Posted earlier in the BENEDICT thread:
I find this reflection by Cardinal Vlk very moving - it seems so heartfelt, and while he is realistic, he is also full of hope when he describes what has been possible for the faithful in a society where 66% say they believe in God but in a God that has left the earth to mankind as its new masters.
In Prague, a small flock
will welcome a great Shepherd
by Cardinal Miloslav Vlk
Archbishop of Prague
Translated from
the 9/25/09 issue of
The visit of the Pope to a local Church is always a great event, which is extraordinary and unique for all the faithful,
Communion with the Pope, which is realized daily in the Eucharistic Prayer, when we remember him by name, becomes concrete and tangible during such a visit.
The faithful of our country were able to welcome Pope John Paul II three times following the collapse of Communism. Everyone lived them with great joy.
During the Communist era, the figure of the Pope was regarded with contempt by the regime. The Pope, called 'an enemy of the people', was calumniated, attacked, and humiliated by the Communists. The Vatican was considered a collaborator with capitalist imperialism.
Perhaps because of this, the Pope became for the people simply the 'father'. Our dioceses were without bishops because they were under house arrest or in prison. The Church, priests and faithful were persecuted.
With this painful background, it was almost taken for granted that the Pope came to be considered the 'father' and 'bishop' of everyone. It is easy to understand, therefore, what meaning John Paul II's visit had after the end of Communism in 1990. The difficult past had caused a very special love for the Pope to flower among the people. A love that has remained intact in many faithful to this day.
We have been waiting for a visit from Benedict XVI since 2005, the first time we invited him. He had to wait for the right opportunity. Last year, when he received the new Czech ambassador to the Holy See, Pavel Vosalik, the Pope expressed his desire to visit us. It was the Jubilee year for St. Wenceslas, marking the 1100th anniversary of his birth.
St. Wenceslas, martyr, occupies a special place in the spiritual history of our land. He is saint and martyr, and at the same time, the prince, the regent, the principal patron of the Church in our country.
St. Wenceslas's grandmother, St. Ludmilla, was baptized by St. Methodius himself in 800. It was she who transmitted the faith to her grandson, who educated him and raised him.
When Wenceslas governed Bohemia, Christianity was closely and indissolubly linked to the life of the nation. Historical sources describe Wenceslaus as a ruler who was very attentive to the needs of his fellowmen, especially the poor, the marginalized, those who were threatened. He gave himself fully, and served without thinking of his rank. And that is how he bore witness to Christianity before his pagan contemporaries.
His way of living was an inspiration for others. It has he, 'the eternal prince', who left his precious crown, symbol of his faith, to all the kings who followed him. But he was and remains he who brought Christian values into the roots our nation.
The sacred hymn to St. Wenceslas, which was the national hymn till the 19th century, says, "You are the heir of the Czech homeland". St. Wenceslas is the symbol of our nation and our Church which found their link in him.
I am very happy that the Pope will be in our diocese on the feast day of St. Wenceslas, on Sept 28, our national day.
I wish to recall, in this regard, that in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, on the right side of the transept, is the altar dedicated to St. Wenceslas, accompanied by St. Cyril and Methodius, apostles of Slavic faith. And that is how our nation, which is small but rich in saints, is linked to the Church of Rome.
We have shared the preparation for Pope Benedict's visit with all the nine dioceses, especially the two which the Pope is visiting. We all worked together in the preparation of the program for him.
The way we proposed for the spiritual preparation of the faithful was based on three pillars of the faith: faith, hope and love. Each of us bishops prepared a pastoral letter which was read at the Sunday Masses. And the central themes were likewise faith, hope and charity.
The priests spoke further of these themes in their daily homilies.
Each faithful was given a brochure entitled 'Let us prepare for the visit of the Holy Father Benedict XVI to the Czech Republic - Invitation and challenge to preparing for the encounter'.
It contains prayers, thoughts and inspirations for individual reflection, as well as for families and for communitarian use. We also distributed pictures of the Holy Father to everyone, with a prayer so that the visit may be experienced in an atmosphere of grace, in the hope that it may bring abundant fruits for the Church and for society.
In the last few days, all the parishes have been praying a novena. During this novena, the faithful are also able to attend prayers at the Archbishop's Palace at noon in order to pray together for the Pope.
The communications media of the bishops' conference and those of the dioceses, our Catholic radio Proglas, and our Catholic television Noe have been oriented towards the visit and will make possible the participation even of those who are physically unable to come to the events.
Even the secular media, radio and newspapers alike, have reported information about the visit which is, without a doubt, the greatest event of the year in the Czech Republic. That is why there is such attention from all sides.
Of course, those who will present themselves to the Pope as our ecclesial community are just part of his really 'small flock' here. In the 2001 census. some 19 percent of the country's 10 million inhabitants declared themselves Catholic, while 5% belonged to other churches.
The remaining 66% are not atheists in the true sense of the word, as they like to say in this country. Rather they are 'deists' - it means they accept that a God exists, but according them, that God does not concern himself with men, that he has left the earth to man who is now its master. It is a mentality that is difficult to detach.
After the fall of Communism, the Church enjoyed full freedom. But there are many problems continuing from the totalitarian era. For example, the State has yet to resolve the injustices carried out by the Communist regime. Above all, it has not returned the ecclesiastical properties confiscated by the Communists. They continue to be in the hands of the State.
The Church depends economically on the State, which pays the salaries of priests, contributes to maintain diocesan offices, and to some degree, it even helps in the maintenance of church buildings. But all this funding comes from the assets of the Church which are in the hands of the State.
Several years ago, two commissions, one on each side, prepared an agreement between the Holy See and the Czech Republic. Both sides signed the agreement but the Parliament has never ratified it.
Thus, even today, we live in a state of provisoriness, almost of precariousness. But we have been accustomed to living this way. At least, the life of this 'small flock' goes on, which was not all possible under Communist domination.
The lay faithful could not actively participate in the life of the Church. But now, they are working ever more actively in the parishes. Many, for instance, take part in Caritas, which is 'the face that our Church has for society'. Every year, we welcome new catechumens, among them many young people and converted adults.
However, in large strata of civilian society, the Church is kept at a distance. Substantially, one finds among them a negative opinion of the Church. They consider as to be on the edges of society, and see us only as a private association which is practically insignificant.
And that is why the visit of the Pope has a great significance for us. More so now when his beautiful encyclical
Caritas in veritate has been published in Czech and widely distributed.
We are a small nation, and from the ecclesiastical point of view, our numbers are insignificant. The Pope has already visited countries which are far more significant in terms of number.
But that is one more reason for us to make of his visit to our nation, to our small Church, an event of great value. We, his small flock, beside him, will be considered - as we ourselves shall feel -an integral part of the universal Church.
We wish to welcome the Pope like Christ himself who told his Apostles: "Whoever listens to you, listens to me" (Lk 10,16) and "Whoever welcomes him whom I send, welcomes me" OJn 13,20).
The Pope comes with the power of the Word of Christ who told Peter: "And you...confirm your brothers..." (Lk 22,32).
A unique event in the history
of the diocese of Brno
by Mons. Vojtech Cikrle
Bishop of Brno
Translated from
the 9/25/09 issue of
For the first time since it was founded in 1777, the Diocese of Brno will receive a visit from the Successor of Peter.
The preparation for the Sunday eucharistic liturgy which the Pope will celebrate at the airport of Brno-Turany, in the presence of a hundred thousand faithful, was the fruit of broad cooperation among various religious and civilian organizations. This signifies how much the entire community shares the anticipation.
The celebration will take place near the international airport, in a wide natural amphitheater where the papal altar has been set up. It is a large covered stage, dominated by a 12-metere high metal cross which will later be transferred to the Cathedral of Brno as a permanent reminder of Benedict XVI's visit.
Along the road through which the Pope will be arriving by car is an 11-meter anchor which represents the theological virtue of hope, the principal theme of the celebration.
Next to the altar will be a statue of Our Lady of Turany, probably the oldest religious statue in all of Moravia. She is known as the Lady of the Thorns, from the bramble bush where she was found.
In past centuries, this Madonna attracted a great number of pilgrims. The faithful of the parish of Turany will accompany the statue as on a pilgrimage at dawn Sunday before the Pontifical Mass to bring it to the altar.
Many young people will be arriving in Brno on Saturday and will spend the night in a tent city set up for that purpose. The overnight vigil will be spent in prayer and reflection, as well as a 'Concert of Hope'.
The spiritual preparation for the Pope's visit was undertaken by the Czech bishops' conference in close collaboration with the Diocese of Brno. In Catholic churches across the land, five pastoral letters from the bishops were read. Two booklets were printed with prayers and meditations and given away to the faithful.
In the past few days, the parishes are praying a novena leading to the visit. In our diocese, many have welcomed the initiative we call 'Every day, an SMS from the Pope' which was prepared by our diocesan center for catechesis. The messages, sent to whoever wanted to receive them, are chosen daily from the Pope's three encyclicals. The participation was great - 8,000 registered in the first few days, and everyday since then, thousands more. For us, it was a source of surprise and joy, which also confirms the atmosphere of expectation that reigns during these historic days of vigil for the city.
I have also called on all the faithful of the diocese to come to confession before the Pope's visit. We have had to mobilize more confessors and to have them ready on demand even outside the usual hours.
What do we expect from Benedict XVI's visit? We know he is not coming to call attention to himself. He comes, in the fullness of his ministry pf service, to renew in us our consciousness of Christ's love, to remind us of the values of his Kingdom.
Spiritual life does not consist only in participation in liturgy, but above all, in a 'dialog with God". That is why the fruits of the solemn day which has been given us to live with him, will depend not only on the spiritual gifts that we may obtain, but also in how we develop them in our daily life afterwards.
So we expect to be encouraged to a life forged by the Holy Spirit in each of us, whhose fruits, are, according to the Letter of St. Paul to the Galatians, "love, joy, peace, patience, benevolence, goodness, fidelity, gentleness and self-control"
Since the principal theme of the celebration in Brno is the hope that is founded on Christ, we also hope for new impetus in the search for hope in the civilian society and among persons who cannot manage to find it in a reality which, like that in our country today, does not allow any glimmer to come through.
We also hope the Pope's visit may bring many persons, even if they no longer call themselves believers, to ask themselves important questions on the sense to give to their lives, and to find in Christ and with Christ those answers that they have so exhaustingly sought.
I am sure that thanks to our meeting with the Pope, we will find ourselves more encouraged never to abandon this search and to persevere in it.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 26/09/2009 08:12]