BENEDICT XVI: NEWS, PAPAL TEXTS, PHOTOS AND COMMENTARY

Sunday, January 10
SOLEMNITY OF THE BAPTISM OF OUR LORD

Illustrations, from left: Medieval Russian icon; Bellini, 1426; Fra Angelico, 1441; Verrochio/Da Vinci, 1472; El Greco, 1608; Murillo, 1655.
Readings for today's Mass:
www.usccb.org/nab/readings/011010.shtml

Today's saint:

Extreme right: Icon of the three Cappadocian Fathers- Basil the Great Gregory Nazianzene and Gregory of Nyssa.
ST. GREGORY OF NISSA (Cappadocia [in present Turkey],330-395) - Bishop, Theologian, one of the Church Fathers
Gregory was the younger brother of St. Basil the Great. Their family is distinguished by having seven canonized saints - grandmother,
mother, and five of 9 siblings. Gregory was a brilliant student who got married early and was a professor of rhetoric before he was
persuaded to devote himself to the Church. He studied for the priesthood and in 372 as named Bishop of Nyssa. He was at the forefront
in the battle against the Arian heresy that denied the divinity of Jesus. He came into his own after Basil died in 379. He took part in the
Councils of Antioch and of Constantinople, where he vigorously defended the Nicene Creed. Along with St. Basil and his great friend
St. Gregory Nazianzene, he is one of the three Cappadocian Fathers known as 'the triad who glorified the Trinity". Gregory is
considered one of the great contributors to the mystical tradition and to early monasticism. Benedict XVI devoted two lessons to him
in his catechetical cycle on the Church Fathers in 2007.


OR today.

The papal story in this issue is the Holy Father's address to the officials, alumni and students of
the Pontifical North American College in Rome on the occasion of the institution's 150th anniversary.
Page 1 items: A commentary on the hidden epidemic of premature births throughout the world;
China says it will start trading in futures, a step towards full integration into the world market,
as it is poised to become the world's top economic power; US says it will try to get Israelis and
Palestinians to resume peace talks without pre-conditions; and new unemployment increase in
the USA. The inside pages contain three commentaries on the movie Avatar as a vehicle
promoting neo-pagan pantheism.


THE POPE'S DAY
Mass of the Baptism of the Lord at the Sistine Chapel, with the Holy Father
baptizing 14 babies.

Sunday Angelus.