"Believing in charity calls forth charity"

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS
BENEDICT XVI
FOR LENT 2013

"Believing in charity calls forth charity"
“We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us" 

 (1 Jn 4:16)

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The celebration of Lent, in the context of the Year of Faith, offers us a valuable opportunity to meditate on the relationship between faith and charity: between believing in God – the God of Jesus Christ – and love, which is the fruit of the Holy Spirit and which guides us on the path of devotion to God and others.

1. Faith as a response to the love of God

In my first Encyclical, I offered some thoughts on the close relationship between the theological virtues of faith and charity. Setting out from Saint John’s fundamental assertion: “We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us” (1 Jn 4:16), I observed that “being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction … Since God has first loved us (cf. 1 Jn 4:10), love is now no longer a mere ‘command’; it is the response to the gift of love with which God draws near to us” (Deus Caritas Est, 1). Faith is this personal adherence – which involves all our faculties – to the revelation of God’s gratuitous and “passionate” love for us, fully revealed in Jesus Christ. The encounter with God who is Love engages not only the heart but also the intellect: “Acknowledgement of the living God is one path towards love, and the ‘yes’ of our will to his will unites our intellect, will and sentiments in the all-embracing act of love. But this process is always open-ended; love is never ‘finished’ and complete” (ibid., 17). Hence, for all Christians, and especially for “charity workers”, there is a need for faith, for “that encounter with God in Christ which awakens their love and opens their spirits to others. As a result, love of neighbour will no longer be for them a commandment imposed, so to speak, from without, but a consequence deriving from their faith, a faith which becomes active through love” (ibid., 31a). Christians are people who have been conquered by Christ’s love and accordingly, under the influence of that love – “Caritas Christi urget nos” (2 Cor 5:14) – they are profoundly open to loving their neighbour in concrete ways (cf. ibid., 33). This attitude arises primarily from the consciousness of being loved, forgiven, and even served by the Lord, who bends down to wash the feet of the Apostles and offers himself on the Cross to draw humanity into God’s love.

“Faith tells us that God has given his Son for our sakes and gives us the victorious certainty that it is really true: God is love! … Faith, which sees the love of God revealed in the pierced heart of Jesus on the Cross, gives rise to love. Love is the light – and in the end, the only light – that can always illuminate a world grown dim and give us the courage needed to keep living and working” (ibid., 39). All this helps us to understand that the principal distinguishing mark of Christians is precisely “love grounded in and shaped by faith” (ibid., 7).

2. Charity as life in faith

The entire Christian life is a response to God’s love. The first response is precisely faith as the acceptance, filled with wonder and gratitude, of the unprecedented divine initiative that precedes us and summons us. And the “yes” of faith marks the beginning of a radiant story of friendship with the Lord, which fills and gives full meaning to our whole life. But it is not enough for God that we simply accept his gratuitous love. Not only does he love us, but he wants to draw us to himself, to transform us in such a profound way as to bring us to say with Saint Paul: “it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (cf. Gal 2:20).

When we make room for the love of God, then we become like him, sharing in his own charity. If we open ourselves to his love, we allow him to live in us and to bring us to love with him, in him and like him; only then does our faith become truly “active through love” (Gal 5:6); only then does he abide in us (cf. 1 Jn4:12).

Faith is knowing the truth and adhering to it (cf. 1 Tim 2:4); charity is “walking” in the truth (cf. Eph 4:15). Through faith we enter into friendship with the Lord, through charity this friendship is lived and cultivated (cf. Jn 15:14ff). Faith causes us to embrace the commandment of our Lord and Master; charity gives us the happiness of putting it into practice (cf. Jn 13:13-17). In faith we are begotten as children of God (cf. Jn 1:12ff); charity causes us to persevere concretely in our divine sonship, bearing the fruit of the Holy Spirit (cf. Gal5:22). Faith enables us to recognize the gifts that the good and generous God has entrusted to us; charity makes them fruitful (cf. Mt 25:14-30).

3. The indissoluble interrelation of faith and charity

In light of the above, it is clear that we can never separate, let alone oppose, faith and charity. These two theological virtues are intimately linked, and it is misleading to posit a contrast or “dialectic” between them. On the one hand, it would be too one-sided to place a strong emphasis on the priority and decisiveness of faith and to undervalue and almost despise concrete works of charity, reducing them to a vague humanitarianism. On the other hand, though, it is equally unhelpful to overstate the primacy of charity and the activity it generates, as if works could take the place of faith. For a healthy spiritual life, it is necessary to avoid both fideism and moral activism.

The Christian life consists in continuously scaling the mountain to meet God and then coming back down, bearing the love and strength drawn from him, so as to serve our brothers and sisters with God’s own love. In sacred Scripture, we see how the zeal of the Apostles to proclaim the Gospel and awaken people’s faith is closely related to their charitable concern to be of service to the poor (cf. Acts 6:1-4). In the Church, contemplation and action, symbolized in some way by the Gospel figures of Mary and Martha, have to coexist and complement each other (cf. Lk 10:38-42). The relationship with God must always be the priority, and any true sharing of goods, in the spirit of the Gospel, must be rooted in faith (cf. General Audience, 25 April 2012). Sometimes we tend, in fact, to reduce the term “charity” to solidarity or simply humanitarian aid. It is important, however, to remember that the greatest work of charity is evangelization, which is the “ministry of the word”. There is no action more beneficial – and therefore more charitable – towards one’s neighbour than to break the bread of the word of God, to share with him the Good News of the Gospel, to introduce him to a relationship with God: evangelization is the highest and the most integral promotion of the human person. As the Servant of God Pope Paul VI wrote in the Encyclical Populorum Progressio, the proclamation of Christ is the first and principal contributor to development (cf. n. 16). It is the primordial truth of the love of God for us, lived and proclaimed, that opens our lives to receive this love and makes possible the integral development of humanity and of every man (cf. Caritas in Veritate, 8).

Essentially, everything proceeds from Love and tends towards Love. God’s gratuitous love is made known to us through the proclamation of the Gospel. If we welcome it with faith, we receive the first and indispensable contact with the Divine, capable of making us “fall in love with Love”, and then we dwell within this Love, we grow in it and we joyfully communicate it to others.

Concerning the relationship between faith and works of charity, there is a passage in the Letter to the Ephesians which provides perhaps the best account of the link between the two: “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God; not because of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (2:8-10). It can be seen here that the entire redemptive initiative comes from God, from his grace, from his forgiveness received in faith; but this initiative, far from limiting our freedom and our responsibility, is actually what makes them authentic and directs them towards works of charity. These are not primarily the result of human effort, in which to take pride, but they are born of faith and they flow from the grace that God gives in abundance. Faith without works is like a tree without fruit: the two virtues imply one another. Lent invites us, through the traditional practices of the Christian life, to nourish our faith by careful and extended listening to the word of God and by receiving the sacraments, and at the same time to grow in charity and in love for God and neighbour, not least through the specific practices of fasting, penance and almsgiving.

4. Priority of faith, primacy of charity

Like any gift of God, faith and charity have their origin in the action of one and the same Holy Spirit (cf. 1 Cor 13), the Spirit within us that cries out “Abba, Father” (Gal 4:6), and makes us say: “Jesus is Lord!” (1 Cor 12:3) and “Maranatha!” (1 Cor 16:22; Rev 22:20).

Faith, as gift and response, causes us to know the truth of Christ as Love incarnate and crucified, as full and perfect obedience to the Father’s will and infinite divine mercy towards neighbour; faith implants in hearts and minds the firm conviction that only this Love is able to conquer evil and death. Faith invites us to look towards the future with the virtue of hope, in the confident expectation that the victory of Christ’s love will come to its fullness. For its part, charity ushers us into the love of God manifested in Christ and joins us in a personal and existential way to the total and unconditional self-giving of Jesus to the Father and to his brothers and sisters. By filling our hearts with his love, the Holy Spirit makes us sharers in Jesus’ filial devotion to God and fraternal devotion to every man (cf. Rom 5:5).

The relationship between these two virtues resembles that between the two fundamental sacraments of the Church: Baptism and Eucharist. Baptism (sacramentum fidei) precedes the Eucharist (sacramentum caritatis), but is ordered to it, the Eucharist being the fullness of the Christian journey. In a similar way, faith precedes charity, but faith is genuine only if crowned by charity. Everything begins from the humble acceptance of faith (“knowing that one is loved by God”), but has to arrive at the truth of charity (“knowing how to love God and neighbour”), which remains for ever, as the fulfilment of all the virtues (cf. 1 Cor 13:13).

Dear brothers and sisters, in this season of Lent, as we prepare to celebrate the event of the Cross and Resurrection – in which the love of God redeemed the world and shone its light upon history – I express my wish that all of you may spend this precious time rekindling your faith in Jesus Christ, so as to enter with him into the dynamic of love for the Father and for every brother and sister that we encounter in our lives. For this intention, I raise my prayer to God, and I invoke the Lord’s blessing upon each individual and upon every community!

The Presentation of Our Lord

Today, 40 days after the celebration of the birth of the Lord we gather to celebrate the Presentation of the Lord. We commemorate the ritual purification of Mary as prescribed in the Law of Moses after the birth of Jesus. We celebrate and remember the fact that 40 days after the birth of a Jewish boy, it was the custom to take him to the temple in Jerusalem to be presented to God by his thankful parents and so Mary the Mother of Jesus and Joseph the foster father of the Lord take him to the temple in accordance with the Law. In pre-Christian times, this day was known as the feast of lights and it celebrated the fact that the days were once again growing longer while the night were growing shorter. Light was triumphing over darkness.

Now in addition to the 40 days purification required by the Mosiac Law, it doesn’t take too much savvy to figure out that Christians of the 5th and 6th centuries sort of “baptized” the pagan feast of the return of light with the coming of Jesus, who is the Lord of life. (Jhn 1: 1-5) Thus, the feast of the Presentation of the Lord became the day on which candles, which were the primary source of light in those days were blessed. They reminded the early Christians that Christ was the light of the world. (Jhn 1: 9)

Before Jesus came the world lay in darkness but with the birth of the Lord, the light of salvation dawned upon the world. Christ is the light of the world and therefore today we bless candles that remind us the light of Christ. Candles also remind us that as Christians we must bring the light of Christ to the darkness of our little corner of the world and as we bring the light of Christ to all we meet, we too will be used up in the service of the Lord as the wax of the candle is used up throwing off its light.

Today is also a special day on the secular calendar. It is Groundhog Day and of course if the groundhog sees his shadow today, we’re in for a 6 more week of winter weather. This comes from an old German proverb that goes as follows - "The badger peeps out of his hole on Candelmas day, and, if he find snow, walks abroad; but if he sees the sun shining he draws back into his hole.” So if the famous American groundhog Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, we are in for more winter weather! Now right before I came down to celebrate Mass, I looked up on the computer what the furry little monster predicted and it seems that he didn’t see his shadow so that means an early end to winter. This year, I absolutely agree with him! Sorry Brother Charles … (he loves snowy winters)!

So Groundhog Day is all about seeing shadows while Candlemas day is all about seeing light. Maybe we can put the two together and come up with a bit of a lesson. All of us have been filled with the light of Christ. At our holy baptism we were given a candle that was burning, taking its light from the Easter Candle our symbol of the light of Christ. And we are told that we are to keep that light burning brightly until the day when we go out to meet the Lord. Now, that is our task, but as we know, sometimes we compromise the light of Christ. We sin. Sin brings bits of darkness, shadows into our lives and dims the light of Christ given to us.

All of us, if the truth be told, are a mixture of light and shadows. We desire to follow Christ our light, but our sin cast shadows on that light. On this Candlemas day, as we come to Jesus the light of the world, perhaps we should ask him to give us the wisdom, the strength, the courage to always live in his light and to share his light that he has given to us with all those we meet.

May we pray:
Lord, help us keep your love, your light burning brightly in our lives. Give us the wisdom and the strength to avoid the shadows of sin in our lives. Help us carry your light to all we meet until that day when we go out to meet you, the Lamb of God who is the light of the city of God, the heavenly city of Jerusalem, the Kingdom of God.

God Bless,
Father Stephen McKinley, OFM Conv
Rector of the National Shrine of St. Maximilian Kolbe
Spiritual Advisor to the MI for the USA & Canada

Mary

“Our entire perfection consists in being conformed, united and consecrated to Jesus Christ. Hence the most perfect of all devotions is undoubtedly that which conforms, unites and consecrates us most perfectly to Jesus Christ.

Now, since Mary is of all creatures the one most conformed to Jesus Christ, it follows that among all devotions that which most consecrates and conforms a soul to our Lord is devotion to Mary, his Holy Mother, and that the more a soul is consecrated to her the more will it be consecrated to Jesus Christ."


Pope John Paul II's Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae

The Holy Family

The Feast of the Holy Family
By St. Bernard of Clairvaux

In Mary we praise that which places her above all others, that is, fruitfulness of offspring together with virginity. For never has it been known in this world that anyone was at the same time mother and virgin. And see of Whom she is mother. Where does your astonishment at this so wondrous dignity lead you? Is it not to this, that you may gaze in wonder yet never sufficiently revere? Is she not in your veneration, nay, in the esteem of Truth itself, raised above choirs of angels? Does not Mary address the Lord and God of all the angels as Son, saying: Son, why hast thou done so to us?

Who among the angels may thus presume? It is enough for them, and for them their greatest honour, that while they are spirits by nature they have become and are called angels, as David testifies: Who makest thy angels spirits. Mary, knowing herself mother, with confidence calls that Majesty Son Whom the angels in reverence serve. Nor does God disdain to be called that which He disdained not to be. For the Evangelist adds a little later: He was subject to them.

Who was subject to whom? A God to men. God, I repeat, to Whom the angels are subject: Whom principalities and powers obey: was subject to Mary; and not alone to Mary, but to Joseph also, because of Mary. Admire and revere both the one and the other, and choose which you admire the more: the most sweet condescension of the Son, or the sublime dignity of the Mother. For either am I at a loss for words: for both are wondrous. For that God should obey a woman is humility without compare; and that a woman should have rule over God dignity without equal. In praise of virgins is it joyfully proclaimed: that they follow the lamb withersoever he goeth. Of what praise shall you esteem her worthy who also goeth before Him?

Learn, O Man, to obey. Learn, O Earth, to be subject. Learn, O Dust, to submit. The Evangelist in speaking of thy Maker says: He was subject to them; that is, without doubt, to Mary and to Joseph. Be you ashamed, vain ashes that you are. God humbles Himself, and do you exalt yourself? God becomes subject to men, and will you, eager to lord it over men, place yourself above your Maker? O would that God might deign to make me, thinking such thoughts at times in my own mind, such answer as He made, reproving him, to His apostle: Go behind Me, Satan: because thou savorest not the things that are of God.

For as often as I desire to be foremost among men, so often do I seek to take precedence of God; and so do I not truly savour the things that are of God. For of Him was it said: And he was subject to them. If you disdain, O Man, to follow the example of a Man, at least it will not lower thee to imitate thy Maker. If perhaps you cannot follow Him wheresoever He goeth, at least follow in that wherein He has come down to you.

If you are unable to follow Him on the sublime way of virginity, then follow God by that most sure way of humility; from whose straitness should some even from among the virgins go aside, then must I say what is true, that neither do they follow the Lamb withersoever he goeth. He that is humble, even though he be stained, he follows the Lamb; so too does the proud virgin; but neither of the two whithersoever He goeth: because the one cannot ascend to the purity of the Lamb that is without stain, nor will the other deign to come down to the meekness of the Lamb, Who stood silent, not merely before the shearer, but before the one that put Him to death. Yet the sinner who makes after Him in humility, has chosen a wholesomer part than the one that is proud in his virtue; since the humble repentance of the one washes away uncleanness, but the pride of the other contaminates his own virtue.

Truly blessed was Mary who possessed both humility and virginity. And truly wondrous the virginity whose fruitfulness stained not, but adorned her; and truly singular the humility, which this fruitful virginity has not troubled, but rather exalted; and wholly incomparable the fruitfulness which goes hand in hand with her humility and her virginity. Which of these things is not wondrous? Which is not beyond all comparison? Which that is not wholly singular? It would be strange if you did not hesitate to decide which you regard as most worthy of praise: whether the wonder of fruitfulness of offspring in virginity, or of virginal integrity in a mother: sublimity of Offspring, or humility joined to such dignity: unless it be that we place both together above each one singly: and it is truly beyond any doubt more excellent and more joyful to have beheld these perfections united in her, than to see but one part of them.

And can we wonder that God, of Whom it is written that He is wonderful in his saints, shows Himself in His own Mother yet more wondrous still. Venerate then, Ye spouses, this integrity of flesh in our corruptible flesh. Revere likewise, Ye virgins, fruitfulness in virginity. Let all men imitate the humility of God's Mother. Honour, Ye angels, the Mother of your King, you who adore the Offspring of our Virgin; Who is your King and our King, the Healer of our race, the Restorer of our fatherland: Who among you is so sublime, yet among us was so lowly: to Whose Majesty as well from you as from us let there be adoration and reverence: to whose Perfection be there honour and glory and empire for ever and ever. Amen.

"On the feast of Stephen"

Father Stephen’s Homily & Reflection for Wednesday, December 26, 2012 during the Octave of Christmas on the Feast of St. Stephen. 

It’s sort of a jolt to celebrate the martyrdom of St. Stephen on the very day after Christmas. Yesterday, it was the angels singing the good news, and all is calm, all is bright was the mood of the day, but now we switch gears quickly and celebrate the martyrdom of Stephen, the first martyr of the Church – certainly nothing calm or bright about a martyrdom.

However, I do believe that our feast today reminds us of why the Lord Jesus came to earth in the first place. He came to earth, was placed in a wooden manger, so that some 33 years later he could be placed on a wooden cross to die for our sins, to bring us salvation. From the wood of the manger to the wood of the cross, Jesus comes to save us. He comes to save us and invites us to accept his invitation into his kingdom. However, the entrance into his kingdom calls us to follow him – his words and his actions. So therefore, if we wish to belong to his kingdom then eventually we will go to the cross.

Jesus told us as much as he told us that we must pick up our cross and follow after him.
If we wish to follow Jesus then we will go to the cross. Following the Lord is not always easy because many people will refuse the invitation and those who refuse will make it difficult, make it hard on those who accept. Once again, from the Lord’s mouth we hear that three will be against two and son against father and mother-in-law against daughter-in-law. If we accept his invitation the cross will be a part of our lives, just as surely as it was a part of St. Stephen’s life.

When we accept Christ we accept not only the tiny babe in the manger with all is calm all is bright, but we also accept the fact that Jesus calls us to follow in his footsteps from the wood of the manger to the wood of the cross. So then, like St. Stephen we can expect trials and tribulations and perhaps even death as we follow the Lord because if we follow the Lord, then we will be lead to the cross. In the words of another great saint, Saint Bonaventure, “there is no other way except through the burning love of the crucified.”

Today let us go visit Christ as he lies in his manger bed and ask him to give us the courage and strength to follow after him as did St. Stephen, knowing full well that it will take us to the cross. It will take us to eternal life!

God Bless,
Father Stephen McKinley, OFM Conv
Rector of the National Shrine of St. Maximilian Kolbe
Spiritual Advisor to the MI for the USA & Canada

"Blessed be the Holy and Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God.

 Friends, as we approach this great solemity of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God, let us renew our trust in Her maternal intercession as our Mother and Queen, the Mediatrix of all graces.
Mary's Immaculate  Conception was the first and perfect act of redemption, in which the Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ was applied to Her at the moment of conception, that She would be conceived free from all sin including the original sin of Adam.

This act of preventive redemption shows forth the victory of Christ over Satan, sin and death. The Immaculate Conception echoes throughout eterntiy the power of God's grace over the snares of evil. The Immaculate Conception heralds the fufillment of Genesis , that the seed of the woman will crush the serpent's head. 

Our Lady the creature full grace goes forth to be the Mother of Grace itself , Jesus our Lord.She is totally united with the will of the Father and intimately configured to the operation of the Holy Spirit in Her soul . Thus our Seraphic father Francis proclaimed our Lady as  the spouse of the Holy Spirit, the Virgin made Church.

By renewing our consecration to our Immaculate Mother, we again say yes to God, to  receive the gift of Mary as Our Mother and Queen. The Immaculata will  lead us always to Our Lord ,and to keep us faithful to Christ and His Church. With Our Lady we will know the mercy of God and the goodness of our Heavenly Father that He has for His children.. With St Maximilian Maria Kolbe may we ever praise the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Br Louis Mary OFM Conv.

Novena for the Immaculate Conception

The Conventual Franciscan Friars and the Crusade of Mary Immaculate (M.I.) invite you to join us in praying this Solemn Novena in honour of the Immaculate Conception from November 29 to December 7. Entrust your petitions and special intentions to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Immaculate Mother of God.

Opening prayer to the Immaculata
V. How fair You are, O Mary!
R. How fair You are, O Mary!

V. The original stain is not in You.
R. The original stain is not in You.

V. You are the boast of Jerusalem.
R. You are the joy of Israel.

V. You are the pride of our people.
R. You are the advocate of sinners.

V. O Mary!
R. O Mary!

V. You are the wisest of virgins.
R. You are the kindest of mothers.

V. Pray for us.
R. Intercede for us with our Lord Jesus Christ.

V. Holy Virgin, You were spotless from the very moment of Your conception.
R. Because You bore His Son, pray to the Father for us.

Let us pray:

Through the spotless conception of the Virgin, O God, You made ready a dwelling place worthy of Your Son. In anticipation of Your Son’s death You preserved Her from every stain. Please purify us by Her intercession, so that we might find our way to You. We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Novena Prayer to the ImmaculataI greet You, ever-blessed Virgin, Mother of God, throne of grace, miracle of almighty power! I greet You, sanctuary of the most Holy Trinity and Queen of the universe, Mother of mercy and refuge of sinners! Most loving Mother, attracted by Your beauty and sweetness, and by Your tender compassion, I confidently turn to You, and beg of You to obtain for me of Your dear Son the favour I request of this novena:
[Here to mention your request]
Obtain for me also, Queen of Heaven, the most lively contrition for my many sins and the grace to imitate closely those virtues which You practiced so faithfully, especially humility, purity, and obedience. Above all, I beg You to be my mother and protectress, to receive me into the number of Your devoted children, and to guide me from Your high throne of glory. Do not reject my petitions, Mother of mercy! Have pity on me, and do not abandon me during life or at the moment of my death.

Daughter of the Eternal Father, Mother of the Eternal Son, Spouse of the Holy Spirit, temple of the adorable Trinity, pray for me. Immaculate and tender heart of Mary, refuge of sinners, filled with the most lively respect, love, and gratitude, I devote myself forever to Your service, and I offer You my heart with all that I am and all that belongs to me. Accept this offering, sweet Queen of heaven and earth, and obtain for me of Your dear Son, Jesus Christ, the favours I ask through Your intercession in this novena. Obtain for me also a tender, generous, constant love of God, perfect submission to His adorable will, the true spirit of a Christian, and the grace of final perseverance.

Amen.