Thursday, June 28, 12th Week in Ordinary Time
MEMORIAL OF ST. IRENAEUS OF LYONS
ST. IRENAEUS OF LYONS (b Asia Minor, ca 140, d Lyons 202), Bishop, Theologian and Martyr
Benedict XVI dedicated his catechesis on March 28, 2007
www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2007/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20070328...
to this early Father of the Church. He was born in Izmir (in present-day Turkey) and had been a student of Bishop Polycarp, who was a disciple of St. John the Evangelist. He eventually moved to Gaul and was listed among the presbyters of Lyons in 177. That year, he was on a mission to the Pope in Rome when at least 48 Christians, including the aging bishop of Lyons, were martyred by order of Marcus Aurelius. Returning to Lyons, he was elected Bishop and served so until his death, possibly martyred, himself. He distinguished himself both as a pastor and as a defender of the faith, explaining its truths clearly to the faithful, especially in specific response to the Gnostics, an ascendant heresy in the second century. One of his two extant works could be called the oldest catechism of the Catholic Church. Benedict's lecture on Irenaeus is fascinating for how he describes the Church Tradition that Irenaeus taught - one, holy, apostolic, public and 'pneumatic', or inspired by the Holy Spirit - as handed down from the Apostles themselves. "His tradition, uninterrupted Tradition, is not traditionalism, because this Tradition is always enlivened from within by the Holy Spirit, who makes it live anew, causes it to be interpreted and understood in the vitality of the Church".
Readings for today's Mass:
www.usccb.org/bible/readings/062812.cfm
AT THE VATICAN TODAY
The Holy Father met with
- The delegation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople to the observance of the Solemnity of
Saints Peter and Paul. This reciprocates annually a similar visit by a Vatican delegation to the observance
in Istanbul of the Feast of St. Andrew, patron saint of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Address in French.
Two ambassadors on a farewell visit:
- H.E. Mordechay Lewy, Ambassador of Israel; and
- H.E. Madame Lamia A. H. Mekhemar, Ambassador from the Arab Republic of Egypt.
[She had been President Mubarak's envoy to Egypt when relations with the Vatican were briefly disrupted after the eruption of violence in Egypt in late 2010. She was recalled to Egypt, but sent back by the Egyptian army council that took over after Mubarak was forced out of office in early 2011. Her departure this time apparently reflects the imminent change to an elected civilian government under President-elect Mohammed Morsi, who is a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood.]
- Cardinal Angelo Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Sainthood. The Holy Father authorized
a number of decrees that will lead to the beatification of an Italian priest and a Brazilian laywoman, both of
whom lived in the 19th century, for whom miracles attributed to their intercession have been confirmed.
Also decreed: Martyrdom for a total of 156 Spanish priests, religious and lay faithful killed in hatred of the faith during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939); an Indian layman martyred in 1792, and an Italian priest killed by the Mafia in Palermo in 1993. Martyrs will proceed to canonization without requiring a beatification miracle, but will require one before canonization. Most notable among nine persons whose heroic virtues were proclaimed today (they will proceed to beatification after the Vatican certifies a miracle attributed to their intercession) are Mons. Fulton Sheen (1895-1979), the charismatic American bishop who was the evangelizing face and voice of the US Church for decades, and Fr. Alvaro Portillo (1914-1994), who succeeded St. Josemaria Escriva after his death in 1975 as head of the Opus Dei.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 28/06/2012 15:53]