Thursday, February 17, Sixth Week in Ordinary Time
THE SEVEN FOUNDER SAINTS OF THE SERVITE ORDERS (Italy, 13th century)
They were rich young men in Florence at the height of the Cathari heresy and widespread political and moral breakdown. They belonged to a group of Marian devotees called the Laudesi (Praisers). It is said that in 1240, they had a vision of Mary who urged them to retire in prayer. They did, to a hilltop near Florence, where four years later, they would have another vision which prompted them to establish the order called Friar Servants of Mary (OSM, from the Latin name) - who follow the Augustinian rule, wear the Dominican habit and live like mendicant friars. Their goals are sanctification of each member, preaching the Gospel and spreading devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows. The Servites, as they are commonly known, now have a worldwide family that includes monasteries, religious and secular orders for both men and women, diaconates and secular institutes like the Pontifical Marianum, the leading institute on Mariology. The Seven Founders were canonized in 1888.
Readings for today's Mass:
www.usccb.org/nab/readings/021711.shtml
last year, today was Ash Wednesday, an early start for Lent. This year, Ash Wednesday falls on March 9.
OR today.
Illustration: St. John of the Cross, contemporary painting by a Carmelite nun from the Carmelo di Concevedo, Italy.
At the General Audience, the Pope speaks of John of the Cross and his mystical theology:
'God gives wings to man'
Other Page 1 stories: An essay on unrest in the Maghreb (North Africa) and the challenge of new evangelization;
the World Bank says 44 million more people crossed into the poverty line in the past six months due to rising food
prices across the world; Wall Street and Frankfurt stock exchanges formalize a historic merger; and a NASA probe
gets up close to a comet (photo above).
PAPAL EVENTS TODAY
The Holy Father met with
- President Dmitrij Anatolievic Medvedev of the Russian Federation, his wife, and delegation.
- Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, Prefect of the Congregation for Oriental Churches
The Vatican issued a communique on the Feb. 15-Feb. 16 meetings of the Council appointed by the Holy Father to study the organizational and economic problems of the Holy See, under the chairmanship of Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone. The consolidated budgets for 2011 of the various Vatican entities (Curia, Apostolic Palace and Vatican media) and the Governatorate of Vatican city state were also presented.
At a news conference led by Abp. Rino Fisichella, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization, Vatican officials presented a qualitative evaluation of the Pauline Year observed from June 29, 2008 to June 28, 2009, along with a new book
L'Anno Paolino, published by the Vatican publishing house, on the major events of that year.
- Some traditionalist sites like the Italian messainlatino and the US-based Rorate caeli blog have been issuing ominous warnings lately that the expected 'instructions' on Summorum Pontificum to clarify the provisions of the motu proprio will contain restrictions and 'dilutions' of its original intentions that should make all Catholics who care about the traditional Mass fear the worst...
And yet, no such instructions could be issued by any entity at the Vatican unless and until they have been reviewed by the Pope. Do these alarmists really think that Benedict XVI would allow such 'restrictions and dilutions' of the clearcut and straughtforward provisions of SP?????
Messainlatino claims to have authoritative information that one of such 'dilutions' would be to exempt the Ambrosian and other lesser-known Roman rites from allowing celebration of their pre-Novus Ordo forms at all. It's hard to imagine that Benedict XVI would deem that any Vatican-II tinkering with these rites has invalidated their traditional forms!
Is the Diocese of Milan's Novus Ordo Ambrosian rite more meritorious than the Ambrosian rite as it survived from its hazy beginnings in the 9th century, through the Council of Trent, and into its last pre-Vatican II revision in 1954? The Ambrosian rite (named after St. Ambrose though he had nothing to do with it, since it started to emerge only in the 9th century) is used in the Archdiocese of Milan, and in parts of the Dioceses of Como and Lugano - with a total of about 5 million Catholics.
Of course, if their 'fears' should turn out to be unfounded, the alarmists can always claim their ante-facto revelations helped avert disaster. What I find unacceptable is not their well-intentioned fears but the apparent lack of trust in the Pope's common sense and judgment!
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 17/02/2011 23:02]