St Paul-y Pope

Three cheers and a raised stein for our German pope with the biblical,ecumenical, and Benedictine outlook!

From Zenit....

Benedict XVI has declared June 2008-June 2009 the year of St. Paul in celebration of the 2,000th anniversary of the saint's birth. The Pope decreed the year in a vespers celebration held today at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls.

The Holy Father explained during his homily: "This 'Pauline Year' will take place in a special way in Rome, where for 2,000 years under the papal altar of this basilica, lies the tomb that according to experts and undisputed tradition has conserved the remains of the apostle Paul."

The Pontiff said: "In the papal basilica and Benedictine abbey attached to it, there can take place a series of liturgical, cultural and ecumenical events, as well as various pastoral and social initiatives, all of them inspired by Pauline spirituality."Special attention can also be given to pilgrims who from various places will want to go to the tomb of the Apostle in a penitential way in order to find spiritual benefits." Mtings for study will be promoted and there will be special publications on Pauline texts, to promote the immense richness of the teaching contained in them, true patrimony of humanity redeemed by Christ."

Also, in every part of the world, similar initiatives will be organized in dioceses, sanctuaries and places of prayer by religious institutions, institutions of study and assistance, which carry the name of St. Paul or which have been inspired by him and his teaching."

Benedict XVI explained that this year must have an important "ecumenical dimension." "The Apostle of the Gentiles, who dedicated himself to the spreading of the good news to all peoples, spent himself for the unity and harmony of all Christians," the Pope said."May he guide us and protect us in this bimillenary celebration," he added, "helping us to advance in the humble and sincere search for the full unity of all the members of the mystical body of Christ."

Love is an end

The work of a mother is hidden for the most part, and even its rewards are intangible. This is exactly why Edith Stein looked to women to preserve within human society those spiritual values that cannot be measured.

It is not that the public achievements of women are unimportant of course, but that women must not lose sight of those ends for which all other things are only the means. In one of her letters, Stein wrote: “On the question of relating to our fellowman - our neighbor’s spiritual need transcends every commandment. Everything else we do is a means to an end. But love is an end already, since God is love.”

In an address just before Hitler’s rise to power, Blessed Edith Stein urged a group of Catholic women to fight for these very truths: “Perhaps the moment has almost come for the Catholic woman to stand with Mary and with the Church under the cross.” It would be a shame to let her answer the call alone.

Blessed Edith Stein (Sister Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, d. 1942) Adapted from http://www.catholiceducation.org/

Back.... at home!

I just got back from the quickest of weekend trips to Branson, MO to help my 82 year old dad and my step mom move into their new handicapped accessible apartment. So, I have been thinking thoughts of home on many levels.

Concurrently, I have been fasting from daily Eucharist. I managed to make it to 5 p.m. Saturday Mass in Branson by the skin of my teeth. But I missed Friday, Saturday and Monday because of the circumstances surrounding the travel and the move. More on that later, but one word for now.... starved!

I was blessed to come home and find this quote from Blessed Charles de Foucauld in my in-box, along with today's gospel.

It feels so good to be home.... home in my physical home, home spiritually in the Church, at home with the family of God in the Eucharist. All these good feelings are what enable me to comprehend what a great gift we've been given... and how we need to make a room of poverty so that these can grow.... in our lives and the lives of others who are truly poor.

Today's gospel:

Mt 8,18-22.

When Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side. A scribe approached and said to him, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus answered him, "Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head." Another of (his) disciples said to him, "Lord, let me go first and bury my father." But Jesus answered him, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their dead."

Then the commentary:

Venerable Charles de Foucauld (1858 – 1916), Hermit and Missionary in the Sahara Retreat in Nazareth

“The Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”

"So here, oh my Lord Jesus, is that divine poverty!

How necessary it is that you teach me this! You loved it so much!…

During your mortal life, you made it your faithful companion.

You left it as an inheritance to your saints, to all who want to follow you,

to all who want to be your disciples.

You taught it by the example you gave throughout your entire life.

Through your words, you glorified this poverty, you beatified it,

proclaimed it as necessary.

You chose poor workers to be your parents.

You were born in a cave that served as a stable.

You were poor in the work you did when you were a child.

The first ones to adore you were shepherds.

At your presentation in the Temple, the gift of the poor was offered.

You lived as a poor worker in Nazareth for thirty years,

where I have the good fortune to walk,

where I have the joy … of picking up manure.

Then, during your public life,

you lived from alms in the midst of poor fishermen

whom you had taken to be your companions.

“With no place to lay your head.”

On Calvary, you were stripped of your clothing,

your only possession, and the soldiers gambled among themselves.

You died naked, and you were buried by means of alms by strangers.

“How blest are the poor!” (Mt 5:3)

My Lord Jesus, how fast will the person become poor who,

loving you with all his heart, cannot bear to be richer than his Beloved!"