Practice our Catholic Faith, on our journey to Heaven

of some of the Saints. I studied St. Teresa of Avila extensively last Winter, this next season I want to dive into Mechtild of Magdeburg and/or Juan de la Cruz (aka John of the Cross…. in English.)

The study of Teresa was quite extraordinary and even though I am not Catholic (with a capital C) I feel my studies are catholic (universal) in nature… and my spiritual growth as a result has been rather phenomenal.

WENT TO MASS

I love this verse, MARK 16: 13 – 19:

When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples,

“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”

They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

Simon Peter said in reply,

“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Jesus said to him in reply,

“Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.

For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.

And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven.

Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven;
and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

President George W. Bush arrived on Friday for a special audience with Pope Benedict XVI, who is returning the hospitality he enjoyed at the White House in April.

Swiss Guards in their striped regalia stood to attention as Bush stepped out of a black limousine with his wife Laura and was warmly greeted by the head of the Roman Catholic Church outside the medieval St John’s Tower.

The US leader could be heard exclaiming “what an honour” as he clasped the pontiff’s hands in his.

US Ambassador to the Vatican Mary Ann Glendon, a Catholic, kissed the pontiff’s hand.

Bush and the pope then went into a tete-a-tete in the tower, a venue reserved for illustrious guests instead of the usual site for papal audiences, the pontiff’s private library.

The two, who also met at the Vatican last year, were later to stroll in the secluded Vatican Gardens.

Benedict’s trip to the United States coincided with his 81st birthday, which he celebrated in grand style at the White House on April 16, when he was greeted with a 21-gun salute and some 13,500 well-wishers filled the South Lawn.

Bush “is a huge fan of the pope and has full respect for him,” White House chief of protocol Nancy Goodman Brinker said.

The US leader “fully supports the (Catholic) Church and fully supports everything this pope is trying to do on behalf of peace, education and hunger in cooperation with world political leaders,” she told the ANSA news agency.

Bush, whose relations with pope John Paul II were strained because of the US-led invasion of Iraq, feels closer to Benedict, who appreciates the religious fervour of the president, a born-again Protestant.

The two see eye to eye on key social issues, as both are staunch opponents of same-sex marriage, abortion and embryonic stem-cell research, though they diverge notably on the death penalty.

Benedict has also voiced his concerns for the plight of Christians in Iraq and over harsh CIA interrogation methods.

On Friday, the two leaders will pray before a statue of the Madonna before bidding each other farewell.

The Italian press has been rife with speculation that Bush may convert to Catholicism as his brother, Florida Governor Jeb Bush, did years ago, as well as former British prime minister Tony Blair. The latter two men are both married to Catholics.

Bush had talks in Rome on Thursday with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on the third leg of his farewell tour of Europe, which has taken him to Slovenia and Germany and will end with stops in France and Britain.

Pope says trip to U.S. was opportunity to give, receive hope, faith

By Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) Pope Benedict XVI said his April 15 to 20 visit to the United Nations and the United States was an opportunity to give and to receive a witness to the power of hope and faith.

Reflecting on his trip during his April 30 weekly general audience, the pope said the hope that flows from faith in Christ can vanquish even the darkness cast by the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Christian hope, “stronger than sin and death, animated a moment filled with emotion, which I passed in silence in the abyss of ground zero, where I lighted a candle, praying for all the victims of that terrible tragedy,” the pope said.

The Pope began his general audience by publicly thanking the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and President George W. Bush for inviting him, and all those who greeted him with affection and offered prayers for the success of his visit.

Particularly when celebrating his third anniversary as pope with an April 19 Mass in St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York, he said “it was a moving moment in which I experienced in a tangible way all of the support of the church for my ministry.”

Addressing the 20,000 people who had gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the audience, the Pope said he set out on the trip “to confirm Catholics in the faith, to renew and increase brotherhood with all Christians and to proclaim to all the message of Christ our hope.”

Speaking in German without his prepared text, the pope said that everywhere he went in the United States “I was able to experience the fact that the faith is alive, that Christ is there today among the people, that he shows them the way and helps them to build the present as well as the future.”

The Pope told the German speakers that God gave him an opportunity to try to strengthen the faith of others, “but at the same time, I was strengthened and came back strengthened.”

In his main audience talk, Pope Benedict said that the United States, from its founding, was built “on the foundation of a felicitous joining of religious, ethical and political principles, which still today constitutes a valid example of healthy secularity.”

The United States, he said, is a place “where the religious dimension in all its variety is not only tolerated, but is valued as the spirit of the nation and as the fundamental guarantee of human rights and responsibilities.”

Modern life and global realities continue to challenge the country, he said, and the Catholic Church has an obligation to offer its voice in order to help citizens build a society worthy of the human person and one that uses its resources to help others.

The timing of the trip, he said, was chosen to help celebrate the bicentennials of four archdioceses in the United States: New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Louisville, Ky. They were erected from the Baltimore Diocese, the nation’s first diocese, which was elevated to an archdiocese in the same year, 1808.

“The original small flock has developed enormously, enriching itself with the faith and traditions of the successive influx of immigrants. To that church which now faces the challenges of the present, I had the joy of proclaiming again Christ, our hope, yesterday, today and forever,” he said.

Praising the zeal of the bishops and priests who have led U.S. Catholics over the years and “the fervor and generosity of its faithful,” Pope Benedict said the Gospel and Christian values particularly the value of human life and the centrality of the traditional family—must be strengthened in order to face new moral, ethical and political challenges.

As he did throughout his trip, the pope also spoke at his audience about the clergy sex abuse scandal that rocked the U.S. church.

“Thinking of the painful affair of the abuse of minors committed by ordained ministers, I wanted to express my closeness to the bishops, encouraging them in their commitment to bind up the wounds and to reinforce relations with their priests,” he said.

Pope Benedict said the “multicultural vocation” of the United States and the active presence of a wide variety of Christian communities and other religions gave him an opportunity to meet with religious leaders to promote closer cooperation among Christians and a dialogue to strengthen peace and religious values with other believers.

At the United Nations, he said, he wanted to help celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and confirm its enduring value precisely because it is based on “the dignity of the human person, created by God in his image and likeness, in order to cooperate with him in his plan for life and for peace.”

Respect for human rights and peace can flourish only where there is justice, “an ethical order valid for all times and all peoples,” which can be summarized with Jesus’ phrase, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

Editor’s Note: The Vatican text of the Pope’s remarks in English is available at:

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2008/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20080430_en.html

The four Gospels give varying names of the twelve. According to the list occurring in each of the three Synoptic Gospels (Mark 3:13-19, Matthew 10:1-4, Luke 6:12-16), the Twelve chosen by Jesus near the beginning of his ministry, those whom also He named Apostles, were, according to the Gospels of Mark and Matthew:

*Peter: Renamed by Jesus, his original name was Simon (Mark 3:16); was a fisherman from the Bethsaida “of Galilee” (John 1:44, cf. John 12:21). Also known as Simon bar Jonah, Simon bar Jochanan (Aram.), Cephas (Aram.), and Simon Peter.

James, son of Zebedee: The brother of John.

John: The brother of James. Jesus named both of them Bo-aner’ges, which means “sons of thunder”.(Mark 3:17)

Andrew: The brother of Simon/Peter, a Bethsaida fisherman, and a former disciple of John the Baptist.

Philip: From the Bethsaida of Galilee (John 1:44, John 12:21)

Bartholomew, son of Talemai: It has been suggested that he is the same person as Nathanael, who is mentioned in John 1:45-51.

Matthew: The tax collector.

Thomas: Also known as Judas Thomas Didymus – Aramaic T’oma’ = twin, and Greek Didymous = twin.
James, son of Alphaeus: Generally identified with “James the Less”, and also identified by Roman Catholics with “James the Just”.

Thaddeus: In some manuscripts of Matthew, the name “Lebbaeus” occurs in this place. Thaddeus is traditionally identified with Jude; see below.
Simon the Zealot: Some have identified him with Simeon of Jerusalem.

Judas Iscariot: The disciple who later betrayed Jesus. (Mark 3:19) The name Iscariot may refer to the Judaean towns of Kerioth or to the sicarii (Jewish nationalist insurrectionists), or to Issachar. Also referred to as “Judas, the son of Simon” (John 6:71 and John 13:26). He was replaced as an apostle shortly after Jesus’ resurrection by Matthias.

The Gospel of Luke differs slightly, listing a “Judas, son of James” and not listing a “Thaddeus.” In order to harmonize the accounts, some traditions have said that Luke’s “Judas, son of James” refers to the same person as Mark and Matthew’s “Thaddeus,” though it is not clear whether this has a good basis in the text or the use of the names historically. Luke has “Simon the Zealot” in place of “Simon the Cananean”. It is unclear whether these two Simons refer to the same person.

The Gospel of John, unlike the Synoptic Gospels, does not offer a formal list of apostles, though it does refer to the Twelve in 6:67, 6:70, and 6:71. The following ten apostles are identified by name:

Peter
Andrew (identified as Peter’s brother)
the sons of Zebedee (plural form implies at least two apostles)
Philip
Nathanael
Thomas (also called Didymus (11:16, 20:24, 21:2))
Judas Iscariot
Judas (not Iscariot) (14:22)

The individual that the Gospel of John names as Nathanael has traditionally been identified as the same person that the other Gospels call Bartholomew. The other three Gospels, however, contain a complete list of the twelve and contain no reference to a “Nathanael.”

Thus, the four Gospel accounts do not agree as to the names of the twelve. The sons of Zebedee presumably refers to James and John, while Judas (not Iscariot) probably refers to the same Jude, son of James, as the Gospel of Luke’s list, traditionally identified with Thaddeus. Missing from the Gospel of John are James, son of Alphaeus, Matthew, and Simon the Canaanite/Zealot. In any case, the author certainly does not bring up any explicit denial of those two apostles, and never actually lists the twelve.

By the second century, the presence of two individuals named Simon (Peter and Simon the Zealot) in the list of the Synoptic Gospels allowed a case to be made for Simon Magus being the other Simon, and hence one of the twelve apostles.[citation needed] The second Simon may also have been Simeon of Jerusalem, the second leader of the Jerusalem church.

The similarity between Matthew 9:9-10, Mark 2:14-15 and Luke 5:27-29 may indicate that Matthew was also known as Levi.

“Happy are you who believe!” (cf. 1 Pet 2:7). Let us turn to Jesus! He alone is the way that leads to eternal happiness, the truth who satisfies the deepest longings of every heart, and the life who brings ever new joy and hope, to us and to our world. Amen.

• * * this is from the pope’s homily at yankee stadium

Almighty Father, who pours forth blessings in
abundance upon us, we humbly pray that you
will inspire, guide and protect Pope Benedict
XVI on his pastoral visit to the United States.

Lord God, bless our Holy Father who comes as
a messenger of peace and charity to all people
of faith and good will. May his presence in the
United States serve to build up the bonds that
unite us who are each made in your image and
likeness, and may his teaching and witness
strengthen the faith of the People of God.

Father, we lovingly entrust Pope Benedict’s
visit to the care of Our Lady of Guadalupe,
Queen of the Americas. Through her prayers
may he be preserved from all harm, and may
he shine forth with the truth of the Gospel that
he proclaims, and may his presence among us
foster a renewal of the Church in our country.

We make this prayer through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

The papal message, released by the Vatican press office on April 8, came in the form of a video. The message was released one week before the Pope is scheduled to arrive in the US. The Pope spoke mostly in English, with a brief portion in Spanish.

The full text of the Pope’s message follows:

Dear Brothers and Sisters in the United States of America,

The grace and peace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you! In just a few days from now, I shall begin my apostolic visit to your beloved country. Before setting off, I would like to offer you a heartfelt greeting and an invitation to prayer. As you know, I shall only be able to visit two cities: Washington and New York. The intention behind my visit, though, is to reach out spiritually to all Catholics in the United States. At the same time, I earnestly hope that my presence among you will be seen as a fraternal gesture towards every ecclesial community, and a sign of friendship for members of other religious traditions and all men and women of good will. The risen Lord entrusted the apostles and the Church with his Gospel of love and peace, and his intention in doing so was that the message should be passed on to all peoples.

At this point I should like to add some words of thanks, because I am conscious that many people have been working hard for a long time, both in Church circles and in the public services, to prepare for my journey. I am especially grateful to all who have been praying for the success of the visit, since prayer is the most important element of all. Dear friends, I say this because I am convinced that without the power of prayer, without that intimate union with the Lord, our human endeavors would achieve very little. Indeed this is what our faith teaches us. It is God who saves us, he saves the world, and all of history. He is the shepherd of his people. I am coming, sent by Jesus Christ, to bring you his word of life.

Together with your bishops, I have chosen as the theme of my journey three simple but essential words: “Christ our hope.” Following in the footsteps of my venerable predecessors, Paul VI and John Paul II, I shall come to United States of America as Pope for the first time, to proclaim this great truth: Jesus Christ is hope for men and women of every language, race, culture, and social condition. Yes, Christ is the face of God present among us. Through him, our lives reach fullness, and together, both as individuals and peoples, we can become a family united by fraternal love, according to the eternal plan of God the Father.

I know how deeply rooted this Gospel message is in your country. I am coming to share it with you, in a series of celebrations and gatherings. I shall also bring the message of Christian hope to the great assembly of the United Nations, to the representatives of all the peoples of the world. Indeed, the world has greater need of hope than ever: hope for peace, for justice, and for freedom; but this hope can never be fulfilled without obedience to the law of God, which Christ brought to fulfillment in the commandment to love one another. Do to others as you would have them do to you, and avoid doing what you would not want them to do. This “golden rule” is given in the Bible, but it is valid for all people, including non-believers. It is the law written on the human heart; on this we can all agree, so that when we come to address other matters we can do so in a positive and constructive manner for the entire human community.

Dear brothers and sisters, dear friends in the United States, I am very much looking forward to being with you. I want you to know that, even if my itinerary is short, with just a few engagements, my heart is close to all of you, especially to the sick, the weak, and the lonely. I thank you once again for your prayerful support of my mission. I reach out to every one of you with affection, and I invoke upon you the maternal protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Renewal of Baptismal Promises

V. Do you reject Satan? R. I do.

V. And all his works? R. I do.

V. And all his empty promises? R. I do.

V. Do you believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth? R. I do.

V. Do you believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was born of the Virgin Mary was crucified, died, and was buried, rose from the dead, and is now seated at the right hand of the Father? R. I do.

Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting? R. I do.

V. God, the all-powerful Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has given us a new birth by water and the Holy Spirit, and forgiven all our sins. May he also keep us faithful to our Lord Jesus Christ for ever and ever.

R. Amen.