Wednesday, January 20
From left: Paintings by Mantegna, Bellini, El Greco, and a statue in St. Peter's colonnade.
ST. SEBASTIAN (Italy, ?257-288), Martyr
Nothing is historically certain about St. Sebastian except that he was a Roman
martyr who was venerated in Milan even in the time of St. Ambrose, and was
buried on the Appian Way, near the Catacombs that bear his name. Devotion
to him spread rapidly, and he is mentioned in martyrologies as early as 350 AD.
The legend of St. Sebastian became a popular subject in art. The familiar image
of the saint pierced by arrows comes from the story that under Diocletian, he
was exposed as an impostor in the Roman army and sentenced to be shot to
death by archers. He survived to continue denouncing persecution of Christians
to the emperor himself. He was clubbed to death.
Readings for today's Mass: www.usccb.org/nab/readings/012010.shtml
OR today.
Papal stories in this issue are in the inside pages - the text of the Pope's extemporaneous address to the delegation from Freising which was at the Vatican Saturday to confer him with honorary citizenship (center photo shows the Holy Father with Archbishop Wetter (left) and Archbishop Marx, the two men who have succeeded him so far as Archbishop of Munich-Freising; archive photo shows the seminarian Joseph Ratzinger in Freising after the war), and his meeting with Rabbi Jacob Neusner (translated and posted on this page yesterday). Page 1 stories: Logistical problems hamper getting aid to Haiti earthquake victims; an article on the Church in the Holy Land, in connection with the presentation yesterday of the Lineamenta for the Synodal Assembly on the Middle East in October; and weak signs of recovery for Europe which lost 4.5 million jobs last year. In the inside pages, an article by the Israeli ambassador to the Holy See calling on Orthodox Jews to accept dialog with Christians; an essay by Mons. Bruno Forte about Catholic teaching on the environment, delivered at the joint meeting of the Vatican-Israeli theological commission; and a summary of activities in the Oriental Catholic Churches in 2009.
THE POPE'S DAY
General Audience - The Holy Father spoke about Christian unity, on the first day of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
Thursday, February 11
10:30 St. Peter's Basilica
Mass for the Sick
Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes
World Day of the Sick
25th anniversary of the Pontifical Council
for Ministry to Health Care Workers
The Vatican released a statement on the meetings held in Rome Jan. 17-20 between the Vatican Commission
for Religious Relations with Judaism, and a delegation from the Israeli Rabbinate's department for
Relations with the Catholic Church.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 16/01/2011 18:22]