On Sts. Peter and Paul

Code: ZE06063006

Date: 2006-06-30

On Sts. Peter and Paul

"Columns and Foundation of the City of God"

VATICAN CITY, JUNE 30, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of Benedict XVI's address, before and after praying the Angelus on Thursday, solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul.

* * *

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

Today we honor solemnly Sts. Peter and Paul, "Apostles of Christ, columns and foundation of the city of God," as today's liturgy says. Their martyrdom was to be considered as the true and proper act of the birth of the Church of Rome.

The two apostles rendered their supreme testimony in a short distance of time and space one from the other: Here, in Rome, St. Peter was crucified and subsequently St. Paul was decapitated.

Their blood was fused therefore almost in one sole testimony of Christ, which drove St. Irenaeus, bishop of Lyon, in the middle of the second century, to speak of the "Church founded and constituted in Rome by the two most glorious Apostles Peter and Paul" ("Against Heresies" III, 3, 2).

Shortly after, from North Africa, Tertullian exclaimed: "This Church of Rome, how blessed she is! It was the Apostles themselves, who with their blood, poured out to her the whole doctrine" ("Prescription against the Heretics," 36).

Precisely because of this, the Bishop of Rome, Successor of the Apostle Peter, carries out a particular ministry of service of the doctrinal and pastoral unity of the people of God spread throughout the world.

In this context one also understands better the meaning of the rite that we renewed this morning, during the holy Mass in St. Peter's Basilica, that is, the reception of the pallium, ancient liturgical insignia, which expresses the special communion of these pastors with the Successor of Peter.

My greetings go to these venerated brother archbishops and to all those who accompanied them, while I invite all of you, dear brothers and sisters, to pray for them and for the Churches entrusted to them.

There is still another reason that renders our joy even greater today: It is the presence in Rome, on the occasion of the solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, of a special delegation sent by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I.

To the members of this delegation I reiterate with affection my welcome and heartfelt gratitude to the patriarch, for rendering even more manifest with this gesture the existing bond of fraternity between our Churches.

May Mary, Queen of the Apostles, whom we invoke with trust, obtain for Christians the gift of full unity.

With her help and following in the footsteps of St. Peter and St. Paul, may the Church that is in Rome and all the people of God offer the world a testimony of unity and courageous dedication to the Gospel of Christ.

[After praying the Angelus, the Holy Father added:]

I am following events in the Holy Land with concern and I pray that all those who have been abducted may soon be returned to their loved ones.

I appeal to Israeli and Palestinian leaders that, with the generous help of the international community, they may seek responsibly for that negotiated end to the conflict, which alone can ensure the peace to which their people aspire.

[The Pope then greeted pilgrims in six languages. In English, he said:]

I am pleased to greet all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors present for today's solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul. In a special way, I welcome all those who are accompanying their metropolitan archbishops for the reception of the pallium.

May you continue to accompany them with your prayers and devoted support. To all of you I impart my apostolic blessing. Happy feast of Sts. Peter and Paul!

[Translation by ZENIT]

© Copyright 2006 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana [adapted]

Homily for the Mass celebrating the feast not yet available.

Father Cantalamessa on Revitalizing Youth

Code: ZE06063001

Date: 2006-06-30

Father Cantalamessa on Revitalizing Youth

Pontifical Household Preacher on Sunday's Gospel Passage

ROME, JUNE 30, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of a commentary by Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa, preacher to the Pontifical Household, on this Sunday's Gospel passage.

* * *

Little girl, arise!

The passage of this Sunday's Gospel is made up of scenes that occur rapidly in different places.

First of all is the scene on the lakeshore. Jesus is surrounded by a crowd when a man falls down at his feet and begs him: "My daughter is at the point of death. Please, come lay your hands on her that she may get well and live." Jesus leaves his half-finished address and goes to the man's home.

The second scene takes place on the road. A woman who suffered from hemorrhage, went up behind Jesus to touch his garment and felt she is cured.

While Jesus was speaking with her, someone arrived from Jairus' house to tell him: "Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?" Jesus, who heard everything, said to the ruler of the synagogue: "Do not be afraid; just have faith."

And next comes the crucial scene, in Jairus' house.

There was great confusion, people weeping and shouting, which is understandable given the death of the adolescent which had just occurred.

"So he went in and said to them, 'Why this commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but asleep.' ... Then he put them all out. He took along the child's father and mother and those who were with him and entered the room where the child was.

"He took the child by the hand and said to her, 'Talitha koum,' which means, 'Little girl, I say to you, arise!'

"The girl, a child of twelve, arose immediately and walked around. ... He gave strict orders that no one should know this and said that she should be given something to eat" (Mark 5:39-43).

The Gospel passage suggests an observation. The degree of historicity and reliability of the Gospels is again continually discussed. We recently witnessed the attempt to put at the same level, as if it had the same authority, the four canonical Gospels and the apocryphal gospels of the second and third centuries.

However, this attempt is simply absurd, and it also shows a good deal of bad faith. The apocryphal gospels, especially those of Gnostic origin, were written several generations later by persons who had lost all contact with the events, and who, moreover, were not in the least interested in making history, but in putting on Christ's lips the teachings of their own schools.

The canonical Gospels, on the contrary, were written by eyewitnesses of the events or persons who had been in contact with eyewitnesses.

Mark, whose Gospel we are reading this year, was in close relationship with the Apostle Peter, of whom he refers many episodes that had him as protagonist.

This Sunday's passage gives us an example of that historical character of the Gospels. The clear portrait of Jairus and his anguished request for help; the episode of the woman they meet on the way to her home; the messengers' skeptical attitude toward Jesus; Christ's tenacity; the atmosphere of the people mourning for the dead girl; Jesus' command mentioned in the original Aramaic language; Jesus' moving concern that the resurrected girl be given something to eat. All makes one think of an eyewitness' account of the event.

Now, a brief application of Sunday's Gospel to life: There is not only the death of the body but also the death of the heart.

Death of the heart exists when one lives in anxiety, discouragement and chronic sadness. Jesus' words "Talitha koum," Little girl, arise, are not addressed only to dead boys and girls, but also to living boys and girls.

How sad it is to see young people … sad. And there are very many around us. Sadness, pessimism, the desire not to live, are always bad things, but when one sees or hears young people express them, the heart is even more oppressed.

In this connection, Jesus also continues today to resurrect dead boys and girls. He does so with his word, and also by sending them his disciples who, in his name, and with his very love, repeat to today's young people that cry of his: "Talitha koum," youth, arise! Live again!

[Translation by ZENIT]

James the Less

Code: ZE06062806

Date: 2006-06-28

James the Less

"Contributed to Integrate the Original Jewish Dimension of Christianity"

VATICAN CITY, JUNE 28, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of Benedict XVI's address at today's general audience. The Pope spoke of the Apostle James the Less.

* * *

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Beside the figure of James "the Greater," son of Zebedee, of whom we spoke last Wednesday, another James appears in the Gospel, who is called "the Less." He also forms part of the list of Twelve Apostles chosen personally by Jesus, and is always specified as "son of Alphaeus" (cf. Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 5; Acts 1:13).

He has often been identified with another James, called "the Younger" (cf. Mark 15:40), son of a Mary (cf. ibid.), who could be Mary of Clopas present, according to the Fourth Gospel, at the foot of the cross together with the Mother of Jesus (cf. John 19:25). He was also from Nazareth and probably a relative of Jesus (cf. Matthew 13:55; Mark 6:3), who, after the Semitic manner, was called "brother" (cf. Mark 6:3; Galatians 1:19).

Of this last James, the book of Acts underlines the pre-eminent role played in the Church of Jerusalem. In the apostolic council held there shortly after the death of James the Greater, he affirmed together with the others that the pagans could be received in the Church without first having to undergo circumcision (cf. Acts 15:13). St. Paul, who attributes to him a specific apparition of the Risen One (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:7), on the occasion of his trip to Jerusalem names him directly before Cephas-Peter, describing him as a "column" of the Church together with him (cf. Galatians 2:9).

Afterward, the Judeo-Christians considered him their main point of reference. To him in fact is attributed the Letter that bears the name James and is included in the New Testament canon. He does not present himself as the "Lord's brother," but as "servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ" (James 1:1).

There is a debate among scholars over the identification of these two personages of the same name, James son of Alphaeus and James "brother of the Lord." The evangelical traditions have not preserved for us an account of one or the other in reference to the period of the earthly life of Jesus. The Acts of the Apostles, instead, show us that a "James" carried out a very important role within the early Church, as we already mentioned, after the resurrection of Jesus, (cf. Acts 12:17; 15:13-21; 21:18).

The most prominent action he accomplished was his intervention on the question of the difficult relationship between Christians of Jewish origin and those of pagan origin. In this he contributed, together with Peter, to surmount, or better, to integrate the original Jewish dimension of Christianity with the need not to impose on converted pagans the obligation to be subjected to all the norms of the law of Moses.

The book of Acts has preserved for us the compromise solution proposed precisely by James and accepted by all the apostles present, according to whom the pagans who had believed in Jesus Christ should only be requested to abstain from the idolatrous custom of eating the flesh of animals offered in sacrifice to the gods, and from the "immodesty," a term that probably alluded to marital unions without consent. In practice, it was a question of adhering to only a few prohibitions, held rather important by the Mosaic legislation.

In this way, two significant and complementary results were obtained, both still valid: On one hand, the unbreakable relationship is recognized that links Christianity to the Jewish religion as its perennially living and valid matrix; on the other, Christians of pagan origin are allowed to preserve their own sociological identity, which they would have lost if they had been constrained to observe the so-called Mosaic ceremonial precepts: These now were no longer to be considered obligatory for converted pagans. In essence, a reciprocal praxis of esteem and respect was being initiated, which, notwithstanding subsequent unfortunate misunderstandings, sought by its nature to safeguard all that was characteristic of each of the two sides.

The most ancient information on the death of this James is given to us by the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus. In his Jewish Antiquities (20, 201f), written in Rome toward the end of the first century, he tells us that James' end was decided with the illegitimate initiative of the High Priest Ananus, son of the Annas attested in the Gospels, who took advantage of the interval between the deposition of one Roman Procurator (Festus) and the advent of his successor (Albinius) to decree his stoning in the year 62.

To the name of this James, in addition to the apocryphal proto-Gospel of James, which exalts the holiness and virginity of Mary the Mother of Jesus, is particularly linked the Letter that bears his name. It occupies the first place in the canon of the New Testament after the so-called Catholic Letters, addressed, that is, not to one particular Church -- such as Rome, Ephesus, etc. -- but to many Churches. It is a rather important writing, which insists much on the need not to reduce one's faith to a pure verbal or abstract declaration, but to express it concretely in good works. Among other things, he invites us to constancy in joyfully accepted trials and to trusting prayer to obtain from God the gift of wisdom, thanks to which we succeed in understanding that the true values of life are not in transitory riches, but rather in being able to share one's food with the poor and needy (cf. James 1:27).

Thus the Letter of St. James shows us a very concrete and practical Christianity. Faith must be carried out in life, above all in love of neighbor and particularly in commitment to the poor. It is with this background that the famous phrase must be read: "For just as a body without a spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead" (James 2:26). At times this statement of James has been contrasted to Paul's affirmations, according to whom we are rendered just by God not in virtue of our works, but thanks to our faith (cf. Galatians 2:16; Romans 3:28).

However, the two phrases, seemingly contradictory in their different perspectives, in reality, if well interpreted, complement one another. St. Paul is opposed to man's pride who thinks he has no need of the love of God which anticipates us; he is opposed to the pride of self-justification without the grace simply given and not merited. St. James speaks instead of works as the normal fruit of faith: "The sound tree bears good fruit," says the Lord (Matthew 7:17). And St. James repeats it and says it to us.

Finally, the Letter of James exhorts us to abandon ourselves into God's hands in everything we do, always pronouncing the words: "If the Lord wills" (James 4:15). Thus he teaches us not to presume to plan our lives in an autonomous and selfish way, but to make room for the inscrutable will of God, who knows the true good for us. In this way, St. James is always a timely teacher of life for each one of us.

[Translation by ZENIT]

[At the end of the audience, the Holy Father read the following summary in English:]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

In our weekly catechesis on the Church's apostolic ministry, we now turn to the Apostle James the Less. In the Gospels, James is called the son of Alphaeus. He is often identified with another James, known as "James the younger" (cf. Mark 15:40), or "James, the brother of the Lord" (cf. Matthew 13:55; Galatians 1:19).

The Gospels themselves do not relate anything about either James during our Lord's earthly ministry. The Acts of the Apostles, however, present[s] a "James" whom St. Paul names with Peter as a "column" of the Church in Jerusalem (Galatians 2:9). At the Council of Jerusalem (cf. Acts 15), it was James who proposed that the Gentiles converted to Christ not be forced to follow all the precepts of the Mosaic law.

Together with Peter, he thus enabled Gentile Christians to maintain their identity, while respecting the perennially valid relationship between Christianity and its Jewish origins. James also gave his name to the New Testament Letter of James, which continues to speak to us today, stressing the need for a living faith expressed in good works (2:26), and serene abandonment to the will of God (4:15).

[The Pope then greeted pilgrims in several languages. In English, he said:]

I am pleased to greet the English-speaking pilgrims present at this audience, particularly those from the Philippines and the United States of America. On this eve of the solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, I pray that all of you may be filled with the same zeal for Christ that inspired the two holy apostles. May God bless you during your stay in the Eternal City.

Noting the Solemnity of Sacred Heart

Code: ZE06062503

Date: 2006-06-25

Noting the Solemnity of Sacred Heart

"Attracts Souls Thirsting for God's Mercy"

VATICAN CITY, JUNE 25, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave today, before and after reciting the midday Angelus.

* * *

Dear Brothers and Sisters:

This Sunday, 12th of Ordinary Time, is as though "surrounded" by significant liturgical solemnities. Last Friday we celebrated the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a celebration that correctly unites popular devotion with theological profundity. Consecration to the Sacred Heart was -- and continues to be in some countries -- a tradition in families, which had an image of the Sacred Heart in their homes.

The roots of this devotion are deep in the mystery of the Incarnation: It was precisely through the Heart of Jesus that the Love of God for humanity was manifested in a sublime manner. For this reason, authentic worship of the Sacred Heart keeps all its validity and attracts especially souls thirsting for God's mercy, in which they find the inexhaustible source, from which they can draw the water of Life, capable of watering the deserts of the soul and make hope flower anew.

The solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is also the World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests: I take advantage of the opportunity to invite you all, dear Brothers and Sisters, to pray always for priests so that they can be witnesses of the love of Christ.

Yesterday the liturgy enabled us to celebrate the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, the only saint whose birth is commemorated, as it marked the beginning of the fulfillment of the divine promises: John is this "prophet," identified with Elijah, who was destined to immediately precede the Messiah to prepare the people of Israel for his coming (cf. Matthew 11:14; 17:10-13).

His feast reminds us that our whole life is always subordinated to Christ and attains its fulfillment by receiving him, Word, Light and Bridegroom, of whom we are voices, oil lamps and friends (cf. John 1:2,23; 1:7-8; 3:29). "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30): This expression of the Baptist is a program for every Christian.

To allow the "I" of Christ to take the place of our "I" was, in an exemplary way, the longing of the Apostles Peter and Paul, whom the Church will venerate with solemnity on June 29. St. Paul wrote about himself: "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me" (Galatians 2:20).

Before them, and before any other saint, the one who lived this reality was Mary Most Holy, who kept the words of her Son Jesus in her heart. Yesterday we contemplated that Immaculate Heart of hers, heart of a Mother, who continues to watch over all of us with tender solicitude. May her intercession enable us to be faithful always to the Christian vocation.

[After the Angelus the Holy Father greeted pilgrims in eight languages. In Italian he said, among other things:]

Today, the Sunday that precedes the solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, the Pope's Charity Day is observed. My heartfelt thanks to the Italian ecclesial community for the prayers and support it offers my ministry as Successor of Peter, called to serve the whole People of God.

[In English, he said:]

I am happy to greet all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors present for this Angelus. Yesterday we celebrated the solemnity of the Birth of John the Baptist. May the example of this great saint's generous and persevering faith inspire each one of us to be steadfast in our Christian life and courageous heralds of the Gospel! May you have a blessed Sunday and a pleasant time in Rome!

[Translation by ZENIT]

© Copyright 2006 – Libreria Editrice Vaticana [adapted]

Bl. Columba Marmion on Prayer

"Prayer"

Lectio Divina

Fr. Adam Ryan's essay
O. Carm intro
OSB intro
"Accepting the Embrace of God: The Ancient Art of Lectio Divina," by Luke Dysinger

Society of St. John guide
Despite the failings of various members of the Society (and the fact that it was suppressed in Scranton), I find this brief guide to be good in so far as it presents the basics.

Father Cantalamessa on Calming the Storm

Code: ZE06062303

Date: 2006-06-23

Father Cantalamessa on Calming the Storm

Pontifical Household Preacher on This Sunday's Gospel

ROME, JUNE 23, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of a commentary by Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa, preacher to the Pontifical Household, on this Sunday's liturgical readings.

* * *

A Great Storm Arose

The Gospel of this Sunday is the calming of the storm. In the evening, after a day of intense work, Jesus got into a boat and told the apostles to go the other side. Exhausted, he fell asleep in the stern.

Meanwhile, a great storm arose which threatened to destroy the boat.

Frightened, the apostles woke Jesus, saying to him: "Teacher, do you not care if we perish?" After rising, Jesus ordered the sea to be calm: "Peace! Be still!" The wind ceased and there was a great calm. Then he said to them: "Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?"

We are going to try to understand the message addressed to us today in this page of the Gospel.

The crossing of the Sea of Galilee indicates the voyage of life. The sea is my family, my community, my heart itself. In small seas, as we know, great and unforeseen storms can be unleashed.

Who has not known some of these storms, when all is darkened and the little boat of our life begins to fill with water on all sides, while God seems to be absent or asleep. An alarming diagnosis from the doctor, and all of a sudden we are at the height of the storm.

What to do? What can we hold fast to and on what side must we lower the anchor? Jesus does not give us the magic recipe to escape all storms. He has not promised us that we will avoid all difficulties. He has promised us, however, the strength to surmount them if we ask him for it.

St. Paul tells us about a serious problem he had to face in his life, which he calls "a thorn in my flesh." "Three times" -- that is, countless times -- he says he prayed to the Lord to free him from it, and what did the Lord answer him?

Let us read it together: "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."

From that day, he tells us, he even began to glory in his weaknesses, persecutions and anxieties, to the point of being able to say: "When I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Corinthians 12:7-10).

Trust in God: This is the message of the Gospel. On that day, what saved the disciples from shipwreck was the fact of taking Jesus in the boat, before beginning the crossing.

This is also for us the best guarantee against the storms of life: to take Jesus with us. The means to take Jesus in the boat of one's life and of one's family is faith, prayer and observance of the commandments.

When a storm is unleashed in the sea, at least in the past, seamen used to pour oil on the waves to calm them. On the waves of fear and anxiety we must pour trust in God.

St. Peter exhorted the early Christians to trust in God in persecutions, saying: "Cast all your anxieties on him, for he cares about you" (1 Peter 5:7). The lack of faith of the disciples that Jesus reproached on that occasion was due to the fact that they doubted that he was "concerned" about their lives and safety: "Do you not care if we perish?"

God takes care of us, he is concerned about our lives! A frequently cited anecdote speaks of a man who had a dream. He saw two pairs of footprints that had been imprinted in the desert sand and understood that one pair of footprints was his and the other pair was that of Jesus, who was walking by his side.

At a certain moment, one pair of footprints disappeared, and he understood that this happened exactly at a difficult moment of his life.

Then he complained to Christ, who left him alone in the moment of trial. "But, I was with you!" replied Jesus.

"How is it possible that you were with me, when there was only one pair of footprints in the sand?" the man said.

"They were mine," replied Jesus. "In those moments, I carried you on my shoulders."

Let us remember this when we feel the temptation to complain to the Lord that he leaves us alone.

[Translation by ZENIT]

James the Greater

Code: ZE06062103

Date: 2006-06-21

James the Greater

"His Path Is a Symbol of the Pilgrimage of Christian Life"

VATICAN CITY, JUNE 21, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave at today's general audience. The Pope dedicated is talk to the figure of the Apostle James the Greater.

* * *

Dear Brothers and Sisters:

We continue with the series of portraits of the apostles chosen directly by Jesus during his life. We have spoken of St. Peter and of his brother Andrew. Today we meet the figure of James. The biblical lists of the Twelve mention two people with his name: James, son of Zebedee, and James, son of Alphaeus (cf. Mark 3:17,18; Matthew 10:2-3), who are generally distinguished with the names James the Greater and James the Lesser.

These designations are not intended to measure their holiness, but simply to state the different relevance they receive in the New Testament writings and, in particular, in the framework of Jesus' earthly life. Today we dedicate our attention to the first of these two personages of the same name.

The name James is the translation of "Iákobos," a variation under Greek influence of the name of the famous patriarch Jacob. The apostle of this name is John's brother, and in the mentioned lists he occupies second place after Peter, as occurs in Mark (3:17), or the third place after Peter and Andrew, as in the Gospels of Matthew (10:2) and Luke (6:14), while in the Acts of the Apostles he appears after Peter and John (1:13). This James belongs, together with Peter and John, to the group of three privileged disciples who were admitted by Jesus to important moments of his life.

As it is very hot today, I would like to abbreviate and mention only two of these occasions now. He was able to take part, along with Peter and John, in the moment of Jesus' agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, and in the moment of Jesus' transfiguration. Therefore, it is a question of two very different situations: In one case, James, with the other two disciples, experiences the Lord's glory, sees him speaking with Moses and Elijah, sees the divine splendor revealed in Jesus; in the other, he finds himself before suffering and humiliation; he sees with his own eyes how the Son of God humbles himself, becoming obedient unto death.

The second occasion was surely for him an opportunity to mature in the faith, to correct the unilateral, triumphalist interpretation of the first: He had to discern how the Messiah, awaited by the Jewish people as a victor, was in reality not only surrounded by honor and glory, but also by sufferings and weakness. The glory of Christ was realized precisely on the cross, in taking part in our sufferings.

This maturation of the faith was brought to completion by the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, so that when the supreme moment of witness arrived, James did not draw back. In the early 40s of the first century, King Herod Agrippa, grandson of Herod the Great, as Luke informs us: "laid violent hands upon some who belonged to the Church. He killed James the brother of John with the sword" (Acts 12:1-2). The brevity of the news, lacking any narrative detail, reveals, on one hand, how it was normal for Christians to witness to the Lord with their lives and, on the other, that James had a position of relevance in the Church of Jerusalem, in part because of the role carried out during Jesus' earthly existence.

A subsequent tradition, which goes back at least to Isidore of Seville, recounts that he was in Spain to evangelize that important region of the Roman Empire. According to another tradition, his body was taken to Spain, to the city of Santiago de Compostela. As we all know, that place became an object of great veneration and, still today, is the objective of numerous pilgrimages, not only from Europe, but from the whole world. In this way is explained the iconographic representation of James with the pilgrim's staff, and the Gospel story, characteristics of the itinerant apostle, committed to the proclamation of the "good news," characteristics of the pilgrimage of Christian life.

Therefore, we can learn much from James: promptness in accepting the Lord's call, even when he asks us to leave the "bark" of our human securities; enthusiasm in following Him on the paths that he indicates to us beyond our illusory presumption; readiness to give witness to Him with courage and, if necessary, with the supreme sacrifice of life. Thus, James the Greater is presented to us as an eloquent example of generous adherence to Christ. He, who initially had requested, through his mother, to be seated with his brother next to the Master in his Kingdom, was precisely the first to drink the chalice of the passion, in sharing martyrdom with the Apostles.

And, in the end, summarizing everything, we can say that his path, not only exterior but above all interior, from the mount of the Transfiguration to the mount of the agony, is a symbol of the pilgrimage of Christian life, amid the persecutions of the world and consolations of God, as the Second Vatican Council states. Following Jesus, we, like James, know that, even in difficulties, we are on the right path.

[Translation by ZENIT]

[At the end of the audience, the Holy Father read the following summary in English:]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

In our weekly catechesis on the Church's apostolic ministry, we now consider the Apostle James. James -- called the Greater, in order to distinguish him from James, the son of Alphaeus -- was the brother of the Apostle John.

In the New Testament, James is often named with Peter and John as one of the three disciples privileged to be present at the most significant events in Jesus' earthly ministry. These include the Lord's transfiguration on Mount Tabor and his agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. Through these two events, which revealed Christ's glory as the Son of God and the meaning of his redemptive sacrifice, James came to a deeper understanding of the Lord's messianic mission. This growth in faith was crowned by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

The Acts of the Apostles presents James as an authoritative figure in the Church of Jerusalem and the first of the apostles to meet a martyr's death. His example inspires us to be zealous disciples of Christ, prepared to drink from the cup of his suffering in order to reign with him in glory (cf. Mark 10:35-40).

[The Pope then greeted pilgrims in several languages. In English, he said:]

I offer a warm welcome to all the English-speaking visitors and pilgrims present at today's audience, including the delegates to the conference on plasma physics, and the delegates to the symposium on atherosclerosis. I extend particular greetings to the groups from Ireland, Ghana, China and the United States of America. May your stay in Rome renew your faith and your love for our Lord, and may God bless you all!

© Copyright 2006 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana [adapted]

A Close Look at Centering Prayer

A Close Look at Centering Prayer by Margaret A. Feaster

Father Cantalamessa on the Meaning of Vacations

Code: ZE06061901

Date: 2006-06-19

Father Cantalamessa on the Meaning of Vacations

Not a Time of Pure Escape, Says Capuchin

ROME, JUNE 19, 2006 (Zenit.org).- God's teaching about the need for rest is "a gift given to man to discover something," says the Pontifical Household preacher, in a reflection on the meaning of vacations.

Capuchin Franciscan Father Raniero Cantalamessa, in an interview with Vatican Radio, explained that the word "'repose' … means to pause, to make a pause and also to lay aside; to lay aside everything in our activity, in our lives, which often becomes an interior dust cloud that prevents us from seeing clearly the meaning of life."

The Capuchin recalled the creation narrative in Genesis: "On the seventh day, God rested."

"Obviously, he did not need to, but we are in need of his teaching in regard to the need to rest," Father Cantalamessa observed.

In his review of the original meaning of terms relating to rest, the priest also mentioned the word "vacation."

"It comes from the Latin 'vacare,' which meant to abstain from normal activities to concentrate on something different," he said.

Also present in a biblical psalm, the term directs us to "take a vacation, to lay aside all our activities to become aware of the most important thing in the world, namely, that God exists," the Pontifical Household preacher said.

Vacation "is the complete opposite of escape; it does not mean to alienate oneself, to distract oneself," he clarified.

What vacation does mean, in itself, is to "concentrate on something, to abstain from other activities to concentrate on the essential, heeding that famous dictum, 'Only one thing is necessary,'" the Capuchin insisted.

"Perhaps the most beautiful meaning of vacation would be to renew an intimate, profound contact with the root of our being, which is God," noted Father Cantalamessa.

Holy days

He recalled that the Latin term "feriae" (holidays), "which has already become synonymous with days of vacation, of distraction, … often also of failure and noise … means days dedicated to divine worship."

"This was the meaning adopted by the ancient Romans and this is the meaning they also have today, in liturgical language, in which there is talk of 'feria I,' 'feria II,' namely, a day dedicated to the Lord," the priest noted.

In this context Father Cantalamessa said, "Vacations should be, in the course of the year, precisely those days in which, through the contemplation of nature, of the reading of the Word of God, one enters into oneself, to touch base again with the profound motivations of one's life.

"It seems significant to me that the word with which this time is indicated in the English language in the course of the year is 'holidays,' which means 'holy days,' days that must be dedicated to holiness."

The Capuchin continued: "I have insisted somewhat on the meaning of these words, because all enable us to see how at the origin of this activity of man, which is vacation, 'feria,' rest, etc., there is something profoundly different from the present meaning, which understands vacation as a time to amuse oneself, to be reckless, to do strange things.

"It is not that vacations should not also be a time to have fun, to be distracted, but they are a gift made to man to discover something; it is not a time to waste, to burn, but rather a time to be valued to the utmost."

The Point About Prayer

The Point About Prayer
by Dom Hubert van Zeller, O.S.B.

People are apt to make two mistakes about prayer: they either imagine it to be so easy that they can manage it at once, or else so difficult that it is not worth while going on with. The answer is that because it is open to all it can't be very difficult, and because it is part of the burden of religion it can't be very easy. Whether we find it difficult or easy we have got to do it, so the more we get ourselves used to the practice and the less we worry about our reactions to it the better. But taken all in all it is perhaps more satisfactory to think that prayer is going to be easy than to think it is going to be difficult, because it means that we shall at least start off:

If we look only at the difficulties we are handicapped by discouragement before we begin. And right the way through this business of prayer there is nothing that acts as a more formidable obstacle than discouragement. So it will be mainly about this that the following paragraphs are concerned.

St. Paul's "Pray without ceasing" should provide the answer to those who are weighed down by the sense of their insufficiency. The saint is not exhorting to the almost impossible. He is telling every one-even the people who feel they are no use at it and that for them it is a complete waste of time-that their whole life can become a prayer. "You must make a habit of prayer," St. Paul is telling us, "and to make a habit of anything you must repeat and extend the act." First easy acts, then difficult ones. It is like learning a language: easy to make oneself understood, difficult to become really fluent. The way to become fluent is to practice often. Prayer is learned by repeated acts.

There is no short cut to a habit. A resolution to go on once one has begun is not a short cut. It is a good start but it is not a short cut. A method learned from a book is not a short cut. It may be a further step towards acquiring the habit, but it is not a short cut. A book of meditations is not a short cut. It is a guide to fall back upon when the habit is wearing thin, but it is not a short cut. In other words there is no substitute for the work of cultivating the habit of prayer. You have to do the thing before you can live the thing. And in order to do the thing properly you not only have to be faithful to your purpose but you have to be ruthless in the treatment of your feelings. You must not allow yourself to judge of the success or failure of your effort by whether you feel the presence or absence of devotion. What we feel, after all, is only the result of the effect of conditions on matter. The whole point about prayer is the effect it has on God. Our feelings will give us no true estimate of this.

Though there may be difficulty connected with forming the habit of prayer, there is no habit so easily drawn upon once it is there. So habitual can prayer become that the natural movement of the mind is towards God instead of towards creatures. I say "natural" movement and not "automatic" movement, because for prayer to have any value it must be non-mechanical. There is all the difference in the world between an instinctive direction of the soul and a purely routine action.

St. Anthony may have said that a man's prayer is still imperfect while he remembers that he prays, but he would never have said that the perfect man need not remember to pray. We don't begin our prayer, however brief and spontaneous, without some sort of desire to do so. Intention is necessary even if attention escapes us. Desire for God is the condition of prayer, and very often recollection is nothing else than that. Awareness of God's presence is not always prayer-the sinner can be aware of God's presence and rebel against it-but the desire for God's glory always is. And to become a man of prayer it is necessary so to extend this desire that it becomes habitual.

"Am I to believe then," it might be asked, "that as long as I have the general intention of praising God, I can have as many distractions as I like?" "As many as you get," would be the answer, "not as many as you like." Once we start liking a distraction enough to follow it up, it is a distraction in the fully guilty sense. But if we haven't been made aware of the fact that it is going on, if we had no intention of pursuing it once we knew it was there, if we have no intention of letting go the thought of God, if in other words we have no affection for the wretched thing even though we can't help being interested in it while it is there, then, though we may spend half an hour in thinking all round it, there is nothing in the least bit wrong in having had it. Fortunately this is a fact, which has been stressed by present-day writers, and most people are prepared to believe it.

That people are less prepared to believe is that not only is a prayer not wasted when it is distracted but that it may be, on account of the distractions, a better prayer. It is better for the humiliation which its obvious insufficiency occasions. If there is one disposition more necessary than the determination to go on with it, it is the disposition of feeling that you are so bad at it that it hardly seems worthwhile if you do. If you persevere in the prayer of stupidity, unable to fix your mind on holy things for the entire time of your prayer, and feeling throughout that you are the last person who should be attempting this sort of thing, and that though you seem to be at the mercy of distractions which you can't for the life of you remember afterwards but which you hate having, then you are doing what countless people have done before you and exactly what God wants you to be doing at the present moment.

The worry about being distracted can itself become such a distraction that the whole business is complicated far more than it need be. This is not to suggest that distractions should be admitted on the grounds that the effort to get rid of them is more distracting than the distractions themselves, it is merely to point out that the whole of the soul's energy in prayer should not be expended in driving away these maddening cross-currents of thought: love is the occupation of the soul, not struggle. Banishing distractions can become the preoccupation. The same situation can arise outside prayer time as regards bad thoughts: we can become obsessed with the necessity of suppressing them and so become involved in the thoughts themselves. In the case of distractions, as in the case of bad thoughts, the safest thing is to turn calmly towards God in the depths of the soul, and to tell Him that whatever is going on near the surface is no concern of ours . . . we despise and repudiate the disturbance, and we are not going to let ourselves get worked up about it. In this way we by-pass the unruly elements, delaying at them only for as long a time as it takes to assure ourselves that they are powerless to delay us.

If we can habituate ourselves to the knowledge that what goes on without our consent in the sensitive part of the soul is no obstacle to progress, the spiritual life loses many of its problems. What we have to do is to make ourselves responsible for the citadel of the soul, asking God to see to the dispositions for us, and not to work ourselves into a nervous state about what is going on in the outskirts. Serious rebellions seldom start in the suburbs. The only distractions which we have reason to fear are those that we have admitted to the mind.

Condensed from We Die Standing Up by Dom Hubert Van Zeller, O.S.B. © 1949 Sheed & Ward, NY

On the Eucharist

Code: ZE06061802

Date: 2006-06-18

On the Eucharist

"'Treasure' of the Church"

VATICAN CITY, JUNE 18, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of Benedict XVI's address today at midday, before and after reciting the Angelus with the crowds gathered in St. Peter's Square.

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Dear Brothers and Sisters:

Today, in Italy and in other countries, the solemnity of Corpus Christi is being celebrated, which already had its intense moment in Rome in the city's procession on Thursday.

It is the solemn and public feast of the Eucharist, sacrament of the body and blood of Christ: On this day, the mystery instituted in the Last Supper and commemorated every year on Holy Thursday, is presented to all, surrounded by the faith and devotion of the ecclesial community.

The Eucharist is, in fact, the "treasure" of the Church, the precious heritage that her Lord has left her. And the Church guards this heritage with the greatest care, celebrating it daily in the holy Mass, adoring it in churches and chapels, distributing it to the sick, and as viaticum to those on their last journey.

However, this treasure, which is destined for those who are baptized, does not exhaust its radius of action in the ambit of the Church: the Eucharist is the Lord Jesus who gives himself "for the life of the world" (John 6:51). At all times and in all places, he wishes to encounter man and give him God's life.

And not only this -- the Eucharist also has cosmic value: The transformation of the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ constitutes, in fact, the principle of divinization of creation itself. This is why the feast of Corpus Christi is characterized particularly by the tradition of carrying the Blessed Sacrament in procession, a gesture full of meaning.

By carrying the Eucharist through the streets and squares, we wish to submerge the bread descended from heaven in the everyday of our lives; we want Jesus to walk where we walk; to live where we live. Our world, our lives, must become his temple.

On this feast day, the Christian community proclaims that the Eucharist is everything for it, that it is its very life, the source of love that triumphs over death. From communion with Christ arises the charity that transforms our lives and supports all on the journey toward the heavenly homeland. For this reason, the liturgy invites us to sing: "Good shepherd, true bread … You who know all and can do everything, who nourish us on earth, lead your brothers to the table of heaven, in the glory of your saints."

Mary is the "Eucharistic woman," as Pope John Paul II described her in his encyclical "Ecclesia de Eucharistia." Let us pray to the Virgin that all Christians may deepen their faith in the Eucharistic mystery, so that they live in constant communion with Jesus and are his valid witnesses.

[After praying the Angelus, the Holy Father greeted pilgrims in seven languages. In Italian, he said:]

Next Tuesday, June 20, World Refugee Day is being observed, promoted by the United Nations, to call the attention of the international community to the conditions of so many people, forced to flee from their own lands because of grave forms of violence.

These brothers and sisters of ours seek refuge in other countries, animated by the hope of returning to their homeland or, at least, to find hospitality where they have sought refuge.

Assuring them of my remembrance in prayer and the constant solicitude of the Holy See, I hope that the rights of these people will always be respected and I encourage ecclesial communities to respond to their needs.

[Translation by ZENIT]

[Speaking in English, the Pope said:]

I welcome all the English-speaking visitors gathered for this Angelus prayer. My special greeting goes to the Neocatechumenal communities from England and the United States. May your stay in the Eternal City help you to grow in love for the Lord and his Church. God bless you all!

© Copyright 2006 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana [adapted]

Archbishop Bruno Forte: A Letter on Prayer

Bruno Forte

A Letter On Prayer

You ask me: why pray? And I reply: to live.

Yes: really to live, you have to pray. Why? Because to live is to love: a life without love is not a life. It is empty loneliness, a sad prison. Only someone who loves is truly alive: and we only love when we are loved, when we are touched and transformed by love. Like the trees which bear no fruit unless bathed by the rays of the sun, so our human heart will not open itself out to true, full life unless touched by love.

Now, love is born from encounter and it finds life in encountering the love of God, the greatest and truest of all possible loves, the love, indeed, beyond all our definitions and capacities. When we pray, we let God love us, and we are born into love, ever anew. Thus it is that when we pray we live, in time and in eternity.

And when we do not pray? Ah, then we run the risk of dying inside, because sooner or later we will find no air to breathe, no warmth to make us live, no light to see by, no food to help us grow, and no joy to give meaning to our lives.

You object: but I don’t know how to pray! You ask: how should I pray? And I reply: start by giving God just a little of your time. At the outset, it won’t be so important for this to be a lot of time, but rather that you give it to Him faithfully. Decide upon a time to give the Lord every day, and give it to Him faithfully, every day, whether you feel like it or not.

Look for a quiet place, where - if possible - there is some sign which reminds you of God’s presence (a cross, an icon, the Bible, the Tabernacle with His eucharistic Presence….). Recollect yourself in silence: invoke the Holy Spirit, so that it is He who cries out within you "Abbà, Father!". Bring your heart to God, even if it is in tumult: do not be afraid of telling Him everything, not only your difficulties and pain, your sin and unbelief, but also your rebellion and your protest, if that’s what you are feeling inside.

Put everything in God’s hands: remember that God is a loving Father and Mother; that he bears all, forgives all, enlightens all and saves all. Listen to His Silence: don’t expect to find answers straightaway. Persevere. Like the prophet Elijah, walk through the desert to the mountain of God: and when you have drawn near Him, do not seek him in the wind, in the earthquake or in the fire, in signs of might and greatness, but in the voice of gentle silence (cf. 1 Kings 19, 12). Don’t presume to possess God, but let Him be the One to visit your life and your heart, to touch your soul, and to let you contemplate Him even if only once He has passed by.

Listen to the voice of His Silence. Listen to His Word of life: open the Bible, meditate upon it with love, let Jesus’ words speak to the heart of your heart; read the Psalms, where you will find word to say everything you want to express to God; listen to the apostles and prophets; fall in love with the stories of the Patriarchs and of the chosen people and of the early Church, where you will find the experience of lives lived out in God’s covenant. And once you have listened to God’s Word, walk still further in the paths of silence, and let the Spirit be the One to unite you to Christ, the Father’s eternal Word. Let God the Father be the One to mould you with both His hands – the Word and the Holy Spirit.

At the beginning, you may feel that the time for all this is too long, that it drags on: persevere with humility, giving God all the time you can manage, but never less than what you decided to give Him every day. You will begin to see that from day to day your faithfulness will have its reward, and you will become aware that the taste for prayer will grow in you, and what at first seemed unattainable, will become ever easier and more beautiful. Then you will understand that what matters is not getting answers, but placing yourself at God’s disposal: and you will see how whatever you bring to prayer will little by little be transfigured.

So it will be that when you go to pray with your heart in tumult, if you persevere, you will realize that after having prayed at length you will not have found answers to your questions, but the questions themselves will have melted like snow in the sun, and a great peace will enter your heart: the peace of being in God’s hands and of letting yourself be led docilely by Him, to wherever He has prepared for you. And so, your heart made new will be able to sing the new song, and the Magnificat of Mary will break out spontaneously on your lips and will be sung by the silent eloquence of your works.

Know, though, that there will be no lack of difficulties in all this: at times, you will not be able to quieten the din within and around you; at times you will feel tired or even nauseated by the idea of praying; at times, your feelings will be in agitation, and anything will seem preferable to remaining in prayer before God, "wasting" your time. Finally, you will experience the temptations of the Evil One, who will do everything possible to separate you from the Lord by taking you from prayer. Fear not: these same trials which you now bear were borne by the saints before you, and often theirs were much heavier than yours. Just go on having faith. Persevere, resist, and remember that the only thing that we can really give God is the proof of our fidelity. With perseverance you will save your prayer, and your life.

The "dark night" will come, when everything about the things of God will seem arid and even absurd to you: fear not. That is the hour when the one struggling with you is God Himself: remove every fault from you with the humble and sincere confession of your sins and sacramental forgiveness; give God even more of your time; and allow the night of the senses and of the spirit to become for you the hour of your sharing in the passion of the Lord. At this point, it will be Jesus Himself who carries your cross and leads you with Him towards the joy of Easter. Do not wonder, then, that you may even find this night loveable, because you will find it transformed for you into a night of love, flooded with the joy of the presence of the Beloved, full of the sweet perfume of Christ, bright with the light of Easter.

So do not be afraid, then, of trials and difficulties in prayer: only remember that God is faithful and that He will never send you a trial without providing you with the way through it, and He will never expose you to a temptation without giving you the strength to bear and conquer it.

Let God love you: like a drop of water that evaporates under the rays of the sun and rises skyward and returns to the earth as fruitful rain and soothing dew, so let your whole being be worked by God, moulded by the love of the Three, absorbed into Them and given back to history as a fruitful gift. Let prayer make you grow in freedom from all fear, in the courage and audacity of love, in fidelity to the persons God has entrusted to you and to the situations in which he has placed you, without seeking escapes or cheap consolations. Learn by praying to live with the patience of waiting on the times of God, which are not our times, and to follow the ways of God, which so often are not our ways.

A special gift which faithfulness to prayer will give you is the love for others and the sense of the Church: the more you pray, the more you will feel mercy for all, the more you will want to help the suffering, the more you will hunger and thirst for justice for all, especially for the poorest and weakest, the more you will accept to bear the sins of others to complete in yourself what is lacking in the passion of Christ, for the benefit of His body, the Church.

As you pray you will sense how beautiful it is to be in Peter’s boat, in solidarity with all, docile to the guidance of the pastors, sustained by the prayers of all, ready to serve others with generosity, asking nothing in return. As you pray you will sense how there grows in you the passion for the unity of the body of Christ and of the whole human family. Prayer is the school of love, because it is in prayer that you can discover how you are infinitely loved and be born ever anew in the generosity which takes the initiative of forgiving and of giving without calculation, beyond every measure of tiredness.

By praying we learn to pray and we taste the fruits of the Spirit which make life true and beautiful: "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control" (Gal 5,22). By praying we become love, and life takes on the meaning and beauty for which God intended it. When we pray we become ever more aware of the urgent need to bring the Gospel to all, to the furthest ends of the world. When we pray we discover the infinite gifts of the Beloved and we learn ever anew to give Him thanks in all things. When we pray, we live. When we pray, we love. When we pray, we praise. And praise is the greatest joy and peace of our restless hearts, in time and for eternity.

So if I were to wish you the most beautiful of all gifts, if I were to ask God to grant it to you, I would not hesitate to ask Him to give you the gift of prayer. Indeed, I do ask Him: and you too, do not hesitate to ask God to give it to me. And to you. The peace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you. And may you also be in Them: because when you pray you will enter the heart of God, hidden with Christ in Him, enfolded for eternity in the faithful, ever new love of the Three.

For now you know: those who pray with Jesus and in Him, who pray to Jesus or to the Father of Jesus or invoke His Spirit, do not pray to a distant, vague God, but pray in God, pray in the Spirit, through the Son to the Father. And from the Father, through Jesus, in the divine breath of the Spirit, they will receive every perfect gift, conformable to them and prepared and desired for them from eternity. This is the gift that awaits us. And it awaits you.

Archbishop Bruno Forte: Why Go to Confession?

Why Go to Confession?

Part 1

Pastoral Letter of Archbishop Bruno Forte

CHIETI, Italy, 17 FEB. 2006 (ZENIT)

Here is the first part of the pastoral letter for 2005-2006 written by Archbishop Bruno Forte of Chieti-Vasto, a member of the International Theological Commission, on the theme "Reconciliation and the Beauty of God."

The rest of the letter will be published by ZENIT over the next few days.

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Why Go to Confession?
Reconciliation and the Beauty of God

Together, let us try to understand what Confession is: If you really understand it, with your mind and heart, you will feel the need and the joy of experiencing this encounter, in which God, granting you his forgiveness through the ministry of the Church, creates a new heart in you, puts a new Spirit in you, so that you can live a life reconciled with Him, with yourself and with others, so that you also will be able to forgive and love, beyond any temptation to mistrust and weariness.

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1. Why go to Confession?

Among the questions that my heart as Bishop asks, I choose one that I am often asked: Why must one go to Confession? It is a question that is posed again in many ways. Why go to a priest to tell one's sins and not do so directly to God, who knows and understands us much better than any human interlocutor?

And, in a more radical way, why speak of my affairs, especially of those that even I myself am ashamed of, to someone who is a sinner like me, and who perhaps assesses my experience in a completely different way than I do, or doesn't understand it at all? What does he know is a sin for me? And some add: Does sin really exist or is it only an invention of priests so that we will behave well?

I think I can answer this last question right away and without fear of being refuted: Sin exists, and not only is it wrong but it does evil. Suffice it to look at the daily scene of the world, where violence, wars, injustices, abuses, egoisms, jealousies and vengeance burst out (an example of this "war bulletin" is given to us today in the news in newspapers, radio, television and the Internet).

He who believes in the love of God, moreover, perceives that sin is love that falls back on itself ("amor curvus," closed love, the medievals said), ingratitude of the one who responds to love with indifference and rejection. This rejection has consequences not only in the one who lives it, but also in the whole society, to the point of producing conditionings and interlacements of egoisms and violence that become authentic "structures of sin" (think of social injustices, of the inequality between rich and poor countries, of the scandal of hunger in the world ...).

Precisely because of this, one must not hesitate to emphasize the enormity of the tragedy of sin and how the loss of the sense of sin — very different from that sickness of soul that we call "guilt feeling" — weakens the heart in the face of the spectacle of evil and the seductions of Satan, adversary who tries to separate us from God.

2. Experience of Forgiveness

Despite all this, however, I do not think I can say that the world is evil and that it is useless to do good. On the contrary, I am convinced that good exists and is much greater than evil, that life is beautiful and that to live correctly for love and with love is really worthwhile.

The profound reason that leads me to think this way is the experience of God's mercy that I feel in myself and that I see shine in so many humble people: It is an experience that I have lived many times, both giving forgiveness as minister of the Church, as well as receiving it. I have been going to confession regularly for years, several times a month, and with the joy of doing so.

The joy stems from feeling myself loved in a new way by God, every time that his forgiveness reaches me through the priest who gives it to me in his name. It is the joy I have seen often on the face of those coming to Confession: not the futile sense of relief of the one who has "emptied the sack" (Confession is not a psychological relief or a consoling meeting, at least not primarily), but the peace of feeling well "within" oneself, touched in the heart by a love that cures, that comes from above and transforms us.

To ask for forgiveness with conviction, to receive it with gratitude and to give it with generosity is a source of inestimable peace: Because of this, it is right and beautiful to go to Confession. I would like to share the reasons for this joy with all those whom I may reach with this letter. ZE06021721

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Part 2

Pastoral Letter of Archbishop Bruno Forte

CHIETI, Italy, 19 FEB. 2006 (ZENIT)

Here is the second part of a pastoral letter written by Archbishop Bruno Forte of Chieti-Vasto, a member of the International Theological Commission, on the theme "Reconciliation and the Beauty of God."

The first part of the letter appeared Friday. The third part appears Monday.

* * *

3. Confess to a priest?

You then ask: Why must one confess one's sins to a priest and not do so directly to God? Of course, one always addresses God when confessing one's sins. However, that it is also necessary to do so to a priest is something that God himself makes us understand: In sending his Son with our flesh, he shows he wants to encounter us through a direct contact that passes through the signs and language of our human condition.

Just as He came out of Himself for love of us and has come to "touch us" with his flesh, we are also called to come out of ourselves for love of Him and to go with humility and faith to him who can give us pardon in his name with word and gesture. Only the absolution of sins that the priest gives in the sacrament can communicate the interior certainty of having been truly forgiven and received by the Father who is in Heaven, because Christ has entrusted to the ministry of the Church the power to bind and to loose, to exclude and admit in the Covenant community (cf. Matthew 18:17).

He it is who, risen from death, said to the Apostles: "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained" (John 20:22-23). Therefore, to go to Confession to a priest is very different from doing so in the secret of one's heart, exposed to so many uncertainties and ambiguities that fill life and history.

You will never know absolutely if what has touched you is the grace of God or your emotion, if you have forgiven yourself or if He has forgiven you in the way He chose. Absolved by the one the Lord has chosen and sent as minister of forgiveness, you will be able to experience the freedom that only God gives and understand why going to Confession is a source of peace.

4. A God close to our weakness

Confession therefore is the encounter with divine forgiveness, which is offered to us in Jesus and transmitted to us through the ministry of the Church. In this effective sign of grace, meeting with endless mercy, we are offered the face of a God who knows like no one our human condition and comes close to it with very tender love.

Innumerable episodes in the life of Jesus demonstrate this to us, from the meeting with the Samaritan woman to the healing of the paralytic, from the forgiveness of the adulteress to the tears in the face of the death of his friend Lazarus. ... We have immense need of this tender and compassionate closeness of God, as a simple glance at our existence also shows: Each one of us lives with his own weakness, goes through sickness, draws near to death, is aware of the challenge of the questions that all this poses to the heart.

No matter how much we wish to do good, the frailty that characterizes us all, exposes us continually to the risk of falling into temptation. The Apostle Paul described this experience with precision: "I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do" (Romans 7:24).

It is the interior conflict from which is born the invocation: "Who will deliver me from this body of death?" (Romans 7:24). To it responds in a special way the sacrament of forgiveness, which comes to rescue us always again in our condition of sin, reaching us with the healing power of divine grace and transforming our heart and our behavior.

Because of this, the Church does not tire of proposing the grace of this sacrament to us during the whole journey of our lives: Through it Jesus, true heavenly physician, takes charge of our sins and accompanies us, continuing his work of healing and salvation. As happens in every love story, also the Covenant with the Lord must be tirelessly renewed: Faithfulness is the ever-new desire of the heart that gives itself and receives the love offered it, until the day that God will be all in all. ZE06021920

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Part 3

Pastoral Letter of Archbishop Bruno Forte

CHIETI, Italy, 20 FEB. 2006 (ZENIT)

Here is the third part of a pastoral letter, written by Archbishop Bruno Forte of Chieti-Vasto, a member of the International Theological Commission, on the theme "Reconciliation and the Beauty of God."

Part 1 appeared Friday. Part 2 appeared Sunday.

* * *

5. Stages of the encounter with forgiveness

Precisely because it was desired by a profoundly "human" God, the encounter with mercy that Jesus offers us takes place in several stages, which respect the seasons of life and of the heart. At the beginning, is listening to the Good News, in which you hear the call of the Beloved: "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the Gospel" (Mark 1:15).

Through this voice the Holy Spirit acts in you, giving you docility to consent and believe in the Truth. When you are docile to this voice and decide to respond with your whole heart to Him who calls you, you undertake the journey that takes you to the greatest gift, a gift that is so valuable that it leads Paul to say: "We beseech you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God!" (2 Corinthians 5:20).

Reconciliation is precisely the sacrament of the encounter with Christ who, through the ministry of the Church, comes to help the weakness of the one who has betrayed or rejected the Covenant with God; he reconciles him with the Father and with the Church, he re-creates him as [a] new creature in the strength of the Holy Spirit.

This sacrament is also called of penance, because in it is expressed man's conversion, the way of the heart that repents and comes to invoke the forgiveness of God.

The term confession — used normally — refers instead to the act of confessing one's faults to the priest but it also recalls the triple confession that must be made to live in fullness the celebration of the reconciliation: the confession of praise ("confessio laudis"), with which we remember the divine love that precedes and accompanies us, recognizing its signs in our lives and thus understanding better the gravity of our fault; the confession of sin, with which we present our humble and repentant heart to the Father, acknowledging our sins ("confessio peccati"); the confession of faith, finally, with which we open ourselves to forgiveness that liberates and saves, which is offered to us with the absolution ("confessio fidei").

In turn, the gestures and words in which we express the gift that we have received will acknowledge in life the wonders realized in us by the mercy of God.

6. Celebration of the encounter

In the history of the Church, penance has been lived in a great variety of ways, communal and individual, which nevertheless have maintained all the fundamental structure of the personal encounter between the repentant sinner and the living God, through the mediation of the ministry of the Bishop or the priest.

Through the words of the absolution, pronounced by a man who is a sinner who, however, has been chosen and consecrated for the ministry, it is Christ himself who receives the repentant sinner and reconciles him with the Father and in the gift of the Holy Spirit, renews him as living member of the Church.

Reconciled with God, we are received in the vivifying communion of the Trinity and receive in ourselves the new life of grace, the love that only God can infuse in our hearts: The sacrament of forgiveness thus renews our relationship with the Father, with the Son and with the Holy Spirit, in whose name we are given absolution from our faults.

As the parable of the Father and the two sons shows, the encounter of reconciliation culminates in a banquet of tasty dishes, in which one participates with a new robe, a ring and shoes on one's feet (cf. Luke 15:22f): images that express all the joy and beauty of the gift offered and received. Truly, to use the words of the Father in the parable, "let us eat and make merry; for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found" (Luke 15:24).

7. Return to the Father's House

In relation to God the Father, penance presents itself as a "return home" (this is in fact the meaning of the word "teshuva" which the Hebrew uses to say "conversion"). Through becoming aware of your faults, you realize you are in exile, far from the homeland of love: You feel ill at ease, sorrow, because you understand that sin is a rupture of the Covenant with the Lord, a rejection of his love, it is "unloved love," and because of this is also source of alienation, because sin uproots us from our true dwelling, the Father's heart.

It is then that we need to remember the house in which we are awaited: Without this memory of love we would never have the necessary confidence and the hope to make the decision to return to God. With the humility of the one who knows he is not worthy of being called "son," we can decide to call at the door of the Father's house. What a surprise to realize he is at the window scrutinizing the horizon because he has been waiting for a long time for our return!

To our open hands, to the humble and repentant heart responds the free offer of forgiveness with which the Father reconciles us with himself, "converting us" in some way to ourselves: "While he was still at a distance, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him" (Luke 15:20). With extraordinary tenderness, God introduces us in a renewed way in the condition of sons, offered by the Covenant established in Jesus. ZE06022022

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Part 4

Pastoral Letter of Archbishop Bruno Forte

CHIETI, Italy, 21 FEB. 2006 (ZENIT)

Here is the last part of a pastoral letter written by Archbishop Bruno Forte of Chieti-Vasto, a member of the International Theological Commission, on the theme "Reconciliation and the Beauty of God."

Parts 1, 2 and 3 appear in ZENIT's Web site.

* * *

8. Encounter with Christ, Dead and Risen for Us

In relation to the Son, the sacrament of Reconciliation offers us the joy of the encounter with Him, the crucified and risen Lord, who through His Pasch, gives us the new life, infusing His Spirit in our hearts. This encounter takes place through the itinerary that leads each one of us to confess our faults with humility and sorrow for our sins, and to receive forgiveness with gratitude full of wonder.

United to Jesus in His death and on the Cross, we die to sin and to the old man that has triumphed in Him. His blood shed for us reconciles us with God and with others, demolishing the wall of enmity that keeps us prisoners of our solitude without hope and without love. The force of His resurrection reaches us and transforms us; the Risen One touches our heart, makes it burn in us with new faith, which opens our eyes and makes us able to recognize Him beside us and His voice in which there is need of us.

All our life of sinners, united to Christ crucified and risen, is offered to the mercy of God to be healed of anguish, freed from the weight of guilt, confirmed in the gifts of God and renewed in the power of His victorious love. Liberated by the Lord Jesus, we are called to live like Him, in freedom from fear, guilt and the seductions of evil, to accomplish works of truth, justice and peace.

9. New Life in the Spirit

Thanks to the gift of the Spirit that diffuses in us the love of God (cf. Romans 5:5), the sacrament of Reconciliation is source of new life, renewed communion with God and with the Church, of which, in fact, the Spirit is the soul and the force of cohesion.

It is the Spirit that drives the forgiven sinner to express in life the peace received, accepting above all the consequences of the fault committed and the so-called punishment, which is like the effect of the sickness represented by sin and which must be regarded as a wound to be healed with the oil of grace and the patience of love that we must have toward ourselves.

The Spirit then helps us to mature the firm intention to undertake a journey of conversion consisting of concrete commitments of charity and prayer: the penitential sign required by the confessor serves precisely to express this choice. The new life to which we are thus reborn, can show more than anything else the beauty and the force of forgiveness invoked and received always anew ("forgiveness" means precisely renewed gift: to forgive is to give infinitely!).

I ask you, then, why do without such a great gift? Draw near to Confession with a humble and contrite heart and live it with faith: It will change your life and give peace to your heart. Then your eyes will open to recognize the signs of the beauty of God present in creation and in history and from your soul will rise a song of praise.

And also to you, priest, who read me and like me are a minister of forgiveness, I would like to address an invitation that springs from my heart: Be always willing — in season and out of season — to proclaim mercy to all and to grant forgiveness to him who asks it of you and of which he has need to live and to die. For that person, it might be the hour of God in his life!

10. Let Us Be Reconciled with God

Thus the invitation of the Apostle Paul becomes mine also: I express it by making use of two different voices.

The first is that of Friedrich Nietzsche, who in his youthful years wrote these impassioned words, sign of the need of divine mercy that we all bear within. "Once again, before leaving and turning my gaze on High, remaining alone, I raise my hands to You, in whom I take refuge, to whom from the depth of my heart I have consecrated altars, so that every hour your voice will call me again ... I want to know You. You, the Unknown, that you penetrate the depth of my soul and, like a tempest, shake my life. You who are elusive and yet similar to me! I wish to know you, and also to serve you" ("Scritti Giovanili," I, 1, Milan, 1998, p. 388).

The other voice is that attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, who expresses the truth of a renewed life by the grace of forgiveness: "Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace: Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood, as to understand; to be loved, as to love." These are the fruits of Reconciliation, invoked and heard by God, that I wish all of you who read me. With this wish, which becomes prayer, I embrace and bless each one of you. ZE06022120

+ Bruno, Your Father in faith

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For an Examination of Conscience
From a Pastoral Letter of Archbishop Bruno Forte

CHIETI, Italy, 21 FEB. 2006 (ZENIT)

In an appendix to a pastoral letter on the sacrament of reconciliation, Archbishop Bruno Forte of Chieti-Vasto outlines questions that could be used for examining one's conscience before going to confess.

The last part of the pastoral letter appears in today's dispatch.

* * *

For the Examination of Conscience

If possible, prepare yourself for confession with regularity, not allowing too much time to pass. Prepare your confession in a climate of prayer, responding to these questions under the gaze of God, seeing him as the one you can go to for help to progress more quickly along the path of the Lord.

1. "You shall not have other gods besides me" (Deuteronomy 5:7). "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind" (Matthew 22:37).

Do I love God like this? Do I give him the first place in my life? Do I eagerly reject all idols that could get between him and me, be it money, pleasure, superstition, or power? Do I listen with faith to his Word? Do I persevere in prayer?

2. "You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God, in vain" (Deuteronomy 5:11).

Do I respect the holy name of God? Do I abuse him in my references to him, offending him, or making use of him, instead of serving him? Do I bless God in each one of my actions? Do I surrender myself without reserve to his will for me, trusting entirely in him? Do I entrust myself with humility and confidence to the guidance and teaching of the pastors which the Lord has given to his Church? Do I make an effort to go deeper in and strengthen my life of faith?

3. "Take care to keep holy the Sabbath day as the Lord, your God, commanded you" (Deuteronomy 5: 12-15).

Do I make Sunday the center of my week, beginning with the most important moment, the celebration of the Eucharist? Do I use it, and the other days consecrated to the Lord, to praise and give thanks to God, to entrust myself to him and take rest in him? Do I participate faithfully and actively in the liturgy, preparing myself beforehand with prayer, and making the effort to obtain its fruits during the entire week? Do I sanctify the holy day with some act of love toward the needy?

4. "Honor your father and your mother" (Deuteronomy 5:16).

Do I love and respect those who have given me life? Do I make the effort to understand and help them, above all in their weaknesses and limits?

5. "Thou shalt not kill" (Deuteronomy 5:17).

Do I make the effort to respect and promote life in all of its stages and aspects? Do I do everything in my power to promote the good of the others? Have I done evil to someone with the explicit intention of doing it?

"You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:39).

How do I live charity toward my neighbor? Am I attentive and available, above all with the poorest and weakest? Do I love myself, knowing how to accept my limits under the gaze of God?

6. "You shall not commit impure acts" (cf. Deuteronomy 5:18). "You shall not covet your neighbor's wife" (Deuteronomy 5:21).

Am I chaste in thoughts and actions? Do I make the effort to love with gratitude, free of the temptation to possess or be jealous? Do I always respect the dignity of the human person? Do I treat my body and the bodies of others as a temple of the Holy Spirit?

7. "You shall not steal" (Deuteronomy 5:19). "You shall not desire your neighbor's goods" (Deuteronomy 5:21).

Do I respect the goods of creation? Am I honest in my work and in my relations with my neighbor? Do I respect the fruit of others' labor? Am I envious of the goods of the others? Do I make an effort to make others happy, or do I only think of myself?

8. "You shall not bear dishonest witness against your neighbor" (Deuteronomy 5:20).

Am I sincere and loyal in each word and action? Do I always speak only the truth? Do I try to give confidence and act in a way that inspires confidence in the others?

9. Do I make an effort to follow the example of Christ in my life of surrender to God and my neighbor? Do I try to be like him: humble, poor and chaste?

10. Do I faithfully find the Lord in the sacraments, in fellowship, and in service to the poor? Do I live with hope in eternal life, seeing each thing under the light of God, always trusting in his promises? ZE06022105

[Translation by ZENIT]

To Anglicans on Episcopal Ordination of Women

Code: ZE06061625

Date: 2006-06-16

To Anglicans on Episcopal Ordination of Women

"Where and on What Side Does the Anglican Communion Stand?"

VATICAN CITY, JUNE 16, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Here is the address Cardinal William Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, gave to the Church of England bishops' meeting June 5, on the question of ordaining women as bishops.

* * *

I wish to thank the archbishop of Canterbury for the invitation to speak to you as the Church of England House of Bishops on a question which concerns you and therefore also concerns the Catholic Church and me personally as president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.

I have already had occasion to say to Archbishop Rowan Williams: Our friends' problems are our problems too. In this spirit of ecumenical solidarity I would like to offer you some reflections on the question of the ordination of women to episcopal office. Naturally these reflections are made from a Catholic perspective; I am of course convinced that the decision which you are facing involves us together with you, insofar as it will be of fundamental significance for relations between us in the future.

I.

Today is not the first time we have discussed the subject of women's ordination. Therefore I would like to begin with a brief overview of our previous discussions. The introduction of the ordination of women to the priesthood by some provinces of the Anglican Communion, including the Church of England, was preceded by a lively correspondence between Rome and Canterbury.

Pope Paul VI addressed a letter on this issue to Archbishop Donald Coggan on Nov. 30, 1975, and again on March 23, 1976, and this was followed by a letter from Pope John Paul II to Archbishop Robert Runcie on Dec. 20, 1984. My predecessor in office, Cardinal Jan Willebrands, responded to Archbishop Runcie's reply on Dec. 18, 1985.

On the question of the ordination of women to episcopal office, Pope John Paul II wrote a very earnest letter to Archbishop Robert Runcie of Dec. 8, 1988. The Pope spoke openly of "new obstacles in the way of reconciliation between Catholics and Anglicans" and of the danger of "block[ing] the path to the mutual recognition of ministries."

He made reference to the ecumenical and ecclesiological dimensions of the question.[1] In the joint declarations with Archbishop Robert Runcie on Oct. 2, 1989, and with Archbishop George Carey on Dec. 5, 1996, he addressed this question once more.[2]

I should also mention the declarations by ARCIC[3], and the detailed response to the Rochester Report, "Women Bishops in the Church of England?" by the Department of Dialogue and Unity of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales on Oct. 3, 2005.

The official argumentation of the Catholic Church on the ordination of women is found in the Declaration of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith "On the Admission of Women to the Priesthood," "Inter Insigniores" (1977), and in the apostolic letter of Pope John Paul II "Ordinatio Sacerdotalis," "On reserving priestly ordination to men alone" (1994).

There the Pontiff stated that the Catholic Church was convinced that it had no authority for such ordinations. It therefore considers such ordinations invalid (CJC can 1024).[4]

This position has often been misconstrued as misogyny and denial of the equal dignity of women. But in the apostolic letter "Mulieris Dignitatem" on "The Dignity and Vocation of Women" (1988) and in his "Letter to Women" (1995) Pope John Paul made it clear that the position of the Catholic Church in no way arose from a denial of the equal dignity of men and women or a lack of esteem for women, but is based solely on fidelity to apostolic testimony as it has been handed down in the Church throughout the centuries.

The Catholic Church distinguishes between the equal value and equal dignity of men and women on the one hand and on the other hand the differentiation of the two sexes, which have a complementary relationship with one another.

Similar statements are found in the document of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith "On the collaboration of men and women in the church and in the world" (2004). Benedict XVI reiterated and made concrete this view in his address to the clergy of Rome on March 2, 2006.[5]

I know that this question involves many complex hermeneutical, anthropological and theological problems which I cannot enter into in this context. The position of the Catholic Church can only be understood and evaluated if one recognizes that the argumentation has a biblical basis, but that the Church does not read the Bible as an isolated historical document.

Rather it understands the Bible in the light of the whole 2,000-year tradition of all the ancient churches, the Catholic Church as well as the ancient Eastern and Orthodox churches.

Doubtless, historically conditioned views at times had some influence on this tradition. There are some arguments belonging to the past which we do not reiterate today. We should of course be aware that our contemporary views are also historically contingent in many respects, and that presumably only future centuries will be able to measure just how greatly we have been conditioned by our times; they will presumably chuckle over many things which we take for granted today, just as we do over many ideas of the ancient or medieval world.

On the other hand, it can be academically demonstrated that the rejection of the ordination of women within the tradition was not predicated on contemporary concepts alone but in essence on theological arguments. Therefore it should not be assumed that the Catholic Church will one day revise its current position. The Catholic Church is convinced that she has no authority to do so.

II.

Following this brief review of the discussion regarding the ordination of women to priesthood, I would like to turn now to the current question of the ordination of women to the episcopal office. At first glance it seems to be a virtually unavoidable consequence of the first step, the ordination of women to the priesthood.

The sacrament of ordination is one single sacrament, and access to one step in principle also opens the way to the next step. The reverse conclusion then must be that if women cannot be admitted to the priesthood, then they obviously cannot be admitted to episcopal office either.

Nevertheless, in the ecumenical context the ordination of women to episcopal office confronts us with a new situation relative to the ordination to the priesthood, and represents a considerable further escalation of the problem. Why?

The answer to this question derives from the nature of the episcopal office, which according to the early church as well as to the current understanding of the Catholic Church, is an office of unity. As such it is particularly relevant to ecumenical concerns and aims.

I can here only touch on the foundations of this thesis. My starting point is that unity and unanimity are fundamental words in the New Testament: "one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all" (Ephesians 4:5).

According to the testimony of the Acts of the Apostles, unanimity was one of the signs of the first church (1:14; 2:46; 4:24, et al.). The significance of unity in the Church and under the apostles emerges from the way the Church dealt with the conflict regarding the continued validity of Jewish law, which touched on the foundations of Christianity.

After extensive discussions the controversy was settled at that time with a handshake as a sign of communion ("koinonia") (Acts 15; Galatians 2). So "koinonia"/"communio" is a foundational term which gained fundamental significance for the early church, and which in the eyes of many once more occupies a preeminent place in defining the essence of the Church today. The Church is shared participation in the life of God, therefore "koinonia" with God and with one another (1 John 1:3).

So from the beginning the episcopal office was "koinonially," or collegially, embedded in the communion of all bishops; it was never perceived as an office to be understood or practiced individually.

In his history of the Church, Eusebius describes in detail the endeavors to maintain peace, unity, love and communion during the violent conflicts of the second century regarding the correct fasting practices and the dating of Easter (Hist. eccl. V, 23f; cf. VII,5).

The collegial nature of the episcopal office achieves its most impressive expression in the consecration of bishops. As early as the Council of Nicaea (325) it was stipulated that, if possible, a bishop should be consecrated by all the bishops of a province, or at least by a minimum of three bishops with the consent of the others (can. 4). A synod at Antiochia (341) demanded the presence of at least the majority of the bishops of the province.

The "apostolic constitutions" are even more demanding in their judgments. Anyone who has been consecrated by only one bishop should be deposed (can. 27). In the early church collegial induction into the episcopal office corresponded to the collegial exercise of the office through the exchange of letters, reciprocal visits and above all the joint consultation and formulation of resolutions at the synods or councils.

We are indebted above all to the martyr bishop Cyprian of Carthage for a thorough theology of the episcopal office. His sentence "episcopatus unus et indivisus" is well known. This sentence stands in the context of an urgent admonition by Cyprian to his fellow bishops: "Quam unitatem tenere firmiter et vindicare debemus maxime episcopi, qui in ecclesia praesidimus, ut episcopatum quoque ipsum unum atque indivisum probemus" (And this unity we ought firmly to hold and assert, especially those of us that are bishops who preside in the church, that we may also prove the episcopate one and undivided).

This urgent exhortation is followed by a precise interpretation of the statement "episcopatus unus et indivisus" : "Episcopatus unus est cuius a singulis in solidum pars tenetur" (The episcopate is one, each part of which is held by each one for the whole) ("De ecclesiae catholicae unitate" I, 5).[6]

Such statements and admonitions recur again and again in Cyprian's letters (Ephesians 55:21; 59:14, et al.). Most familiar is the statement that the Church is the people united with the bishop and the flock devoted to its shepherd: "The bishop is in the Church and the Church is in the bishop, and if anyone is not with the bishop he is not with the Church."

But Cyprian goes even one step further: He not only emphasizes the unity of the people of God with its own individual bishop, but also adds that no one should imagine that he can be in communion with just a few, for "the Catholic Church is not split or divided" but "united and held together by the glue of the mutual cohesion of the bishops" (Ephesians 66:8).

Cyprian's concept has become the norm. The First Vatican Council took up Cyprian's formula of "episcopatus unus et indivisus" and gave it a prominent position (DS 3951); this was later reiterated by the Second Vatican Council ("Lumen Gentium," No. 18), which added depth to the theology of the episcopal office in the early church tradition with the concept of episcopal collegiality (particularly "Lumen Gentium," No. 22f).

Collegiality was not understood simply in terms of an ultimately non-binding collegial frame of mind; collegiality is rather a reality ontologically grounded in the sacrament of episcopal consecration, the shared participation in the one episcopal office which finds concrete expression in the "collegialitas affectiva" and in the "collegialitas effectiva."

This collegiality is of course not limited to the horizontal and synchronic relationship with contemporary episcopal colleagues; since the Church is one and the same in all centuries, the present-day church must also maintain diachronic consensus with the episcopate of the centuries before us, and above all with the testimony of the apostles. This is the more profound significance of the apostolic succession in episcopal office.

The episcopal office is thus an office of unity in a twofold sense. Bishops are the sign and the instrument of unity within the individual local church, just as they are between both the contemporary local churches and those of all times within the universal Church.

It is one of the heartening experiences of ecumenical dialogue that we have been able to establish that this understanding of the Church as koinonia, and with it the " koinonial" understanding of the episcopal office, is not just a particular Catholic tradition, but an understanding we share with the Anglican Communion. It can be found in the ARCIC conversations from the very beginning.[7]

It can also be found in the Paper of the House of Bishops "Bishops in Communion: Collegiality in the Service of the Koinonia of the Church" (2000), and it has entered into and become fundamental in the Windsor Report (2004). We can thus recognize with gratitude that we share a broad common theological and ecclesiological basis on this issue.

Should we not therefore also be in a position to say together: The decision for the ordination of women to the episcopal office can only be made with an overwhelming consensus, and must not in any way involve a conflict between the majority and the minority.

It would be desirable that this decision would be made with the consensus of the ancient churches of the East and West. If on the contrary the consecration of a bishop becomes the cause of a schism or blocks the way to full unity, then what occurs is something intrinsically contradictory. It should then not take place, or should be postponed until a broader consensus can be reached.

III.

In formulating this last conclusion I have already moved from a presentation of the theological foundations toward the practical questions and conclusions which I would like to address in the following discussion. I do so with inner hesitation and at the same time with pain and sadness. But I believe I can best serve the cause of ecumenism with open and honest statements.

If I see it correctly, the principles I have set out lead to two practical consequences, one for the sphere of the Anglican Communion and the Church of England itself, and one for the interecclesial, ecumenical sphere, and in concrete terms, for the future relationship of the Church of England to the Catholic Church.

If what I have said about the unity of the episcopate and the shared collegial participation in the one episcopate is true, then the mutual recognition of bishops, and in particular the recognition of the validity and legality of their ordination, is constitutive for the unity of the Church.

At issue here is not a purely canonical or disciplinary question which could be solved or bridged by more or less organizational arrangements such as flying bishops, or the creation of a third ecclesial province or such like. Where mutual recognition and communion between bishops does not exist or no longer exists, where one can therefore no longer concelebrate the Eucharist, then no church communion, at least no full church communion and thus no Eucharistic communion can exist.

Arrangements like those I have referred to can only cover over the breach superficially; they can paper over the cracks, but they cannot heal the division; one can even go one step further and say that from the Catholic perspective they are the unspoken institutionalization, manifestation and virtual legitimization of an existing schism.

When such a situation becomes a reality, it is not a purely inner-Anglican matter, but also has consequences for the ecumenical relationship between the Anglican Communion and the Catholic Church. We had invested great hopes and expectations in the Catholic-Anglican dialogue.

Following the historic encounter of Pope Paul VI and Archbishop M. Ramsey on March 24, 1966 [8] -- 40 years ago now -- ARCIC was, together with the Lutheran-Catholic and the Methodist-Catholic dialogues, among the first dialogues we initiated after the Second Vatican Council.

Since that time it has in many respects brought great progress, for which we thank God and all those who have taken part. Thus the meeting of Catholic and Anglican bishops in Toronto-Mississauga (2000) was filled with great hopes.

The progress made relates not least to the question of a shared understanding of ministries. Even in the first phase of dialogue positive results were achieved in this fundamental question, and later we were able to expand upon these gains.[9]

Besides the official dialogue there was a thorough historical and theological discussion of the Bull of Pope Leo XIII, "Apostolicae Curae" (1896) (DS 3315-3319). All of these discussions have not led to a conclusive resolution or to a full consensus, but they achieved a pleasing rapprochement which justifiably aroused promising expectations.[10]

But then the growing practice of the ordination of women to priesthood led to an appreciable cooling-off. A resolution in favor of the ordination of women to the episcopate within the Church of England would most certainly lower the temperature once more; in terms of the possible recognition of Anglican orders, it would lead not only to a short-lived cold, but to a serious and long-lasting chill.

Three provinces within the Anglican Communion have already ordained women to the episcopate; several other provinces have authorized such ordinations, though none have taken place in the latter to this point. These developments already stand as a major obstacle in Anglican-Catholic relations.

But the Catholic Church has always perceived the Church of England as playing a unique role in the Anglican Communion: It is the church from which Anglicanism derives its historical continuity, and with whom the divisions of the 16th century are most specifically addressed; it is the church led by the archbishop of Canterbury who, in the words of the Windsor Report, is " the pivotal instrument and focus of unity" within the Anglican Communion; other provinces have understood being in communion with him as a " touchstone of what it was to be Anglican" (99); finally, it is the church which we in continental Europe directly associate with Anglicanism, in part because of your many Church of England chaplaincies spread throughout the continent.

For us, the Church of England is not simply one province among others; its decisions have a particular importance for our dialogue, and give a strong indication of the direction in which the Communion as a whole is heading.

Because the episcopal office is a ministry of unity, the decision you face would immediately impact on the question of the unity of the Church and with it the goal of ecumenical dialogue. It would be a decision against the common goal we have until now pursued in our dialogue: full ecclesial communion, which cannot exist without full communion in the episcopal office.

Such a decision broadly taken within the Anglican Communion would mean turning away from the common position of all churches of the first millennium, that is, not only the Catholic Church but also the ancient Eastern and the Orthodox churches.

It would, in our view, further call into question what was recognized by the Second Vatican Council (Unitatis Redintegratio, 13), that the Anglican Communion occupied " a special place" among churches and ecclesial communities of the West. We would see the Anglican Communion as moving a considerable distance closer to the side of the Protestant churches of the 16th century. It would indeed continue to have bishops, according to the Lambeth Quadrilateral (1888); but as with bishops within some Protestant churches, the older churches of East and West would recognize therein much less of what they understand to be the character and ministry of the bishop in the sense understood by the early church and continuing through the ages.

Amidst all of this, the question arises which also occupied John Henry Newman: is the so-called via media a viable path?[11] Where and on what side does the Anglican Communion stand, where will it stand in the future? Which orientation does it claim as its own: the Latin, Greek, Protestant, liberal or evangelical?

It may retreat to the Anglican principle of comprehensiveness and answer: We are a little of everything. Such comprehensiveness is doubtless a good principle to a certain degree, but it should not be overdone, as my predecessor Cardinal Edward Cassidy once told you: One arrives at limits where one must decide one way or the other. For without identity no society, least of all a church, can continue to survive. The decision you are facing is therefore an historic decision.

What follows from these conclusions and questions? What follows for the future of our ecumenical dialogue? One thing is certain: The Catholic Church will not break off the dialogue even in the case of such a decision. It will above all not break off the personal relationships and friendships which have developed over the past years and decades. But there is a difference between types of dialogue. The quality of the dialogue would be altered by such a decision.

Ecumenical dialogue in the true sense of the word has as its goal the restoration of full Church communion. That has been the presupposition of our dialogue until now. That presupposition would realistically no longer exist following the introduction of the ordination of women to episcopal office.

Following that action we could still come together for the sake of information and consultation; we could continue to discuss and attempt to clarify theological issues, to cooperate in many practical spheres and to give shared witness.

Above all we could unite in joint prayer and pray for one another. All of that is, God knows, not negligible. But the loss of the common goal would necessarily have an effect on such encounters and rob them of most of their élan and their internal dynamic. Above all -- and this is the most painful aspect -- the shared partaking of the one Lord's table, which we long for so earnestly, would disappear into the far and ultimately unreachable distance. Instead of moving towards one another we would co-exist alongside one another.

For many that may seem a more realistic path than what we have attempted previously, but whether it is in accordance with the binding last will and testament of Jesus, "that all may be one" (John 17: 21) is of course another question. The answer would have to be in the negative.

I ask you: Is that what we want? Are we permitted to do that? Should we not ponder what Cyprian tells us, namely that the seamless robe of Jesus Christ cannot be possessed by those who tear apart and divide the church of Christ ("De catholicae ecclesiae unitate," 1,6)?

IV.

That brings me back once more in conclusion to a consideration of the fundamental principles. I have quoted our common Church father, Cyprian. In conclusion I would like to refer to another shared Church father, St. Augustine, and to one who must be particularly close to you, the Venerable Bede. Both of them took up Cyprian's ideas.

Cyprian had illustrated his thesis of the "episcopatus unus et indivisus" through a series of metaphors: the metaphor of the sun which has many rays but only one light; of the tree which has many branches but only one trunk grounded in one sturdy root, and of many streams which spring from one single source. Then he states: "Cut off one of the sun's rays -- the unity of the light permits no division; break off a branch of the tree and it can bud no more; dam off a spring from its source, it dries up below the cut" ("De catholicae ecclesiae unitate," 1,5)[12].

St. Augustine took up these metaphors more than once in his text "Contra Cresconium." I will quote just one instance: "Avelle radium solis a corpore, divisionem lucis unitas non capit: ab arbore frange ramum, fructus germinare non poterit: a fonte praecide rivum, praecisus arescit" (Separate a ray of the sun from its body of light, its unity does not allow a division of light; break a branch from a the tree -- when broken, it will not be able to bud; cut off the stream from its fountain, and that which is cut off dries up) (lib II 33.42).

Similarly, the Venerable Bede says in a homily: "Pastores sunt omnes, sed grex unus ostenditur qui ab apostolis omnibus tunc unianima consensione pascebatur" (All are shepherds but one flock is revealed. Then it was fed by all the apostles with harmonious agreement).[13]

"Grex unus, qui unianima consensione pascitur," that is the aim of ecumenical dialogue; it can only succeed if the "unianima consensio" of every single one of the separated churches is preserved and is then constituted step by step between those separated ecclesial bodies. May this, in spite of all the difficulties and resistance, be granted to us one day by the grace of God.

Appendix:

Address of Benedict XVI to the Clergy of Rome on March 2, 2006

"Thus, the Church has a great debt of gratitude to women. And you have correctly emphasized that at a charismatic level, women do so much, I would dare to say, for the government of the Church, starting with women religious, with the sisters of the great fathers of the Church such as St. Ambrose, to the great women of the Middle Ages -- St. Hildegard, St. Catherine of Siena, then St. Teresa of Avila -- and lastly, Mother Teresa.

I would say that this charismatic sector is undoubtedly distinguished by the ministerial sector in the strict sense of the term, but it is a true and deep participation in the government of the Church.

How could we imagine the government of the Church without this contribution, which sometimes becomes very visible, such as when St. Hildegard criticized the bishops or when St. Bridget offered recommendations and St. Catherine of Siena obtained the return of the Popes to Rome? It has always been a crucial factor without which the Church cannot survive.

However, you rightly say: we also want to see women more visibly in the government of the Church. We can say that the issue is this: The priestly ministry of the Lord, as we know, is reserved to men, since the priestly ministry is government in the deep sense, which, in short, means it is the sacrament (of orders) that governs the Church.

This is the crucial point. It is not the man who does something, but the priest governs, faithful to his mission, in the sense that it is the sacrament, that is, through the sacrament it is Christ himself who governs, both through the Eucharist and in the other sacraments, and thus Christ always presides.

However, it is right to ask whether in ministerial service -- despite the fact that here sacrament and charism are the two ways in which the Church fulfils herself -- it might be possible to make more room, to give more offices of responsibility to women."

* * *

[1] Information Service, 70 (1989/I), 60.

[2] Cited in: Growth in Agreement II, Report and Agreed Statements of Ecumenical Conversations on a World Level, Geneva -- Cambridge 2000, 327; 371 f.

[3] In the Ministry Elucidations of 1979 n. 5, in: Growth in Agreement I. New York-Geneva 1984, 87; Church as Communion (1990) n. 57, in: Growth in Agreement II, 342.

[4] Other relevant documents: Address by Pope Paul VI "On the Role of Women in the Plan of Salvation," Jan. 30, 1977; Pope John Paul II, apostolic exhortation "Christifideles Laici" (1988) No. 51; Catechism of the Catholic Church (1992) No. 1577.

[5] Address of Benedict XVI to the clergy of Rome on March 2, 2006.

[6] Cf. on its interpretation Sources chrétiennes n. 500, Paris 2006,177-179; 184-f; 273-275.

[7] Cf. Authority in the Church I (Venice Statement) (1976), in: Growth in Agreement I, 91-96; Final Report (1981), in: ibid. 65; Elucidation (1981), in: ibid. 103-105; Authority in the Church II (Windsor Statement) (1981), in: ibid. 106-117; Church as Communion (1990), in: ibid. II, 328-343; The Gift of Authority. Authority in the Church III (1999).

[8] Cf. the Common Declaration of St. Paul Outside the Walls, in "Growth in Agreement I," 125 f.

[9] Cf. apart from the documents listed in Notes 3 and 6 Ministry and Ordination (Canterbury Statement) (1973), in: Growth in Agreement I, 79-84 and Clarifications on Eucharist and Ministry, in: Information 1 Service, 87 (1994) IV, 237-242.

[10] Cf. the Letter of Cardinal Willebrands to ARCIC's Co-Chairs from July 13, 1985, in: Information Service 60 (1986/I-II) 23-f.

[11] J.H. Newman, "Apologia pro vita sua," Parts IV and V passim.

[12] Translation M. Bevenet, Cyprian "De lapsis" and "De Ecclesiae Catholicae Unitate," Oxford Early Christian Texts, Clarendon Press 1971, 64 f.

[13] Homily II: 22, translated in Bede the Venerable Homilies on the Gospels Book 2, p. 227, translated by Lawrence T. Martin and David Hurst, Cistercian Publications, Kalamazoo, Michigan, 1991 [cited in Sources chrétiennes, loc. cit. 287; 293.]