness of times of crisis and pain, sustained by the confidence that God does not abandon us and is always near to save us and bring us to everlasting life."

The kind face of the Father who is in heaven is fully shown in the Lord Jesus. "Knowing Him we know the Father and seeing Him we can see the Father. … Faith in God the Father requires that we believe in the Son, through the action of the Spirit, recognizing the Cross that saves as the definitive revelation of divine love. God is our Father, forgiving our sins and bringing us to the joy of the risen life."

For more information, please visit:

http://www.news.va/en/news/saying-i-believe-in-god-the-father-almighty-is-say

http://www.news.va/en/news/audience-what-it-means-to-call-god-father

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Praise the LORD, who is so good; God's love endures forever;
Praise the God of gods; God's love endures forever;
Praise the Lord of lords; God's love endures forever…

Praise the God of heaven, God's love endures forever.

Psalm 136

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Seize the Day that God Calls on You

"Each moment can be the auspicious 'today' of our conversion. Each day can be the salvific 'today' because salvation is a continuous story for the Church and for each of Christ's disciples. This is the Christian meaning of 'carpe diem'; seize the day that God calls on you to offer you salvation." These were the words that His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI addressed to the faithful gathered on 27 January 2013 in Saint Peter's Square to pray the Angelus.

Our Holy Father commented on the Gospel where St. Luke speaks of Jesus' presence in the synagogue of Nazareth on a Saturday. "As an observer believer, the Lord does not avoid the weekly liturgy rhythm and joins in with the assembly of his fellow countryman to pray and listen to the Scriptures. The rite called for a reading from the Torah or from the Prophets, followed by a commentary. That day, Jesus rose to read and found the passage from the prophet Isaiah that begins: 'The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; He has sent me to bring Good News to the afflicted.'" On finishing the reading, "in an attentive silence, Jesus says: 'Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.' "

"This Gospel passage also challenges us 'today'. Firstly, it makes us think of our way of living Sunday; it is a day of family and of rest but even more, it is the day that we dedicate to the Lord, participating in the Eucharist in which we are nourished with the Body and Blood of Christ and with His life-giving Word. Secondly, in our times of dispersion and distraction, this Gospel passage invites us to ask ourselves about our ability to listen. Before we can speak of God and with God, we have to listen to Him, and the Church's liturgy is the 'school' of this listening to the Lord who speaks to us."

For more information, please visit:

http://www.news.va/en/news/angelus-living-sunday-as-the-lords-day

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On Sunday, January 27, three thousand cities around the world prayed for peace in the Holy Land in the context of the Fifth International Day of Intercession. For years, "the people of Peace" make theirs the invitation of the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI, who continues to encourage the efforts of those who are working for peace. The Pope encourages "to take bold decisions in favor of peace and put an end to a conflict with negative repercussions throughout the Middle Eastern region, troubled by too many fights and in need of peace and reconciliation." The International Day of Intercession for Peace in Holy Land "has become over the years a sign and inspiration for those who really want to grow this strong desire that in Jesus’ land peace and justice reign, which may be a sign of unity and growth throughout the world."

For more information, please visit:

http://www.news.va/en/news/asiaholy-land-on-sunday-the-prayer-for-peace-in-ho

http://www.news.va/en/news/latin-patriarch-of-jerusalem-grateful-for-prayer-d

http://en.lpj.org/2013/01/18/3000-cities-in-prayer-for-peace-in-holy-land/

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I rejoiced when they said to me, "Let us go to the house of the LORD."

And now our feet are standing within your gates, Jerusalem.
Jerusalem, built as a city, walled round about.
Here the tribes have come, the tribes of the LORD,
As it was decreed for Israel, to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
Here are the thrones of justice, the thrones of the house of David.

 

For the peace of Jerusalem pray: "May those who love you prosper!

May peace be within your ramparts, prosperity within your towers."
For family and friends I say, "May peace be yours."
For the house of the LORD, our God, I pray, "May blessings be yours."

PSALM 122

 

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Rainbow over Jerusalem, October 2010

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Year of Faith Pilgrimage to the Holy Land

 

Join Fr. Joseph Gotwalt as we follow in the footsteps of Jesus from March 9 – 19, 2013.  The scriptures will come alive on this journey to the roots of our faith. Tour includes:  Daily Mass at holy sites, licensed Christian guide, accommodation in First Class hotels (five nights in Jerusalem, three nights in Tiberias, on the shore of the Sea of Galilee), breakfast and dinner daily, land transportation by deluxe motorcoach, roundtrip motorcoach transportation from Hanover, PA to Newark, roundtrip airfare from Newark on nonstop flights with United Airlines, and more, for $3,150 per person/double occupancy.  Airfares from other departure cities are available upon request.

 

For complete details on this pilgrimage, please contact:  George’s International Tours, (800) 566-7499, sales@georgesintl.com , or Karen Hurley, k.m.hurley1@gmail.com.

 

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I Believe in One God

"I believe in one God", the first article of the profession of faith that accompanies our lives as believers, was the theme of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI's catechesis during the 23 January 2013 general audience. This sentence is "a fundamental affirmation, seemingly simple in essence, but which opens us to the infinite world of a relationship with the Lord and with His mystery. Believing in God means adherence, … acceptance, … and obedience … Faith is a personal act and a free response... Being able to say that you believe in God is thus both a gift and … a human responsibility in an experience of dialogue with God who, out of love 'speaks to men and women as friends'."

Where can we hear the voice of God who speaks to us? "Fundamentally," the Pope said, in "Sacred Scripture, … which speaks to us of faith … narrating a story in which God carries out His plan of redemption and draws near to humanity through … persons who believe in Him and who entrust themselves to Him."

"And yet," the Holy Father emphasized, "the thirst for God is not quenched and the Gospel message continues to resonate through the words and deeds of many men and women of faith…. It is the blessed world of faith to which we are all called, to walk without fear following the Lord Jesus Christ."

For more information, please visit:

http://www.news.va/en/news/believing-in-god-following-in-the-footsteps-of-abr

http://www.news.va/en/news/christians-against-the-tide

                                           

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Always give good heed to the Word of God, whether you hear or read it in private, or hearken to it when publicly preached:  listen with attention and reverence; seek to profit by it, and do not let the precious words fall unheeded; receive them into your heart as a costly balsam; imitate the Blessed Virgin who “kept all the sayings” concerning her Son “in her heart.”  And remember that according as we hearken to and receive God’s words, so will He hearken and receive our supplications.

An Introduction to the Devout Life

Saint Francis de Sales

 

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Pontifical Council for the Laity – Women’s Section

The January – February 2013 website update is available for you to read at:  http://www.laici.va/content/laici/en/sezioni/donna.html.  See the featured article, Martha, Mary and “the martyrdom of equilibrium” by Costanza Miriano.

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The Desire to Truly Know God

Salvation history, that is, the account of God's saving interaction with humanity, was the theme of our Holy Father's catechesis during the 16 January 2013  general audience.

Pope Benedict XVI recalled the importance of the search for the face of God throughout the Old Testament, that is, for "a 'You' who can enter into relationship, who is not locked away in His heaven, looking down on humanity from on high. Certainly, God is above all things, but He turns toward us and listens to us: He sees us, speaks, extends covenants, and is capable of loving. Salvation history is the story of God with humanity. It is the story of this relationship of God who progressively reveals Himself to mankind."

"Something completely new occurs, however, with the Incarnation. The search for the face of God is unimaginably changed because this face can now be seen. It is that of Jesus, of the Son of God who is made man.… In Him we see and encounter the Father. In Him we can call God by the name of 'Abba, Father'. In Him we are given salvation."

"The desire to truly know God, that is, to see the face of God, is inherent to every human being, including atheists. Perhaps we also, unconsciously, have this desire to simply see who He is. … But this desire is fulfilled in following Christ thus … we finally see God as a friend. What is important is that we follow Christ not only when we need Him or when we find a minute of time among our thousands of daily tasks. … Our entire existence must be directed toward meeting Jesus Christ, toward love for Him…."

For more information, please visit:

http://www.news.va/en/news/seeking-the-face-of-god

http://www.news.va/en/news/audience-the-face-of-god-revealed-in-christ

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Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

After his Wednesday catechesis, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI noted that Friday 18 January, will begin the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. This year its theme is "What does God require of us?", inspired by a passage from the prophet Micah. The Pope invited all "to pray, asking insistently of God, for the great gift of unity between all of the Lord's disciples. May the Holy Spirit's limitless strength arouse us to the sincere commitment to seek unity, so that we might all profess together that Jesus is the saviour of the world."

For more information, please visit:

http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/weeks-prayer-doc/rc_pc_chrstuni_doc_20120611_week-prayer-2013_en.html

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With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt-offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with tens of thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?’ He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

(Micah 6: 6-8)

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Guided by the Star

You revealed your Son to the nations

by the guidance of a star.

Lead us to your glory in heaven

by the light of faith.

From The Liturgy of the Hours, Epiphany

 

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Dear Brothers and Sisters,

For the Church which believes and prays, the Wise Men from the East who, guided by the star, made their way to the manger of Bethlehem, are only the beginning of a great procession which winds throughout history…. Like the shepherds, who as the first visitors to the newborn Child in the manger, embodied the poor of Israel and more generally those humble souls who live in deep interior closeness to Jesus, so the men from the East embody the world of the peoples, the Church of the Gentiles – the men and women who in every age set out on the way which leads to the Child of Bethlehem, to offer him homage as the Son of God and to bow down before him. The Church calls this feast “Epiphany” – the appearance of the Godhead. If we consider the fact that from the very beginning men and women of every place, of every continent, of all the different cultures, mentalities and lifestyles, have been on the way to Christ, then we can truly say that this pilgrimage and this encounter with God in the form of a Child is an epiphany of God’s goodness and loving kindness for humanity (cf. Tit 3:4)….

 

His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI

Homily, Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord
6 January 2013

For the complete text, please visit:
http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-benedict-homily-for-epiphany
 

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Guided by the star we bring our treasures, our God-given gifts, to offer to our Saviour.  Each of us is on a pilgrimage to encounter Christ.  Each of us has something special to present to our loving God.  This witness of our faith is meant to lead others to experience God’s infinite love.

 

What gift do you bring to the Child of Bethlehem?

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