Vatican Rewind

Another wonderful rewind of Vatican News from TeresaBenedetta Forum Here, she recalls the October 11 candle lit procession with Pope John XXIII with his moonlight discourse. Then, she presents the candle lit procession with Benedict XVI, October 11, 2012 and his moving discourse. There are also beautiful photographs of the said events in the forum.

Benedict XVI's address

Dear brothers and sisters,

Good evening to all of you, and thank you for coming here. Thank you to Catholic Action for organizing this candlelight procession.

Fifty years ago, on this day, I too was in St. Peter's Square, looking towards the window where the 'good Pope' had appeared and spoke to us with unforgettable words, full of poetry and and of goodness, words from the heart. We were all happy and, I would say, full of enthusiasm.

The great Ecumenical Council had been inaugurated and we were sure that a new springtime for the Church would come, a new Pentecost, a new strong presence of the liberating power of the Gospel.

Even today we are happy, we carry joy in our heart, but I would say it is a more moderate joy, a humble joy. In these fifty years, we have learned and experienced that original sin does exist and is always translated anew into personal sins that can grow into structures of sin.

We have seen that in the field of the Lord, there are always weeds. We have seen that Peter's net also includes bad fish. We have seen how human frailty is present even in the Church, but that the ship of the Church continues to navigate through contrary winds, despite tempests that threaten the ship. Sometimes we may have thought - Where is the Lord? Has he forgotten us? But this is just one part of the experiences we have had in the past 50 years.

We have also had a new experience of the presence of the Lord, of his goodness, of his strength. The fire of the Holy Spirit, the flame of Christ, is not a devouring and destructive fire - it is a silent fire, a flame of goodness and of truth that transforms, of light and warmth.

So we have seen that the Lord has not forgotten us. Even today, in his humble way, the Lord is present among us and warms our hearts, our lives - he creates charisms of goodness and charity that illuminate the world. and are, for us, a guarantee of the goodness of God.

Christ lives, and is with us, so we can be happy today because his goodness can never be extinguished and will always be powerful.

Finally, I dare to make mine the unforgettable words of Pope John: Go home and kiss the children, and say it is a kiss from the Pope. And with all my heart, I impart to you my blessing.

Does Religion Matter

My protestant friends and family believe and would say so categorically that religion isn't important. It is the personal relationship with God and the confession of faith that matters. And it is the Bible alone that has the sole authority. Then, there is the viral video of "I am spiritual but not religious". And Pope Francis often reiterates that even atheist can go to heaven.

Yes, I can imagine some people going to heaven. And I understand the teaching of the Church regarding salvation outside the Church. And I really like to leave that unto God to choose who He would allow to enter heaven. But all these can leave one asking, does religion matter?

I remember posting this question to Bishop (now Cardinal) Tagle in the Word Exposed Discussion Board: "There are good and bad atheists. There are good and bad Protestants. There are good and bad Moslems. There are good and bad Catholics. And so on... I guess you would know where this is leading to... does religion matter?"

Bishop (Cardinal) Luis Antonio Tagle answered it in his TV show (Youtube) "The Word Exposed". I can not recall his verbatim answer but I remember that he pointed out that it is better to ask if it is his/her Christianity (atheism, Protestanism, and so on) that brought about the goodness in that person. The crucial thing, too, is the question of Divine Revelation.

If one truly believes that the Catholic Church was and is Divinely instituted by God, why wouldn't we want to be a part of it. And if God deems it necessary to institute a Church or a Religion, then, He has a purpose for doing so. The Church has a commission from God - to be the bearer of the deposit of Truth and to make it available for all peoples and all nations.

Sometimes we can not see or feel the divinity of the Church. Seems like Jesus is asleep as the storm rages and shakes the boat. Even at such times, we continue to plea and to trust in Him.

Does religion still matter? An excerpt on love over dogma from Archbishop Emeritus Oscar V. Cruz (with my emphasis):

"Does genuine love in fact belittle, undermine or underrate dogma? Is genuine dogma not in effect the product of real love? Is there a contest between true love and solid dogma? Does love lessen the dogma about the existence of God, the dogma that Christ is true God and true Man. The dogma that there is heaven and inferno, salvation and damnation – among many other dogmas? One thing is to love all men – saints and sinners alike. Quite another is to love criminality and vice, graft and corrupt practices, war, killing, and destruction".

"In other words, according to the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, there are only Two Commandments: Love of God and Love of Neighbor. But both loves in no way say that the truth – such as a dogma – may be loved less. Why? Because God is Truth – a dogma. Because the truth is that man is created from the Image of God – a dogma. In other words, there is no contest between dogma and love."

So when people dismiss religion because we are saved not by dogma but by love, we can agree. We are saved by a love borne out of Truth. A way of love which is a way to life. For God is love and He is also the Way, the Truth, and the Life. God saves, Amen.

Changing Church?

Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz on the changes in the Catholic Church. He went on to explain the meaning of the Local Bishop's Conference and the Dicastery. He concluded with...
"The novel thinking of Pope Francis is that instead of sending to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at the Vatican for their resolutions, all questions, issues and doubts about local doctrinal matters and practices, these could be left instead to the competence of the likewise local Bishops’ Conference to decide on. This would be a real and interesting novelty in the Universal Church. And this demonstrates the expanded and creative thinking of Pope Francis!"

I hope this doesn't make the Catholic Church just a confederation of national churches or else, it would be the Traditional Catholic Church that would turn out to be the umiversal church. "Expanded and creative thinking"... hopefully for the best as Pope Benedict XVI had reminded us during his last days in office that the Church is Christ's. It's not Benedict's, not Francis'.

Fr. Thomas Rosica must like Pope Francis' papacy a lot. He called a NYTimes article "great" when it trashes Pope Benedict. I thought he works for the Vatican Press. Maybe it's like showbusiness wherein "any publicity is good publicity" because it puts the actors and actresses in the news and in the public's attention. Then, no wonder, the deluge of publicity had kept people ranting, defending, praising, hurting, enjoying, laughing.

And to take things lightly, from a Spanish blog of Fr. Jorge from Madrid. It's really funny, and the idea of a Pontifical Council for the Interpretation of Papal "off the cuff" remarks. Perhaps, it will now be the task of the different Local Bishops Conferences.

Still, we can not forget what is happening in the MiddleEast as Cardinal Rai reiterates Christians always pay the highest price.