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Thurssday, July 25, 16th Week in Ordinary Time
FEAST OF ST JAMES THE APOSTLE
St. James is one of the most depicted among the Twelve Apostles, next only to Peter and Andrew. Extreme left, St James by Rembrandt; fourth from left, by Andrea del Sarto; next three photos, James as Santiago Matamoros and as patron of pilgrims; the two on the right, St James, by Alonso Cano and El Greco.
ST. JAMES THE GREATER (SANTIAGO EL MAYOR), Apostle and Martyr, Patron Saint of Spain
Benedict XVI dedicated his catechesis on June 21, 2006 to this saint,
www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2006/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20060621...
mentioned in the Bible as third in seniority among the apostles after the brothers Simon Peter and Andrew. Indeed, he and his younger brother John (the Beloved, also thought to be the Evangelist John) were disciples of John the Baptist, and were the second pair of fishermen brothers called by Jesus to join him. James became the first of the Apostles to be martyred, beheaded by order of Herod Agrippa in 44 AD, as cited in the Acts. Before that, legend has it that he had gone to Iberia to preach the Gospel, where Mary appeared to him atop a pillar (now conserved in the Cathedral of Zaragoza, main shrine of Nuestra Senora del Pilar), and that he subsequently returned to Judea where he met his death. Subsequently, one version has his body miraculously transported by angels to Iberia where it was enclosed by a rock in Compostela; alternatively, disciples carried the body by boat to Spain, landed on the coast of Galicia and took it inland to Compostela. The next Spanish legend concerning James (Jacobus in Latin, Iago in Spanish, hence Sant'Iago=Santiago) was that he appeared on horseback in the 10th-century battle of Clavijo to lead a vastly outnumbered Spanish army to defeat the Moors. Since then, he became known as Santiago Matamoros (killer of Moors), giving rise also to what has become the traditional battle cry of Spanish armed forces, "Santiago y cierra Espana!" (St James, and close ranks for Spain). The saint's relics were discovered in Compostela in 814 by a hermit, thus starting the tradition of the pilgrimage to the Galician town which became the third major pilgrimage destination in the Middle Ages, after Jerusalem and Rome. In Europe the routes to Compostela passing through France and Spain are known as the Camino de Santiago. The present Cathedral of St. James in Compostela was begun in 1075. In 1884, Leo XIII issued a papal bull declaring the authenticity of the relics in Compostela. [A rival claim to be the burial place of St. James is made by the Cathedral of St. Sernin in Toulouse.]
Readings for today's Mass:
www.usccb.org/bible/readings/072522.cfm
APOSTOLIC VISIT OF POPE FRANCIS TO BRAZIL
Day 3
Thursday, 25 July 2013
07:30 Private Mass at the Sumaré Residence in Rio de Janeiro
09:45 Consignment to the Holy Father of the keys to the city and
Blessing of the Olympic flags at the City Palace of Rio de
Janeiro
11:00 Visit to the Community of Varginha (Manguinhos), slum area in
Rio. Address of the Holy Father.
*Apparently, in a late addition to his program, the Pope then proceeded
to the Cathedral of Rio to meet with the Argentine participants in WYD
and addressed them.
18:00 The participants of WYD officially welcome Pope Francis at
Copacabana beach. Greeting and address by the Holy Father.
One year ago...
No events announced for Benedict XVI in Castel Gandolfo. The Vatican released the text of a telegram of condolence sent in the Pope's name by Deputy Secretary of State Angelo Becciu to the Archbishop of Havana, Cardinal Jaime Ortega, mourning the deaths of Cuban human rights activists Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas and Harold Cepero Escalante in a road accident on Sunday... The Pontifical Council for Ministry to Migrants and Itinerant Workers on the occasion of this year's World Tourism Day.
The more relevant lookback today is Bernedict XVI's arrival in Madrid in August 2011 for WYD,
THE POPE AT WYD 2011: Day 1
Arrival and official welcome to Spain,
then the welcome by the youth at
Puerta de Alcala and Plaza Cibeles
Unlike Pope Francis this year who has had one day of rest and almost two days of pre-WYD events, Benedict XVI in 2011 hardly had time to catch his breath from the arrival ceremony at Madrid's Barajas airport, where he was welcomed by the King and Queen of Spain as well as outgoing Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero, then it was time to formally join the WYD festivities which began the previous day....
Pope urges youth to build
their lives on the rock of Christ
August 18, 2011
“Dear Holy Father this is the young assembly who heard your call, drawn from across the world…now we are here, we who John Paul II called the ‘sentinels of the third millennium’, to hear your words”, said the young woman, greeting Pope Benedict XVI.
Looking out over Madrid’s Cibeles square, looking out at the hundreds of thousands of young people, on Thursday evening, Pope Benedict opened his arms and he told them: “Through your presence and your participation in these celebrations, the name of Christ will echo throughout this great City. Let us pray that his message of hope and love will also resound in the hearts of those who are not believers or who have grown distant from the Church”.
They had had been waiting patiently since early afternoon, since his plane had touched down at Barajas International Airport, for this moment, the moment when Pope Benedict XVI was finally welcomed to the Spanish capital by the real protagonists of this, his 20th Apostolic voyage, the World Youth Day pilgrims.
And the Pope had special greetings for them in many of their different languages, including English, as he told them:
I extend an affectionate greeting to the many English-speaking young people who have come to Madrid.
May these days of prayer, friendship and celebration bring us closer to each other and to the Lord Jesus. Make trust in Christ’s word the foundation of your lives!
Planted and built up in him, firm in the faith and open to the power of the Spirit, you will find your place in God’s plan and enrich the Church with your gifts. Let us pray for one another, so that we may be joyful witnesses to Christ, today and always. God bless you all!”
They had lined the route from the nunciature to Independence square, transforming the security barriers into one endless multinational flag and their cries were deafening.
Beneath the towering triumphal arch of the Puerta del Alcala, traditional entry gate to Madrid, he was formally welcomed by the city mayor who handed him the golden keys to the city. Then, together with 50 young people in traditional dress, (ten from each continent), Pope Benedict passed through the central arch of the historic gate. symbolically entering the Spanish capital.
There he was invited to plant an olive tree, memento of this visit, symbolic of its theme, St Paul’s command to the early Christians: “Planted and built up in Jesus Christ, firm in the faith”.
An exhibition of majestic Andalusian horsemanship, the release of white balloons, a flyover by the Spainish airforce Aguila squadron – all of this paled by comparison with what awaited Pope Benedict as he set foot on the central stage of Cibeles square. The square literally erupted, drowning out the two hundred strong choir.
“Your visit is of exceptional value”, Card. Ruoco Varela, Archbishop of Madrid told the Pope, “With you comes the 'Young Church', accompanied by her diocesan bishops, priests, and consecrated members in numbers representative of a truly universal 'catholic' Church! Christ Resurrected is passing by!”.
Following the Liturgy of the Word, Pope Benedict addressed them saying “in the face of our weaknesses which sometimes overwhelm us, we can rely on the mercy of the Lord who is always ready to help us again and who offers us pardon in the sacrament of Penance”.
He then challenged them to present “a valid alternative to all those who have fallen short”, “who are content to follow fashionable ideas”, “who, creating their own gods, believe they need no roots or foundations other than themselves”, who “take it upon themselves to decide what is true or not, what is good and evil”.
It is important not to give in to them, warned the Pope “because, in reality, they lead to something so evanescent, like an existence with no horizons, a liberty without God”.
Instead he said, “God is looking for a responsible interlocutor, someone who can dialogue with him and love him. Through Christ we can truly succeed and, established in him, we give wings to our freedom”. This is the firm ground upon which to build the civilization of love and life, capable of humanizing all of us".
Here is the official Vatican translation of the Holy Father's opening remarks to the pilgrims of WYD and of his homily at the prayer service.
INITIAL ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI
Plaza de Cibeles, Madrid
Thursday, 18 August 2011
Dear Young Friends,
It is a great joy for me to meet you here in the heart of this lovely city of Madrid, whose keys the Lord Mayor has kindly presented me.
Today Madrid is also the capital of the world’s young people, and the gaze of the whole Church is fixed here. The Lord has brought us together here so that during these days we can experience the beauty of World Youth Day.
Through your presence and your participation in these celebrations, the name of Christ will echo throughout this great City. Let us pray that his message of hope and love will also resound in the hearts of those who are not believers or who have grown distant from the Church.
Many thanks for the splendid welcome which you gave me as I entered the City, as a sign of your love and closeness to the Successor of Peter.
I greet Cardinal Stanisław Ryłko, President of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, and his staff in that Council, with gratitude for all the work which they have done. I also thank Cardinal Antonio María Rouco Varela, the Archbishop of Madrid, for his kind words and for the efforts made by his Archdiocese, along with the other Dioceses of Spain, in preparing this World Youth Day; my thanks also go to all those in so many other Particular Churches throughout the world who have generously contributed to its preparation.
I express appreciation to the national, the autonomous regional and the local authorities for their presence and for their generous help in ensuring the good organization of this great event.
My thanks go also to my brother Bishops, the priests and seminarians, the consecrated men and women and all the faithful present here today, who have helped to prepare the young people to experience these intense days of pilgrimage towards an encounter with Christ.
I offer all of you a heartfelt greeting in the Lord and I repeat that it is a great blessing for me to be here with you. May the flame of Christ’s love burn always bright in your hearts.
[French] Dear young French-speaking people, you have responded in great numbers to the Lord’s call to come and meet him in Madrid. I congratulate you for this! Welcome to World Youth Day!
You have brought with you profound questions, and you are seeking answers. It is always a good thing to keep seeking. Above all, seek the Truth, which is not an idea or an ideology or a slogan, but a person: Christ, God himself, who has come into our midst! You rightly wish to plant your faith in him, to ground your life in Christ. He has always loved you and he knows you better than anyone else.
May these days so rich in prayer, teaching and encounters help you to rediscover this, so that you may love him all the more. May Christ accompany you during this special time when, all together, we shall sing his praises and offer him our prayers!
[English] I extend an affectionate greeting to the many English-speaking young people who have come to Madrid. May these days of prayer, friendship and celebration bring us closer to each other and to the Lord Jesus.
Make trust in Christ’s word the foundation of your lives! Planted and built up in him, firm in the faith and open to the power of the Spirit, you will find your place in God’s plan and enrich the Church with your gifts.
Let us pray for one another, so that we may be joyful witnesses to Christ, today and always. God bless you all!
[German] Dear German-speaking friends! I greet all of you with great affection. I am happy that you have come in such great numbers. During these days we want together to confess our faith in Jesus Christ, to deepen that faith and to pass it on. Let us realize ever anew that Jesus is the one who gives true meaning to our lives. Let us open our hearts to Christ. May he grant all of us a joyful and blessed time here in Madrid.
[Italian] Dear young Italians! I greet you with great affection and I am delighted that so many of you have come here, filled with the joy of faith. Experience these days in a spirit of intense prayer and fraternity, and testify to the vitality of the Church in Italy, its parishes, associations and movements. Share this wealth with everyone. Thank you!
[Portuguese] Dear young people of the different countries whose official language is Portuguese, and all those who accompany you, welcome to Madrid!
I greet all of you with friendship and affection and I invite you to draw close to the eternal source of your youth and to know the absolute protagonist of this World Youth Day and – I hope – of your own lives: Christ the Lord.
In these days you will personally hear his word resound. Let this word into your hearts, let it take root, and make it the foundation of your lives. Firm in the faith, you will be a link in the great chain of believers. No one can believe without being supported by the faith of others, and by my faith I also help to support others in the faith. The Church needs you, and you need the Church.
[Polish] I greet the young people who have come from Poland, countrymen of Blessed John Paul II, the founder of World Youth Day. I am delighted by your presence here in Madrid! I pray that these will be good days, days of prayer, in which you will strengthen your relationship with Jesus. May God’s Spirit guide you.
The Pope's homily
Welcome Ceremony with WYD Pilgrims
Plaza de Cibeles, Madrid
Dear Friends,
Thank you for the kind words addressed to me by the young people representing the five continents. And I salute with affection all of you gathered here, young people from Oceania, Africa, America, Asia and Europe; and also those unable to be here.
I always keep you very much in my heart and pray for you. God has given me the grace to see and hear you for myself and, as we gather together, to listen to his word.
In the reading which has just been proclaimed, we heard a passage from the Gospel which talks of welcoming the words of Jesus and putting them into practice.
There are words which serve only to amuse, as fleeting as an empty breeze; others, to an extent, inform us; those of Jesus, on the other hand, must reach our hearts, take root and bloom there all our lives. If not, they remain empty and become ephemeral. They do not bring us to him and, as a result, Christ stays remote, just one voice among the many others around us which are so familiar.
Furthermore, the Master who speaks teaches, not something learned from others, but that which he himself is, the only one who truly knows the path of man towards God, because he is the one who opened it up for us, he made it so that we might have authentic lives, lives which are always worth living, in every circumstance, and which not even death can destroy.
The Gospel continues, explaining these things with the evocative image of someone who builds on solid rock, resistant to the onslaught of adversity, and in contrast to someone who builds on sand - we would say today in what appears a paradise - but which collapses with the first gust of wind and falls into ruins.
Dear young people, listen closely to the words of the Lord, that they may be for you “spirit and life” (Jn 6:63), roots which nourish your being, a rule of life which likens us - poor in spirit, thirsting for justice, merciful, pure in heart, lovers of peace - to the person of Christ.
Listen regularly every day as if he were the one friend who does not deceive, the one with whom we wish to share the path of life. Of course, you know that when we do not walk beside Christ our guide, we get lost on other paths, like the path of our blind and selfish impulses, or the path of flattering but self-serving suggestions, deceiving and fickle, which leave emptiness and frustration in their wake.
Use these days to know Christ better and to make sure that, rooted in him, your enthusiasm and happiness, your desire to go further, to reach the heights, even God himself, always hold a sure future, because the fullness of life has already been placed within you.
Let that life grow with divine grace, generously and without half-measures, as you remain steadfast in your aim for holiness. And, in the face of our weaknesses which sometimes overwhelm us, we can rely on the mercy of the Lord who is always ready to help us again and who offers us pardon in the sacrament of Penance.
If you build on solid rock, not only your life will be solid and stable, but it will also help project the light of Christ shining upon those of your own age and upon the whole of humanity, presenting a valid alternative to all those who have fallen short, because the essentials in their lives were inconsistent; to all those who are content to follow fashionable ideas, they take shelter in the here and now, forgetting true justice, or they take refuge in their own opinions instead of seeking the simple truth.
Indeed, there are many who, creating their own gods, believe they need no roots or foundations other than themselves. They take it upon themselves to decide what is true or not, what is good and evil, what is just and unjust; who should live and who can be sacrificed in the interests of other preferences; leaving each step to chance, with no clear path, letting themselves be led by the whim of each moment.
These temptations are always lying in wait. It is important not to give in to them because, in reality, they lead to something so evanescent, like an existence with no horizons, a liberty without God.
We, on the other hand, know well that we have been created free, in the image of God, precisely so that we might be in the forefront of the search for truth and goodness, responsible for our actions, not mere blind executives, but creative co-workers in the task of cultivating and beautifying the work of creation.
God is looking for a responsible interlocutor, someone who can dialogue with him and love him. Through Christ we can truly succeed and, established in him, we give wings to our freedom.
Is this not the great reason for our joy? Isn’t this the firm ground upon which to build the civilization of love and life, capable of humanizing all of us?
Dear friends: be prudent and wise, build your lives upon the firm foundation which is Christ. This wisdom and prudence will guide your steps, nothing will make you fear and peace will reign in your hearts. Then you will be blessed and happy and your happiness will influence others.
They will wonder what the secret of your life is and they will discover that the rock which underpins the entire building and upon which rests your whole existence is the very person of Christ, your friend, brother and Lord, the Son of God incarnate, who gives meaning to all the universe.
He died for us all, rising that we might have life, and now, from the throne of the Father, he accompanies all men and women, watching continually over each one of us.
I commend the fruits of this World Youth Day to the most holy Virgin Mary, who said “Yes” to the will of God, and teaches us a unique example of fidelity to her divine son, whom she followed to his death upon the Cross.
Let us meditate upon this more deeply in the Stations of the Cross. And let us pray that, like her, our “Yes” to Christ today may also be an unconditional “Yes” to his friendship, both at the end of this day and throughout our entire lives. Thank you very much.
 [Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 15/08/2013 17:43] |