Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Founder of the Jesuits

 Saturday 3^rd November.

 

This morning, we had a very special gift. Fifteen of us signed up to go and celebrate Mass with a Jesuit priest who is spiritual director here at the college. The place of the Mass was in the room where Saint Ignatius of Loyola died. It is now a simple chapel in the same style as the room would have been when it was Ignatius' room.

 

This room is in the Jesuit monastery right beside the Church in Rome called the "Gesu"  (The Holy Name of Jesus) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_the_Gesu . St Ignatius is buried in the church of the Gesu and also are found the relic of the Arm of St Francis Xavier and  also the burial place of a famous Superior General of the Jesuits, Pedro Arrupe.  The Gesu church also has a beautiful picture of Mary (Our Lady of the Way) that Ignatius prayed before often, and only recently the original version of the painting was discovered when it was cleaned, apparently years of overpainting had changed it from its original look and now it is restored to the original form.

 

The room where Ignatius died was where we had our mass and it was truly beautiful. IT was simple and quiet and peaceful and prayerful. The reading for the mass was the reading about "don't take the places of honour at the banquet table, take the lowest place."  Something interesting happened at this that seemed quite amazing to me and made me smile. As we went into the little room, the altar was at one end and there were little stools to sit on on each side along the walls of the room. I didn't want to sit right up near the front of the altar, (this is before we knew what the reading was) and so I sat at the three-quarter's from the altar, near the back of the room.  Before mass started one of our priests asked the Jesuit main celebrant to say a few words about the significance of the room. SO, he said that this was the room in which Ignatius died. He had a humble death because apparently he felt the end was near and asked his brothers to administer the last rites, but they said "plenty of time for that, you are alright, and continued discussing plans for the purchase of a new building. St Ignatius passed away while they were discussing things and they were taken by surprise. He was humble to the last. Then the priest main-celebrant turned and said…  the exact point where St Igantius's bed was, where he passed away… is over there… under that painting on the wall of S Ignatius.   Guess who had just happened to have chosen to sit at this seat?   ME. I was amazed. I had picked the seat at random and assuming the placed he died was where the altar was. Again I was overwhelmed by God's kindness. I had not gone looking for any special places, and here I feel God had graciously and undeservedly handed me a place where I could reflect and concelebrate mass right at the spot where he entered eternal life.

 

In addition, the Italian Jesuit who welcomed us into the building was very kind to me being an Australian and gave us all a beautiful picture of "Mary of Providence" and gave me about fourteen copies (what a wonderful expression of the overwhelming generosity and gracousness of God who again gives us more than we could ever expect, ask for or imagine!).

 

This was a wonderful morning and I took some photos of the room, and Gesu church (whose facade design – the front of the church face - became the model for church designs all over the world).

 

God bless,

 

Paul

 

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A month or so ago, I sent through Part One on a lecture series on Pope John Paul II's "Theology of the Body"   (I have written up part II if anyone would like to look at the final instalment, and it can be found at this site:

 

http://maryboroughatholicnewsletter.blogspot.com/2007/11/andy-baker-theology-of-body-part-ii.html

 

pk

 

 

Papal Audience 30,000 people brave the rain to see and hear the Pope

Hi everyone,

After getting quite soaked at the Papal Audience, it is nice to get home to the college and read what, in the excitement, I heard only parts of in the Pope's speech. The Pope gave the longest version of the text in italian and then a shortened version in about five other languages.  Please find below a report on his words at the audience we attended.

Also, I have loaded a few more photos from our day on my photo website www.mysteriousthree.com  with special thanks to two priests from our group, Fr JP and Fr Rob W who shared with me their photos of our group and some excellent close-up photos of Pope Benedict,

cheerio

Paul

Comments on Duty to Be Law-abiding Citizens

VATICAN CITY, OCT. 31, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Good Christians must also be good citizens, and this implies even the unpleasant task of paying taxes, says Benedict XVI.

The Pope said this today to the more than 30,000 rain-soaked participants at the general audience in St. Peter's Square. The Pontiff, continuing his series of meditations on the Fathers of the Church, spoke of St. Maximus, the bishop of Turin.

Maximus became bishop in 398, and according to the Holy Father, "contributed decisively to the spread and consolidation of Christianity in northern Italy."

Although there is little biographical information on the saint, Benedict XVI spoke of the contribution of Bishop Maximus based on 90 written sermons.

The bishop lived at a time when life in Turin was at a turning point, said the Pope. The Roman Empire was losing civil authority, and the city was continuously threatened by barbarian invaders.

"The interventions of Maximus in the face of this situation bears witness to his commitment to do something about civil degradation and disaggregation," said the Pontiff. "Maximus, facing the collapse of the civil authority of the Roman Empire, felt fully authorized to exercise a true and proper power of control over the city."

To this end, according to the Holy Father, the bishop dedicated various sermons to the duty of Christians to also be good citizens. "Not only do many Christians not distribute what they have, but they also plunder the possessions of others," Maximus told his flock.

The bishop likened the actions of a Christian engaged in thievery as "a wolf who preys on pigs," and urged his audience to "act like Christians."

Nitty gritty

Benedict XVI noted: "Maximus not only dedicated himself to reigniting in the faithful a traditional love for their native city, but also proclaimed that it was their duty to take on fiscal responsibilities, as serious and unpleasant as they may be.

"In short, the tone and substance of his Sermons assume a mature and growing awareness of the political responsibility of a bishop in specific historical circumstances."

The Pope called Maximus the city's "watchtower," who "'like a sentinel' was situated on the highest rock in the city" to be on the lookout for threats to its security.

Benedict XVI acknowledged that much has changed since the time of Maximus, but "independent of changed conditions, the duties of the believer toward his city and homeland remain valid. The intimate relationship between the 'honest citizen' and the 'good Christian' continues to stand."

Summarizing the address in English, the Pope said: "Christian believers are called upon to carry out faithfully their duties as citizens, working to imbue temporal society with the spirit of the Gospel, and striving to achieve a vital synthesis between their duties as citizens of the earthly city and their commitment to work for the coming of God's kingdom of holiness, justice and peace."

Roman audience and final lecture on 'discipleship'

Papal Audience 31st October 2007, Rome.

 

Hi everyone,

 

Today we all attended a General Audience with Pope Benedict XVI. This was an excellent experience.

 

It started out by having to set off at 8.25am even though the audience was not due to start until 10.30am and we only lived a few minuted walk from Saint Peter's Basilica.

 

We were not sure whether the General audience would be in the Auditorium or outside in Saint Peter's Square. In Summer it is outside because of the good weather and the huge crowds. I suspect that from next week it will be inside since the weather is fast cooling.

 

When we set off I could not decide what the weather would be like and I was thinking we might be indoors. For some reason I decided not to take a coat or an umbrella.

 

This turned out to be a mistake because it rain steadily for most of the time and we ended up being outdoors.

 

We were all dressed up in suits and collars and I was getting very soaked. One kind member of our group who also had an umbrella gave me his waterproof jacket which I wore over my head and that made everything very comfortable.

 

We had excellent seats, We were up at the side raised section right next to the Papal undercover canopy in front of Saint Peter's. Interestingly, in front of  us was a large group of Japanese ladies who turned out to be Buddhists visiting St Peter's. One of our priests ministers in Japan and he talked with them in Japanese. One Buddhist lady was fascinated by the image of the crucifix on the main platform. She said "I cannot comprehend the idea of the person you call God being put on the Cross."  Again this lady captured the sheer scandal of the cross and the sign of the absolute love that God had for us that God would become one of us and love us unto death. This mystery is something we constantly marvel and wonder at.

 

It poured but our spirits were excellent.

 

When the Pope arrived he looked well and energetic and was happily waving to the different groups announced.

 

He gave a talk in about five different languages and was fluent in all of them. Amazing.

 

I reckon we were only 30 metres from him and we got some wonderful photos of him,

 

This is such an amazing experience. Here is the leader of the world's catholics, one of the most reconisable people in the world and yet humble, friendly and only metres from us. Excellent.

 

I got someone to photograph me with the Pope in the background. If you look at the photos I load on my photo site www.mysteriousthree.com   you will see me, looking wet and ragged and the man in white to the right of me, in the distance is the Pope.

 

It was an excellent experience but we were happy to come home and get into warm dry clothes. It wasn't too cold but one cannot be too careful,

 

(also, please find below the final segment of the excellent lecture series on "discipleship. Very inspiring content)

Cheerio

 

Paul

 

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 Fuellenbach Lectures on Discipleship - (final section)  (part VI _ final)

 

Some factors which appear to have been present in considering who to elect in the 2005 Conclave to elect the next Pope :

 

- Cardinal Ratzinger took his office seriously - when he was Cardinal prefect of the Sacred Congregatiom of the Doctrine of Faith he would always meet personally with visiting Bishops on their ad limina visit to Rome - he would not ' as others did ' send a representative.

- if anyone knew what it meant  to "be Catholic," it was cardinal Ratzinger. Who would fill the void left after the 27 years reign of John Paul II?  He would certainlt hold onto the catholic identity.

- in his homily at the funeral for Pope John Paul the world saw another side of the man often badly represented by the media in the past. He was a man of prayer and passion and also a moving emotional element.

 

We believe in "christ has died, christ is risen, christ will come again."  we have a witing hope - nourished by the Spirit who helps us participate now in the world to come (the 'already and the not yet'   ).

 

It is good to preach about the Lord's prayer once in a while at masses.. It is THE PRAYER !!

 

Jesus proclaimed the kingdom of God as having arrived with him. So, what should we do in response? CONVERT ! But, now we need 'guidelines for action'.

 

The "sermon on the mount" (matthew's Gospel)

 

Mt 5-7. This is our Rule of Action and gives us  our guideRule for prayer.  This shows us the pattern of behaviour for those who follow the Lord. Our rule of conduct. The sermon on the mount  also answers the question: "what should a disciple pray for?" - what ought to be the core of your petitionary prayer? What ought we be asking for in our prayer?

 

In response we are given the OUR FATHER. IN THE OUR FATHER ARE a the basic concerns of Jesus' whole message. In some ways it is not the most poetic or "nicest" constructed prayer ever written - it is somewhat abrupt but really the Lord's Prayer is a kind of GUIDE-RULE TO CHECK ALL YOUR PRAYERS AGAINST.

 

FR. F. Mentioned at this point that the intercessions (prayers of intercession/ faithful) for Sunday Mass are really important. Sunday mass is for carefully thought-out  and prepared prayers. Sunday mass is not the time for ad-libbed or 'from the assembly' prayers (which might be more suited to weekday masses) because in the intercessions for Sunday mass we bring the BIG WORLD and its issues to the Lord. At times when people bring their prayers ad-libbed they tend to be about little things like someone's dog who is sick etc. But especially at Sunday mass we are presenting the world and its people to the Lord in prayer! 

 

 

From 1985-1995 a study listed that there had been 6000 publications on the topic of the Our Father. Interest in this essential prayer is immense. (also a lot of writing on the topic of Psalm 23 - the Lord is my Shepherd). These prayers are the most prayed prayers in all Christian churches.

 

As central as the Lord's Prayer is, there is always a danger that overuse may lead us to take it for granted. This is a treasure of inestimable value. It imitates the whole of the teachings of Jesus. So we must not forget to reflect deeply upon it.

 

Interesting to note that the concept of "Father" in the Gospels and the writing of the early church was deliberately COUNTER TO THE  patriarchal and dominating image of Father in the cultures of the time. Here was a different type of Father. Not LIKE  the earthly father. This concept of Father that Jesus gives is a new meaning to a familiar word. It is Jesus' Father that Jesus is introducing us to , not jist any father. Jesus says "my Father and your Father."  - We are drawn into HIS FATHER by being joined into Jesus' life.

 

The concept of a divine "mother" figure at the time of Jesus was always connected to Pantheistic (pagan) religions. The Judaeo-Christian religion insisted on the concept of Father.

 

Listen to the EXPERIENCE  of Jesus that he is trying to express with the words he used.  It is true that God is more like a mothe and whilst Jesus readily used metaphors and images to descibe what God is like he didn't those images as a form of address when relating deeply to the one he called "Abba" "dearest Father" . Jesus, the God  made flesh - incarnate - used incarnate words and to give flesh to his relationship with the one in heaven he used the Hebrew word "abba".

 

This gives meaning to Jesus instruction - "call no one earth your Father" - because , to Jesus, there is NO comparison between earthly fatherhood and God as "FATHER". There is only ONE  Father (God in Heaven).

 

One of the biggest challenges and mistakes we can make is assuming that all cultures have to become like ours. Not all cultures do and see things the same way and they need not all become uniform. Scripture passages such as Galatians 4:6 and Romans 8:14 show that we are being drawn into an "Abba" experience.

 

There is no easy answer to calls by slome scholars that we call God "our mothers to avoid some form of gender bias.  However what we do know is Jesus used the term Father to describe HIS relationship to the one he experienced as Father and that this relationship and meaning for Jesus to the "father" is one stripped of any earthly limitations to the word.

 

The Theologian and writer, Australian Jesuit priest Gerard O'Collins has written a short but excellent book on the Lord's Prayer and he also talks about gender issues in relationship to this prayer. He puts some brakes on feminist interpretations - the Our Father" refers to the Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

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The "Didache" - a catechetical text written for Jewish Christians around 110 AD says " A Christian should pray the Our Father three times a day (replacing the traditional prayers three times a day -morning, noon, night- of the Jewish faith practise).

 

Later, it was thought for a while that the Lord's Prayer was a prayer that ONLY baptised Christians should pray - for no-one can address God as "father" unless they have the Holy Spirit SO -they thought - if you are not baptised, you are not yet drawn into relationship with Jesus which then makes us able to join and unite in him in calling God our Father.

 

In one of more ancient rite (or eastern rites?) there were twelve different introductory phrases to lead people into the recitation of the Lord's Prayer. This is a reminder of how important, how central this prayer is.

 

It is good to pause before praying the Lord's Prayer; so that the significance can sink in - a treasure is coming _....  To let us know that this is the ONLY one Jesus gave us.

 

This becomes an identity prayer - a sign of our Christianity. Anyone who claims to be Christian and yet does not know  the Lord's prayer is probably an impostor.

 

Matthew and Luke both have a version of the Lord's prayer. Matthew's gospel was written for Jewish Christians - hence his addition of the instruction to have 'less babbling' - less 'going on and on with endless words'

 

Luke's Gospel - Written for pagans who had to learn to pray.

 

The church uses the Matthew version - Matthew is more flowing for recitation. Luke's version is more staccato. Yet their substance is basically the same.

 

This is basically a Jewish structured prayer form -

 

1. Address:  "Dearest Father!" (Luke)

2. Thou petitions: 

        -Name

        -Kingdom. (Matthew adds 'thy will be done'.

3. We petitions:

        -Bread

        -Debts

4. Concluding Request. 'lead us not into temptation'

 

Also, all Jewish prayers had a closing doxology such as "for the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory are yours forever and ever. Amen.

 

The "Didache" adds what would have been here and shows that it was used in liturgy from the earliest times.

 

The Lord's prayer contains a huge basic concern. Summary of Jesus message.

 

Mark and Matthew vary in a couple of places.

 

Every group, every movement- every leader in Jesus' time would have had a distinctive prayer that represented what they were about and gave identity and recognizability to their followers. Whether the leader/group would have been John the Baptist or the Qumran communities or so on..

 

The Lord's prayer comes from a request by Jesus' disciples : "Lord, teach us to pray as John the Baptist taught his disciples to pray?"  (Can you give us an identification tag so we can know who we are and others can recognise."

 

The :"Our Father" is the Christian Manifesto.

 

Let's look at the  elements of the Lord's prayer in detail.

 

1. The Address -

 

To whom does a disciple of Jesus address themselves in prayer.

 

Normally: A Jewish person would stand there with hands outstretched... And pray: " Almighty and ever powerful God.  You who led my ancestors out of the wilderness..... And who taught us to Love you with all our Heart, mind, soul and strength......."

 

Jesus says "cut all that out... Just say..... "Dearest Father........"

 

We are infinitely loved children of God. By being drawn into Jesus we share his relationship within God. A relationship which is "ABBA" (DADDY) TO A DEARLY BELOVED ONLY SON OF GOD.

 

What should one ask for first.

 

John 17: 26.  I have revealed your name and I will continue to reveal it.

 

He reveals who God is and wants to draw us into this relationship. 

 

"Hallowed be thy name."  These are petitionary / begging prayers (not thanksgiving).

 

Keeping God's name holy is very Jewish thinking (the prophet Ezekiel says in the Old Testament, speaking God' words - "you have defiled my name and I will sanctify my name  (when the messiah comes)"

 

Name: This is the TRUE God of Jesus. Therefore Jesus' one desire is if only the whole world would know this - who God is. God's true nature - God's identity - God's name -

 

So  we really pray : Let me know you more and let all know and letthat day dawn wheb everyone knows you and yiur true and full identity and nature and the fullness of the relationship that signifies. Give us this fullness O God. (give us the 'real thing' pleasèf this is what we desire).

 

Your name:

May it be revealed and respected-

- To me

- to all

- ultimately in its fullness.

 

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Now looking at the petition relating to the Kingdom.

 

It is IN experience of the Kingdom - already here but not yet revealed in fullness) that you cry for the kingdom to ARRIVE IN ITS FULLNESS.

 

Let us have enough of the kingdom now to become present to us, so that I can keep pointing to it and keep showing people that the Kingdom is already here (even if not fully revealed). And of course all the while we long and pray that this kingdom come soon in its fullness.

 

Matthew's Gospel adds - "thy will be done"

 

In Hebrew grammar, if you wanted to stress an important point, they didn't underline it, they didn't us capitals or bold print, they would repeat the same point using different words.

 

Matthew - In the heavens - God is the undisputed leader and uler. God Reigns the Heavens= God 'wills' the Heavens.

 

So, it simply says "Let what rules the Heavens _ let it come down to earth.

 

God's will= God's Reign

 

Some exegetes of he Bible see a seed of the Lord's prayer in Jesus'  prayer in Gethsemene :  "Father, let this cup of suffering pass, but not my will, but yours be done."

 

Like the Jewish belief _ if one trule faithful person kept the first commandment perfectly, then God's kingdom would descend to earth and fill it.

 

In the gospels, when Jesus thought of his impending death, he is no hero. Whenever he saw the cross loominh before him - he is extremely upset, horrified. Not simply because of the reality of  suffering and death but the thought of being 'cut off from the love of the father' - this was hell, this was agony to Jesus. Unbearable..

 

In Hebrews -   5:6-8 . In the days of his earthly existence he cried tears to his Father to save him from death.... He had to learn obedience. "

 

Jesus also says in the Gospels "I must be baptised .. And how great is my distress until it is over."

 

Jesus knew that doing the Father's will would be a horror - it would be a dread for him. Jesus says to any who would follow him - You will need to experience like me doing God's will at the expense of your own. You will be tempted to 'play God' because it will be easier to follow you own will than the will of God? And you will cry out like me! Do you think it will be easier for you than it was / is / for me.

 

Jesus never took his humanity lightly.

 

Total commitment to the Father's will out of love - not out of bargaining or reward for sacrifices given _. It is because Jesus LOVED that he suffered so much - even to death.

 

Paul - God made Christ into SIN (into a curse) - into a condemned experience - so that he crucify this and defeat it.

 

Crucified people could hang on the cross for days - for Jesus they even put him on a kind of platform/ seat in order to extend his life and increase his agony. This is why Pilate was so shocked to hear Jesus died so soon. The sheer devestion of being cut off from the Father (even though he trusted the Father was always with him) surely multiplied the agony and accellerated his death - crushed.

 

When anyone commits themselves to Jesus and te Kingdom it will be hard... Strength from God will be needed to persevere.

 

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"give us this day our daily bread"

 

This is NOT just a petition for food (bread)

 

For bread;it must have a link to whole of Jesus' teaching. The Church Fathers already realised this and said in their commentaries "careful."

 

This whole part of the Lord's prayer is really addressing the "table fellowship" 

Of Jesus' ministry.

 

St Jerome who translated the early manuscripts from the original Hebrew language says this really translates as - "the bread of tomorrow, give us today"

 

St jerome translated the gospel of Matthew into Latin using both Hebrew and Greek manuscript versions.

 

So this part of the prayer really seems to mean "the bread which you will give us in your Kingdom, the bread of the heavenly feast of the Lamb, give us this bread today. The word in Hebrew is "mahar". Why did they not translate it more fully. It IS BREAD but it is really something more. More fully it seems to mean: "Give us today enough food that we can make of it a sign of the Kingdom where will one day all eat the banquet feast of heaven together.

 

For early Christians ANY meal was a special meal and a holy occasion. Every meal was a reminder of their table fellowship.

 

Fr F. Tells a story of a family tradition of people he knew. He would often stay for dinner and his place was always set at the top of the table. One day he wasn't staying for dinner but pointed out that there was still one extra seat at the head of the table. The family explained that they had a tradition whereby they always set that extra place ro "remind us of Jesus" and if a guest comes, they sit there.

 

Jesus shares more than a meal with us - he dwells with us.

 

Also, the Lord's prayer says "give Us"  (not "give ME"). We are always called to remember those who have none.

 

A meal, for us, is always a holy event (sacred).  Our petition is also that Jesus will always be present in a meal.

 

We Catholics have always celebrated feasts with a meal. Things are given to enjoy.

 

The Kingdom is compared as a great meal, with enormous festivity.

 

Any meal, party should 'smell of the (joy of the) Kingdom.

 

Fr F. Gave an example in his missionary experiences. Whenever a new house was completed for a community membe®when the time came for them to move in, the whole community and Fr would havea procession with the family to their new house. They would then have a party with all the neighbours at the new house and Eucharist would be celebrated there. The house would be blessed, statues and a little prayer altar would be set up and they would be given a small chalice and paten to remind them of Eucharist and they would celebrate this moving in as like an annual feast day. In this way the people would be connected to and reminded that the values of the Kingdom are in the very centre of Life and that is where Eucharist is to be found and experienced too.

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  FORGIVE US OUR DEBTS:

 

In this part of the prayer - even though we are followers of Jesus, we remain sinners. We are not perfect. We are constantly in need of forgiveness. The Greek language words used in this part are transliterated as "os gar"  which literally means the rather confusing "as we here with". The full meaning of this is "FORGIVE US OUR SINS SO THAT , IN THE RECEIVING OF FORGIVENESS I MIGHT FIND THE STRENGTH TO FORGIVE THOSE WHO FORGIVE ME."

 

Sometimes this line has been interpreted to mean "forgive us only to the extent weforgive others. However, this is not really capturing the meaning. In any case, forgiveness is a divine prerogative. We would not be able to forgive other unless we experience God's loving forgiveness ourselves. So, the better understanding in this passage is "God forgive us, so that we can pass this God's forgiveness to others.

 

TRUE DISCIPLESHIP IS ABOUT

COMPASSIONATE

LOVING

SERVICE.

 

In matthew's gospel the following is added "if you do not forgive others their sins God will not forgive yours. But this can really be saying "if you do not forgive others then you are blocking God's forgiveness to you - you are being a barrier to God's forgiveness wanting to fllow to you and through you to others. This is what it means to offend the Holy Spirit - not allowing the Spirit to do its work.

 

The example for this is the incident in Simon's house where Jesus got his feet washed by the woman. "how many sins must have been forgiven this woman - for one who is forgiven much loves much. " it is out of that profound gratitude that she knows love. Forgiveness is first. Love flows from it. From God's love and forgiveness we are strengthened in order to be able to pass it on to others (we cannot hope to sufficiently thank God for these gifts so we pass them on in love to others).

 

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LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION.

 

You cannot talk of the Kingdom of God without contrasting it with the Kingdom of evil.

 

Mk 1:16-3:12. He came from out of the world to kick out evil from the world and destroy it. There is a battle going on between the two kingdoms. Ultimately the "temptation" spoken of in this prayer is the temptation to despair from the idead that the Kingdom cannot be seen. If we stop hoping and believing that the Kingdom is amongst us then we stop witnessing to it. When the fire goes out! Nothing worse than losing all fire in ministry and only hiding behind the sacraments  with not excitement, no drive.... Deliver us Lord from that temptation to lose faith, hope and love - and trust in the Kingdom being present.

 

Fr. F. Said that he had, in his mind, a theoretical "prayer drawer" where he puts every prayer intention asked for him. Every day he asks God to keep in mind and remember the prayers he has placed in the prayer drawer. God remembers them better than anyone.

 

He asked us to put him into our prayer drawer and when we go through that drawer, when we find a little him in there "pray that the the Fire may never go out!"

 

Then Fr F. ANNOUNCED that there were actually nine beatitudes. The word beatitude means "congratulations" better than "happy". The ninth beatitude is this:

 

"congratulations to the lecturers who have an attentive audience".

 

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Fr.F. Then concluded by presiding at mass with us. In the hoomily he told this inspiring true story. He was pastor of a parish where ther was also an assistant priest. This assistant priest had a superb singing voice and was preparing to  sing the Good Friday Passion Gospel at the 3pm service. A couple of hours before the ceremony the priest cam to Fr. F. And said "I can't do the 3pm service!". 

 

"WHAT do you mean can't?"

 

" I am having a priesthood crisis. I can't do it!"

 

"I bet you were having this crisis last week too but you tell me NOW two hours before the mass?"

 

Then Fr.F. Had an  inspiration in what to reply. He said to the struggling priest: "listen, before you decide whether you can or cannot do the mass, please go and do this- Go up to your room and sing the Easter Alleluia twelve times through!"

 

The priest looked doubtful; "I can't sing the Easter Alleluia, its Good Friday!"

 

Fr F. Replied : "one minute you are having a priesthood crisis and now you are having SCRUPLES! GET UP THERE YOU DUMMY AND SING!"

 

The priest went upstairs and Fr F. Was downstairs. He prayed to God that this might be inspired and felt bad that he may have made him feel worse. After a few minutes silence he could hear the voice of the priest singing upstairs. He sang the Easter alleluia twlelve times through and for good measure the Exsultet Easter Hymn. Moments after finishing the priest rushed downstairs and said: "I can do it. It worked. I sand the words of the Easter hymn and Easter Exsultet and the words and music catapultet me out of my crisis. I can do the mass" .

 

Fr f. Was glad he could do the mass but was unsure as to whether it was a short term reprieve or not.

 

Every Easter for many years Fr Fuellenbach gets a card from this priest and in this card it assures him that he is happy and fulfilled in his priesthood with these words : "the Easter Alleluia stuck! Happy Easter!"

 

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Studies in Rome

Hi everyone,

My Mum and Dad have headed back home after an enjoyable stay here in Rome. I am so grateful for the time to catch up and relax and look at some special places in Rome.

For me, its back to lectures, and we have had an excellent lecturer ever day this week, speaking about "Discipleship, following Jesus who walked on the earth"

Fr John Fuellenbach has given the talks and they are very inspiring. I hope to be able to give a more full summary soon. His talks are based loosely around his new book, "Throw Fire".

A little taste of his book can be found in the following link, although his lectures are more general to the topic of discipleship  and the nature of the God we are called to be follow.

http://www.tere.org/secondary/gcse/index.html


He has also written some classic books:  namely:
*The Kingdom of God: Message of Jesus Today by John Fuellenbach (Paperback - Mar 1996)

 

*Ecclesiastical Office and the Primacy of Rome: An Evaluation of Recent Theological Discussion of First Clement (Studies in Christian antiquity) by John Fuellenbach (Hardcover - 1980)

 

 *Church: Community for the Kingdom (American Society of Missiology) by John Fuellenbach (Paperback - 2 Jul 2002)

 

Having engaged with these excellent talks, it is clear how our discipleship must reveal itself in practical and concrete ways in our lives and actions. So, it is very relevant and timely that the Pope's latest general audience was on the topic of St Ambrose, and particularly how it is often not as much WHAT we say but how we live what we are saying that brings home the truth of Jesus' good news: (see Pope's message below)

cheers everyone,

paul

AMBROSE: CATECHESIS INSEPARABLE FROM LIFE WITNESS

 

VATICAN CITY, OCT 24, 2007 (VIS) - During today's general audience, Benedict XVI continued his series of catecheses dedicated to Fathers of the Church, turning his attention to the figure of St. Ambrose, bishop of Milan. The audience, held in St. Peter's Square, was attended by more than 30,000 people.

 

  It was from Origen that Ambrose (ca. 340-397), considered to be one of the four greatest Doctors of the Church, learnt to know and comment the Bible. It was Ambrose, the Pope explained, who "brought meditation upon the Scriptures into the Latin world, ... introducing the practice of 'lectio divina' to the West." This practice "guided all his own preaching and writing which flow, in fact, from his listening ... to the Word of God."

 

  With him catechumens "learnt first the art of correct living" in order "to be prepared for the great Mysteries of Christ." His preaching was founded on "the reading of Sacred Scripture" with the aim of "living in conformity with divine Revelation.

 

  "It is evident," the Pope added, "that the preacher's personal witness and the exemplary nature of the Christian community influence the effectiveness of preaching. ... From this point of view, one decisive factor is life context, the reality of how the Word is lived."

 

  Benedict XVI recalled the fact that St. Augustine in his Confessions recounts how his own conversion was not due "chiefly to the beautiful homilies" of Ambrose, whom he knew in Milan, but above all "to the witness of the bishop and of his Milanese Church, who sang and prayed together like one single body." Augustine also tells of his surprise at seeing how Ambrose, when he was alone, would read the Scriptures without moving his lips, because at that time reading was considered as something to be proclaimed out loud in order to facilitate its comprehension.

 

  It is "in such reading, ... when the heart seeks to achieve an understanding of the Word of God, that we catch a glimpse of Ambrosian catechesis," said the Holy Father. "Scripture intimately assimilated suggests what must be announced to convert people's hearts. ... Thus catechesis is inseparable from life witness."

 

  "Those who educate in the faith," he continued, "cannot run the risk of appearing like a clown who plays a role, ... rather he must be like the beloved disciple who rested his head on the Master's heart and there learnt how to think, speak and act."

 

  St. Ambrose died on Good Friday, his arms open in the form of the cross. "Thus," the Pope concluded, "he expressed his mystical participation in the death and resurrection of the Lord. This was his final catechesis. In the silence of words, he spoke still with the testimony of his life."

Roaming around town

Today, I enjoyed another excellent day of wandering Rome with Mum and Dad.

We visited the Church of Saint Clement. This is such a wonderful church because of the fact that the present church is build upon the ancient Church of St Clement, and this in turn is built upon a pagan temple. Three different levels and visitors can go down and look at them. Amazing, and very well preserved. it is also the tombs of Cyril and Methodius and of course St Clement.

We prayed especially for blessings for my uncle, Clem, whose patron saint is this saint. We also prayed for my parish priest i had as a child, Fr Cyril Shand, who died not long before I was ordained.

We then visited the amazing church of St Peter in Chains where the chains believed to have been used to hold St Peter are kept. Also, the famous tomb of Julius II including the statue of Moses by Michaelangelo is in this church.

After lunch we visited the ancient civic centre of Rome, the Roman Forum. Mum, Dad and I walked through the ruins and looked at the buildings and monuments that are all that remains of the centre of the ancient Roman empire. The one I like the best is the ancient Rostri, the stage where public citizens could come and speak to the people, and this is where Marc Anthony gave his famous speech after the assassination of Julius Ceasar.

We also went to see the church of Mary and the Martyrs and Angels. You may remember that we tried to go there the other day but were unable to because of an enormous state funeral there, which also blocked the streets.  

Today we tried again, but excitement seems to be following us, because AGAIN the streets around this church were entirely blocked to traffic. Thousands of people waving red flags were having a rally and march in the streets around there. It was a peaceful march from what we saw and in fact the march, although crowded, allowed us to moved more easily across the streets by foot. When we came to the church, there were protesters holding an enormous banner. We just walked past them and they let us in. When we came out, there was someone holding up a sign saying something in Italian like 'the church should give justice" or words to that effect. I just gave a friendly smile and moved on. The person holding the sign looked a bit surprised, perhaps they were expecting a less friendly reaction?

We went to mass at a local church which has English language mass for the weekend. St Susanna's. They had children's liturgy and excellent music. It reminded me of home.
I have uploaded some more photos of our days together at www.mysteriousthree.com

Also, the college whereI am staying has published a few photos of the recent diaconate they had at St Peter's. Somehow I ended up in a few photos, (just to prove that I was there and didn't sleep in and miss it!) so if you would like to visit the site of these photos, it is at :

http://www.pnac.org/resource/public/photoload.aspx?domain=PUC&id=2007.10.04%20-%20Diaconate%20Ordination

cheers and God bless

Paul