Pope Francis, the Bible, and Mercy

Prayer of Pope Francis for the Jubilee

Lord Jesus Christ,

you have taught us to be merciful like the heavenly Father,

and have told us that whoever sees you sees Him.

Show us your face and we will be saved.

Your loving gaze freed Zacchaeus and Matthew from being enslaved by money;

the adulteress and Magdalene from seeking happiness only in created things;

made Peter weep after his betrayal,

and assured Paradise to the repentant thief.

Let us hear, as if addressed to each one of us, the words that you spoke to the Samaritan woman:

“If you knew the gift of God!”

You are the visible face of the invisible Father,

of the God who manifests his power above all by forgiveness and mercy:

let the Church be your visible face in the world, its Lord risen and glorified.

You willed that your ministers would also be clothed in weakness

in order that they may feel compassion for those in ignorance and error:

let everyone who approaches them feel sought after, loved, and forgiven by God.

Send your Spirit and consecrate every one of us with its anointing,

so that the Jubilee of Mercy may be a year of grace from the Lord,

and your Church, with renewed enthusiasm, may bring good news to the poor,

proclaim liberty to captives and the oppressed,

and restore sight to the blind.  

We ask this of you, Lord Jesus, through the intercession of Mary, Mother of

Mercy; you who live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit for ever and

ever.

Amen.

Advent Contest Winner

Via an online random number generator, the winner of the 3 CD set from Now You Know Media is Mikel del Rosario (?).  If you could send me an email, mccorm45(at)yahoo(dot)com by the end of the week I will make sure to get your prize out to you.  Thanks to all who participated.  Have a blessed Advent!

Dei Verbum at 50 (Paragraph 25)

In celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Vatican II's Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, I will be posting twice a month, on Mondays, a paragraph from this important document.  There are a total of 26 paragraphs, so this will take us through to the Fall when we reach the anniversary of its promulgation by Pope Paul VI on November 18, 1965.  I look forward to our discussion.  May I suggest a helpful book by Fr. Ronald D. Witherup called The Word of God at Vatican II: Exploring Dei Verbum published by Liturgical Press.

25. Therefore, all the clergy must hold fast to the Sacred Scriptures through diligent sacred reading and careful study, especially the priests of Christ and others, such as deacons and catechists who are legitimately active in the ministry of the word. This is to be done so that none of them will become "an empty preacher of the word of God outwardly, who is not a listener to it inwardly" (4) since they must share the abundant wealth of the divine word with the faithful committed to them, especially in the sacred liturgy. The sacred synod also earnestly and especially urges all the Christian faithful, especially Religious, to learn by frequent reading of the divine Scriptures the "excellent knowledge of Jesus Christ" (Phil. 3:8). "For ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ."(5) Therefore, they should gladly put themselves in touch with the sacred text itself, whether it be through the liturgy, rich in the divine word, or through devotional reading, or through instructions suitable for the purpose and other aids which, in our time, with approval and active support of the shepherds of the Church, are commendably spread everywhere. And let them remember that prayer should accompany the reading of Sacred Scripture, so that God and man may talk together; for "we speak to Him when we pray; we hear Him when we read the divine saying." (6)

It devolves on sacred bishops "who have the apostolic teaching"(7) to give the faithful entrusted to them suitable instruction in the right use of the divine books, especially the New Testament and above all the Gospels. This can be done through translations of the sacred texts, which are to be provided with the necessary and really adequate explanations so that the children of the Church may safely and profitably become conversant with the Sacred Scriptures and be penetrated with their spirit.

Furthermore, editions of the Sacred Scriptures, provided with suitable footnotes, should be prepared also for the use of non-Christians and adapted to their situation. Both pastors of souls and Christians generally should see to the wise distribution of these in one way or another.

2nd Sunday of Advent

John, Zachariah’s son, out in the desert at the time, received a message from God. He went all through the country around the Jordan River preaching a baptism of life-change leading to forgiveness of sins, as described in the words of Isaiah the prophet:

Thunder in the desert!

“Prepare God’s arrival!

Make the road smooth and straight!

Every ditch will be filled in,

Every bump smoothed out,

The detours straightened out,

All the ruts paved over.

Everyone will be there to see

The parade of God’s salvation.”

-Luke 3:3-6 (The Message)

Pope Francis Receives Book of Gospels for the Jubilee

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Thursday received the Book of Gospels which will be used for the liturgies of the upcoming Jubilee.

The Book was presented by Archbishop Rino Fisichella, the President of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelisation.

The book – which contains the Gospel readings for the Sundays and Feast Days during the Year of Mercy – is illustrated by Jesuit artist Marko Rupnik.

The Jubilee of Mercy begins on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, on 8 December, when Pope Francis opens the Holy Door in St. Peter’s Basilica.

Advent Contest

The fine folks at Now You Know Media have given me three fantastic CD sets from Fr. Felix Just S.J. for this special Advent Contest.  These three, brand new, recrodings are retreats with the Gospels of Matthew, Luke, and John.  I have a number of different audio courses from Now You Know Media, and I have always been impressed by their content and the quality of the audio recordings.  

Fr. Felix Just, S.J., Ph.D., is Executive Director of the Loyola Institute for Spirituality in Orange, California. After receiving his Doctorate in New Testament Studies from Yale University, he taught at Loyola Marymount University (Los Angeles), the University of San Francisco, and Santa Clara University. He was also director of the Center for Religion and Spirituality at LMU, and dean of the Lay Ecclesial Ministry and Deacon Formation Programs for the Diocese of Las Vegas. He regularly teaches courses, gives public lectures, and leads biblically-based days of prayer, parish missions, and weekend or weeklong retreats. He maintains a large internationally recognized website of “Catholic Resources”.  Fr. Felix is also on the board of editors for the upcoming revision of the NABRE New Testament.  


Rules for the contest:

1) If you have an active Facebook or Twitter account, please announce this contest. If you don't, that is OK. You can still enter the contest.

 2) Please enter your name in the comment section of this blog post. I (or my wife) will randomly draw one winner at the conclusion of the contest, which will be on Sunday December 6th at 11:59 PM.

 3) I will announce the winner on Monday December 7th. The winner must contact me, via email, within a week with their full name and address.  I will ship the the books free of charge.

 4) One entry per person.

 5) Contest is only available to those who live in North America.