Peter, The Rock - On the Feast of the Cathedra of Peter

The feast of the Cathedra of St. Peter has this year a very unique flavor with two living Popes gathering at the same solemn event in St. Peter Basilica.

Two living Popes, yes, but ther is no doubt whatsoever as to who the Vicar of Christ is currently.

The embrace of Francis and Benedict is an eloquent testimony. Pope Emeritus continues to teach us even without words.

Another Pope of ancient times teaches us today also, in the Second Reading of the Divine Office, what do we believe of Francis, our Pope:

From a sermon by Saint Leo the Great, pope

The Church of Christ rises on the firm foundation of Peter’s faith

Out of the whole world one man, Peter, is chosen to preside at the calling of all nations, and to be set over all the apostles and all the fathers of the Church. Though there are in God’s people many shepherds, Peter is thus appointed to rule in his own person those whom Christ also rules as the original ruler. Beloved, how great and wonderful is this sharing of his power that God in his goodness has given to this man. Whatever Christ has willed to be shared in common by Peter and the other leaders of the Church, it is only through Peter that he has given to others what he has not refused to bestow on them.

The Lord now asks the apostles as a whole what men think of him. As long as they are recounting the uncertainty born of human ignorance, their reply is always the same.

But when he presses the disciples to say what they think themselves, the first to confess his faith in the Lord is the one who is first in rank among the apostles.

Peter says: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus replies: Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona, for flesh and blood has not revealed it to you, but my Father who is in heaven. You are blessed, he means, because my Father has taught you. You have not been deceived by earthly opinion, but have been enlightened by inspiration from heaven. It was not flesh and blood that pointed me out to you, but the one whose only-begotten Son I am.

He continues: And I say to you. In other words, as my Father has revealed to you my godhead, so I in my turn make known to you your pre-eminence. You are Peter: though I am the inviolable rock, the cornerstone that makes both one, the foundation apart from which no one can lay any other, yet you also are a rock, for you are given solidity by my strength, so that which is my very own because of my power is common between us through your participation.

And upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. On this strong foundation, he says, I will build an everlasting temple. The great height of my Church, which is to penetrate the heavens, shall rise on the firm foundation of this faith.

The gates of hell shall not silence this confession of faith; the chains of death shall not bind it. Its words are the words of life. As they lift up to heaven those who profess them, so they send down to hell those who contradict them.

Blessed Peter is therefore told: To you I will give the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth is also bound in heaven. Whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed also in heaven.

The authority vested in this power passed also to the other apostles, and the institution established by this decree has been continued in all the leaders of the Church. But it is not without good reason that what is bestowed on all is entrusted to one. For Peter received it separately in trust because he is the prototype set before all the rulers of the Church.​

Pope Francis has a unique style that reminds us more of Jesus Himself than of any of his predecessors in the Chair of Peter. His freedom to love has been a cause of concern for some who are not used to the workings and the Power of the Spirit in their own lives. People who know the Faith only through what is written in books are going to stumble with Pope Francis because we are living extraordinary times and the Spirit is moving in extraordinary ways.

But our Faith, and the Chruch of Jesus Christ is based on the Rock. Not because Pope Francis has it all together but because Jesus gave His divine Word that He wants it so, and He is the foundation supporting the Rock.

Once again it is the Humility of God that is the stumbling block for our lack of humility, especially in our times when we have come to be certain that we see things more clearly, and know better what the Church and the world needs, than the Pope -and than God Hiimself.

May God bless and keep Pope Francis, and continue to guide him as he leads us forward in Christ Jesus, Our Lord.

Christ The King - Closing of the Year of Faith

On this last Sunday of the Church calendar we celebrate the solemnity of CHRIST, KING OF THE UNIVERSE.

From this humble blog we greet our Lord and King and give thanks for His Kinship of Love, Sacrifice, and Salvation upon us, and we repeat with so many martyrs of the last century:

¡¡VIVA CRISTO REY!!

LONG LIVE CHRIST THE KING!!

Today is also the closing of the YEAR OF FAITH which we have been celebrating since October 2012.

During this special Year we've had a special emphasis on the Creed, the prayer of the Church which summs up our Catholic faith, the faith I profess with Pope Francis and the whole Church

It is especially meaningful the celebration of the Eucharist that Pope Francis held today with all the Patriarchs and leaders of the Churches in full communion with Rome.
During the singing of the Creed, Pope Francis held in his hands a small urn containing the remains of the Apostle Peter, the first Pope, which were exposed to the public for the first time. Here is the video:

I believe in one God, the Father almighty,

maker of heaven and earth,

of all things visible and invisible.

I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,

        the Only Begotten Son of God,

        born of the Father before all ages.

    God from God, Light from Light,

        true God from true God,

    begotten, not made, consubstantial

       with the Father;

        Through him all things were made.

    For us men and for our salvation

        he came down from heaven,

        and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate

        of the Virgin Mary,

        and became man.

    For our sake he was crucified

      under Pontius Pilate,

        he suffered death and was buried,

        and rose again on the third day

        in accordance with the Scriptures.

    He ascended into heaven

        and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

    He will come again in glory

        to judge the living and the dead

        and his kingdom will have no end.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

        the Lord, the giver of life,

    who proceeds from the Father and the Son,

    who with the Father and the Son

        is adored and glorified,

        who has spoken through the prophets.

I believe in one, holy, catholic,

     and apostolic Church.

    I confess one baptism for the forgiveness of sins

        and I look forward to the resurrection

        of the dead and the life of the world to come.

                          Amen.

The Year of Faith has been a year of incredible GRACE from God not only for the Church but also in my own life.

We've seen the amazing workings of the Holy Spirit in the leading of the Church through the historic and humble resignation of Pope Benedict and the gift of Pope Francis to the Church and the world.

In my own Diocesan Church we've seen also the resignation of our Bishop upon reaching the retirement age, and the appointment of our new Bishop.  Then, we've also had a change of Pastor at my parish.

But above and beyond these external -and important- changes, I've been blessed with a renewal of my own faith and my own vocation and place in the Church.

This might be a good time to reflect, how has the Year Of Faith influenced your own life? How has the Spirit touched (blessed - disturbed) you over the last 13 months?

May we all continue to grow stronger in our Faith, our Hope, and our Love.

Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Temple - Pro Orantibus Day -

Although not recorded in Scripture, today the Church celebrates the Consecration of the Infant Mary to God in the Temple of Jerusalem.

The story is related in some of the apocryphal gospels, and is extensively recorded in The Mystical City of God of the Ven. Maria de Jesus de Agreda (book II ch 1). Here are some excerpts (#421-422):

421. The three years time decreed by the Lord having been completed, Joachim and Anne set out from Nazareth, accompanied by a few of their kindred and bringing with them the true living Ark of the covenant, the most holy Mary, borne on the arms of her mother in order to be deposited in the holy temple of Jerusalem. The beautiful Child, by her fervent and loving aspirations, hastened after the ointments of her Beloved, seeking in the temple Him, whom She bore in her heart...

Thus they pursued their journey from Nazareth to the holy city of Jerusalem, and also the parents of the holy child Mary felt in their hearts great joy and consolation of spirit.

422. They arrived at the holy temple, and the blessed Anne on entering took her Daughter and Mistress by the hand, accompanied and assisted by saint Joachim. All three offered a devout and fervent prayer to the Lord; the parents offering to God their Daughter, and the most holy Child, in profound humility, adoration and worship, offering up Herself...

Having offered their prayers, they rose and betook themselves to the priest. The parents consigned their Child into his hands and he gave them his blessing. Together they conducted Her to the portion of the temple buildings, where many young girls lived to be brought up in retirement and in virtuous habits, until old enough to assume the state of matrimony. It was a place of retirement especially selected for the first-born daughters of the royal tribe of Juda and the sacerdotal tribe of Levi.

On this special Marian feast, the Church celebrates also her contemplatives, the lives consecrated to God in a life of prayer. Thus this is also called "Pro Orantibus Day" -the Day For Those Who Pray-

Pope Francis marked the ocassion by visiting the contemplative monastery of the Camaldolese nuns in Rome, and prayed with them Vespers as well as a time of adoration to the Blessed Sacrament. 

Here is a short video of the visit:

Some references for the Pro Orantibus Day: http://www.cloisteredlife.com/pro-orantibus-day/