Two days after his 'birth-name day', it's the Holy Father's 'papal-name day' today. Even if it is not 'celebrated' every year according to the prescribed (and rotating) calendar of saints, March 21 is the feast day of St. Benedict (480-547), or as his Benedictines were the first to use the term, his birthday in heaven, the day of his death. And so...
HAPPY NAME DAY AGAIN,YOUR HOLINESS!
Wednesday, March 21, Fourth Week of Lent
BLESSED GIOVANNI DA PARMA [John of Parma] (Italy, 1209-1289)
7th Minister-General of the Franciscan Order, Papal Legate, Hermit
One of the second generation of great Franciscans who emerged after the death of St. Francis,
John was a philosophy professor before he joined the Franciscan order around 1233. He was
sent to Paris for further studies, then assigned to Bologna, Naples and Rome, where he caught
the attention of Pope Innocent IV. At the first Council of Lyons in 1245, he represented the
ailing Minister General of the Franciscans. Two years later when thiss superior died, Innocent
supported John to replace him. It was a position he would hold for 10 years, during which he
sought to bring back the order to its early days of poverty and humility under the founder.
He visited almost all the Franciscan convents in Europe on foot, and was received by Louis IX
in France and Henry II in England. Innocent then sent him to Constantinople to win back Greek
Christians who were in schism. He succeeded, but on his return, he decided to retire and urged
the order to elect Bonaventure of Bagnoregio as his successor. John went to a hermitage near
Greccio, where Francis had first instituted a living Nativity tableau. Some time during his 32-
year retirement, he underwent canonical trial under Bonaventure himself for advocating the
theology of Joachim of Fiore. It was said that he may have shared some of Joachim's apocalyptic
views but not his dogmatic errors; and that he retracted during the canonical process. In the year
he was to die, the Greeks in Constantinople threatened schism again and he volunteered, at age 80,
to mediate once again. However, he died along the way in Italy. He was beatified in 1797.
[It is puzzling to me that the Franciscan sites that turn up most frequently online do not even
include include him in their list of 'Franciscan saints and blesseds'. I found the images on an Italian
and a Spanish site.]
Readings for today's Mass:http://usccb.org/bible/readings/032112.cfm
No General Audience today, and no other events announced for the Holy Father,
who undertakes a transcontinental trip to Mexico and Cuba on Friday.
Benedict of Europe:
His Rule continues to be valid today
ROME, March 21 ((Translated from SIR) - "Messenger of peace, realizer of unity, teacher of civilization, and above all, herald of the religion of Christ and founder of Western monasticism". These are the exaltatory tiles of St. Benedict, abbot, principal Patron of Europe.
"With the collapse of the Roman Empire, even as some regions of Europe seemed to fall into darkness and others were still 'uncivilized' and devoid of spiritual values, it was he who with constant and assiduous commitment, brought the dawn of a new era to the continent of Europe.
"Mainly, he and his spiritual sons brought Christian progress - through the Cross, the book and the plow - to diverse peoples from the Mediterranean to Scandinavia, from Ireland to the plains of Poland."
Thus did Paul VI write in his Apostolic Letter
Pacis Nuntius (Messenger of peace), in proclaiming, on October 24, 1964, St. Benedict of Norcia as "the principal patron of all Europe".
He and his patrimony are remembered today on the anniversary of his 'birth in heaven' in the three Benedictine cities of Norcia, his birthplace; Subiaco, where he lived for 30 years, and where he founded his first monasteries; and Montecassino, where he first drafted his Rule and where he died.
Traditionally linking them is the annual Benedictine Torch 'pro Europa una', which was lit last March 4 in Malta and blessed by Benedict XVI at the General Audience last March 14.
Presiding at Masses and celebrations today will be, in Norcia, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, former Prefect of the Congregation for Bishop; in Subiaco, Mons. Mauro Parmeggiani, Bishop of Tivoli; and in Montecassino, Cird9nal Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Concil for Culture.
What remains of Benedict's patrimony today? Is his message still relevant for the Old Continent that has become secularized and relativiztic?
For the Abbot of Subiaco, don Mauro Meacci, "The relevance of St. Benedict rests on the advice that pervades all his teaching - Never put anything before love for Christ - which implies love and respect for man as as a creature of God". A lesson that is necessary in the Church's ongoing battle in defense of life and the family.
"We are witnessing a decomposition of society," the abbot said, "which is being drained of its natural human values. Man, forgetting his derivation from God, becomes ever more manipulated by the economy, by politics, a manipulation that leads to frustrations, dissatisfaction and disappointment.
"The rule of St. Benedict helps man to recover his soul, to regain his heart. It transposes the Gospel to reality, and invites us to a complete and full life, even in a time of grave material crisis".
In the rediscovery of the Cross that Benedict brought to early medieval Europe, Benedict also brought 'the book and the plow', to use the words of Paul VI.
"The book is the Bible, but also, culture, intelligence, creativity, while the plow represents commitment, responsibility, sacrifice and work," said Mons. Renato Boccardo, Bishop of Spoleto-Norcia.
"Personal and communal responsibility, in the light of REvelation, can generate a Christian humanism that places man at the center and object of our attention, he said.
"We have lost sight of the richness and beauty of man. But re-establishing humanistic values, following the example of St. Benedict, we can give a new spirit to Europe. Christian humanism gives a vision of society that is inspired by wisdom, that makes us look at man, at the family, at service for the promotion of the good of each human being. Benedict places the accent on man as 'the union of body and spirit' that should not be broken up according to changing interests and convenience."
The abbot of Montecassino, dom Pietro Vittorelli, says of Benedict's Rule: "In a time when society is as fluid as it is today, the Rule can help re-establish the correct rules of relationships witnin the family and in society. 'Ora, labora, lege' - pray, work and study - which is the basis of the Rule, has attracted young people in every era and every generation. Today, you can see how many young people choose to have retreats in monasteries where they can rediscover such a harmonious order of life that can orient their own lives. Monastic spirituality welcomes every man without prejudice or exclusion. The world is always present in the prayers of the monks who are not detached from the world in that sense".
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 21/03/2012 15:58]