The Holy Father´s Week (August 29th 2011)

A report on Benedict XVI´s messages and activities

by Maribel de Torres | Source: Zenit.org

The Holy Father referred to the extraordinary days spent in Madrid for the XXVI World Youth Day. “It was a moving ecclesial event: approximately 2 million youth from every continent gathered for a truly exceptional experience of fraternity, of encounter with the Lord, of sharing and of growth in the faith: a true cascade of light.” He said during the general audience.

“I thank God for this precious gift, which gives hope for the future of the Church: young people with the unwavering and sincere desire to root their lives in Christ, to remain firm in the faith, and to walk together with the Church” .

“I cannot describe in only a few words the intense moments we experienced” He continued as he presented a brief summary of each of the main activities.
"For the multitude of young people who had come from every corner of the world, it was a special occasion to reflect, discuss, exchange positive experiences and, above all, to pray together and to renew their commitment to root their own lives in Christ, the Faithful Friend," he said. "I am sure that they have returned home, and that they return there with the firm purpose of being a leaven in society by carrying the hope that is born of faith.

The Holy Father affirmed that he carries these days in his heart as a great gift and he continues to accompany the yputh in prayer, so that they might remain faithful to the commitments they have assumed. “I entrust the fruits of this Day to the maternal intercession of Mary."
Benedict XVI also announced the themes of the next World Youth Days. Next year's, which will take place in the individual dioceses, will have as its motto: "Rejoice in the Lord always!"; while the motto for the 2013 World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro will be Jesus' mandate: "Go and make disciples of all nations!" He entrusted to everyone's prayer the preparations for these very important meetings. CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy, AUG. 24, 2011

“To think according to the world is to put God aside, not to accept his plan of love, almost impeding the fulfilment of his wise will.” The Holy Father affirmed at the Angelus.
In the Gospel Jesus explains to his disciples that he must "go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised"
The Apostle Peter rebels, he does not accept this, what appears evident is the difference between the loving design of the Father, which goes so far as the gift of his only-begotten Son on the cross to save humanity, and the expectations, the desires, the plans of the disciples
“And this discord occurs also today”, he explained, “ when the fulfilment of one's life is directed solely to social success, to physical and economic wellbeing, then one no longer reasons according to God, but according to men.”

A Christian follows Christ when he accepts his cross with love, which in the eyes of the world seems a defeat and a "loss of life". But the Christian knows that he does not carry the cross alone but with Jesus, sharing in his way of donation” the Pontiff affirmed. "By willingly accepting the cross, Jesus carries the cross of all men and becomes the source of salvation for the whole of humanity." CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy, AUG. 28, 2011

Other papal messages and activities

It is possible to look to the future with confidence -- because Christ has wrenched man's destiny from darkness. Benedict XVI affirmed in a message he sent to the Meeting of Friendship Among Peoples, which is under way this week in Rimini, Italy. ”Through the Son, in the power of the Holy Spirit, the Father unveiled to us definitively the positive future that awaits us.”
!Only the certainty that is born of faith enables man to live the present intensely and, at the same time, to transcend it, perceiving in it the reflection of the eternal to which time is ordered. Only the recognized presence of Christ, source of life and destiny of man, is capable of reawakening in us the nostalgia of Paradise and thus to project the future with confidence, without fear and false illusions.” VATICAN CITY, AUG. 23, 2011

"As the Lord teaches us in the Gospel, even the smallest donation counts for God," the Holy Father affirmed in a message sent to the president of the Argentinian bishops' commission for aid to the poor. The Pope entrusted the campaign Más por Menos (More for Less) to Our Lady. VATICAN CITY, AUG. 23, 2011

In a message sent to the participants in the 62nd annual Italian Liturgical Week, under way in Trieste through Friday, the Holy Father stressed the need for further reflection on the link between catechesis and liturgy, yet rejecting every form of undue instrumentalization of the liturgy for "catechetical" ends. The liturgy is not what man does,he noted, but what God does with his admirable and gratuitous condescendence. VATICAN CITY, AUG. 24, 2011

On Cardinal Ján Chryzostom Korec´s 60th anniversary of Episcopal ordination, the Pope sent a message of congratulations and praise.
Ján Chryzostom Korec was born in Czechoslovakia, on Jan. 22, 1924. Communists came to power there in 1949. The following year, Korec was clandestinely ordained a Jesuit priest. His episcopal ordination the following year made him the youngest bishop in the world.
For nine years he carried out his mission as a priest and bishop in a factory where he worked as a laborer, and later as a night watchman. He was arrested in 1960, and tried and sentenced to 12 years in prison. He was kept in a monastery converted into a prison, where there were six other bishops and some 200 priests.
During his prison years he celebrated Mass every day, and when he was in isolation, in his imagination he did the spiritual exercises. In 1968, with the "Prague Spring," he was released from prison but was gravely ill. To earn his living he began to work as a garbage collector in Bratislava. It was then that he celebrated Mass for the first time in public.
Pope John Paul II appointed him bishop of Nitra, Slovakia, in 1990, and made him a cardinal in 1991. In 1998 the Holy Father called him to the Vatican to preach the Lenten spiritual exercises. VATICAN CITY, AUG. 25, 2011

Benedict XVI gathered with a group of his former students to discuss the new evangelization. The students are having their annual meeting at Castel Gandolfo through Sunday. CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy, AUG. 25, 2011

Benedict XVI expressed his distress at the terrorist attack on U.N. offices in Abuja, Nigeria, which caused more than 20 deaths and dozens of wounded. The Holy Father reiterated his appeal "to those who choose death and violence to embrace instead life and respectful dialogue." VATICAN CITY, AUG. 28, 2011

Benedict XVI expressed his condolences over the death of Cardinal Aloysius Ambrozic, who died Friday at the age of 81.
The Cardinal was born in Gaberje, Slovenia. In May 1945, the entire family fled to Austria, where they lived in refugee camps. While in these camps, he completed his high school education. In September 1948, the family emigrated to Canada and settled near Toronto. Shortly afterward, he entered the seminary and was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Toronto on June 4, 1955.
In 1976, he was named auxiliary bishop of Toronto In 1990, he became the archbishop and in 1998, was made a cardinal. He retired in 2006. VATICAN CITY, AUG. 28, 2011

A prayer for the Holy Father
Christ Jesus, King and Lord of the Church, in your presence I renew my unconditional loyalty to your Vicar on earth, the Pope. In him you have chosen to show us the safe and sure path that we must follow in the midst of confusion, uneasiness, and unrest. I firmly believe that through him you govern, teach, and sanctify us; with him as our shepherd, we form the true Church: one, holy, catholic, and apostolic. Grant me the grace to love, live, and spread faithfully our Holy Father’s teachings. Watch over his life, enlighten his mind, strengthen his spirit, defend him from calumny and evil. Calm the erosive winds of infidelity and disobedience. Hear our prayer and keep your Church united around him, firm in its belief and action, that it may truly be the instrument of your redemption. Amen.

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