THE CONCHO PADRE POST

(Vatican Radio) The destructive force of calumny was the focus of Pope Francis’ homily for Mass on Monday morning celebrated with staff from the Vatican’s telecommunications office and internet services.

The Pope drew inspiration from the daily readings, in particular the first reading that recounts the episode of Stephen, the first martyr of the Church, being dragged before the Sanhedrin because of his witness to the Gospel. Pope Francis noted that Stephen was a victim of calumny. He is accused of “false witness” but it is not a “fair fight, a fight between good men”, noted Pope Francis, because Stephen’s enemies chose the path of a dirty fight, “the path of calumny”. Calumny he continued is worse than sin – it is the direct expression of Satan.

“We are all sinners; all of us. We all commit sins. But calumny is something else. It is of course a sin, too, but it is something more. Calumny aims to destroy the work of God, and calumny comes from a very evil thing: it is born of hatred. And hate is the work of Satan. Calumny destroys the work of God in people, in their souls. Calumny uses lies to get ahead. And let us be in no doubt, eh?: Where there is calumny, there is Satan himself. ”

From the behaviour of the accusers, Pope Francis then turned his attention to the accused. Stephan, he noted, does not return falsehood with falsehood: “He does not want to go that way to save himself. He looks to the Lord and obeys the law”, being in the peace and truth of Christ. And that Pope Francis said “is what happens in the history of the Church”, because from the first martyr until today there have been numerous examples of those who have witnessed to the Gospel with great courage:

“But the age of martyrs is not yet over, even today we can say, in truth, that the Church has more martyrs now than during the first centuries. The Church has many men and women who are maligned through calumny, who are persecuted, who are killed in hatred of Jesus, in hatred of the faith: some are killed because they teach the catechism, others are killed because they wear the cross … Today, in many countries, they are maligned, they are persecuted … they are our brothers and sisters who are suffering today, in this age of the martyrs”.

And again Pope Francis repeated “The age of martyrs is not yet over, the Church has more martyrs now than during the first centuries”. This age of “such great spiritual turmoil” reminded the Pope of an ancient Russian icon that depicts Our Lady covering the people of God with her mantle:

“We pray to Our Lady to protect us, and in times of spiritual turbulence the safest place is under the mantle of Our Lady. She is the mother who takes care of the Church. And in this time of martyrs, she is the protagonist, the protagonist of protection: She is the Mother. Let us state with faith: Mother, the Church is under your protection: Care for the Church. ‘”

Vatican Radio

Vatican City, 15 April 2013 (VIS) – “Today, the Superiors of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith met with the Presidency of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) of the United States of America. Archbishop James Peter Sartain, archbishop of Seattle, Washington, USA, and the Holy See’s Delegate for the Doctrinal Assessment of the LCWR, also participated in the meeting,” informs a communique from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

“As this was his first opportunity to meet with the Presidency of the LCWR, the Prefect of the Congregation, Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Muller, expressed his gratitude for the great contribution of women Religious to the Church in the United States as seen particularly in the many schools, hospitals, and institutions of support for the poor which have been founded and staffed by Religious over the years.”

“The Prefect then highlighted the teaching of the Second Vatican Council regarding the important mission of Religious to promote a vision of ecclesial communion founded on faith in Jesus Christ and the teachings of the Church as faithfully taught through the ages under the guidance of the Magisterium. He also emphasized that a Conference of Major Superiors, such as the LCWR, exists in order to promote common efforts among its member Institutes as well as cooperation with the local Conference of Bishops and with individual Bishops. For this reason, such Conferences are constituted by and remain under the direction of the Holy See.”

“Finally, Archbishop Muller informed the Presidency that he had recently discussed the Doctrinal Assessment with Pope Francis, who reaffirmed the findings of the Assessment and the program of reform for this Conference of Major Superiors.”

“It is the sincere desire of the Holy See,” the note concludes, “that this meeting may help to promote the integral witness of women Religious, based on a firm foundation of faith and Christian love, so as to preserve and strengthen it for the enrichment of the Church and society for generations to come.”

Vatican Information Service

Interesting story from Catholic News Service

http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1301684.htm

Grant,
we pray, almighty God,
that, putting off our old self with all its ways,
we may live as Christ did, for through the healing paschal remedies
you have conformed us to his nature.
Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
– Amen.

Here are some thoughts and talking points on today’s Gospel, taken from various sources, and used at today’s Mass. I don’t want to take credit for all of this. The Concho Padre

At the time when St John wrote his gospel, the first persecutions had already broken out.
• The Roman Emperors had already begun their policy of executing Christians for treason, because Christians refused to worship the Roman gods.
• One of John’s themes, therefore, in all of his New Testament writings, is the power of the Church to grow and to endure even through difficult times, even through violent persecutions.
This comes out in the Gospel passage we just heard, in the image of a fishing net full of fish – an analogy for the Church that appears more than once in the Gospels.
• The Apostles are feeling stir-crazy in these days after the Resurrection, before receiving the Holy Spirit.
• They decide to go fishing.
• Then the Lord appears to them and engineers a miraculous catch of fish, just as he had done three years earlier.
• When Peter brings the catch to shore, St John makes a point of mentioning a curious detail: the net was “full of one hundred and fifty-three large fish. Even though there were so many, the net was not torn.”
• Peter brought the overstuffed net onto the shore safely, almost miraculously – so many large fish should have torn that net, but they didn’t.
The net is the Church.
• It is filled with believers whom Christ gathers out of the ocean of time and history through the ministry of Peter and his successors, the popes.
• And Peter is the one who hauls this supernatural community onto the shores of eternity at the end of time, where they will all feast with the Lord.
In spite of sufferings, scandals and sins, in spite of obstacles, challenges and persecutions, Christ’s Church will continue to grow and expand under the ministry of Peter, and it will stay intact until it is brought safely home to heaven – Peter’s net will not tear.
Our culture is so focused on current events and headlines, that we can easily lose sight of this perspective. But a brief glance at history can remedy that.
The mere fact of the Church’s endurance through twenty centuries, maintaining the same doctrine, the same forms of worship (seven sacraments), and the same structure (bishops united under the pope’s leadership to serve believers) is, without a doubt, miraculous.
It only becomes more amazing when we take a look at the actual obstacles and enemies it had to overcome.
• The Roman Empire tried to stamp out Christianity for 300 years. That Empire is gone, the Church remains.
• In the Middle Ages, the Ottoman Empire extended over even more territory than Rome had, and conquered many Christian lands. It invaded Europe and tried to do away with the Church. That Empire fell, but the Church remains.
• In the sixteenth century, most of northern Europe rebelled against the Catholic Church in what was called the Protestant Reformation. In some countries, being Catholic became a capital punishment. Yet today, the Catholic Church remains the largest Christian community, and in those countries, the Church remains.
• In the seventeenth century a new Islamic Empire, the Turkish Empire, tried again to overrun Christian civilization. That Empire is gone, the Church remains.
• In the eighteenth century, the French Revolution tried to eradicate the Church in France, martyring hundreds, if not thousands. The Revolution passed, the Church endured.
• In the nineteenth century, Napoleon conquered all of continental Europe, usurped the Church hierarchy, and imprisoned two popes in efforts to take over the Catholic Church. His Empire passed away; the Church remains.
• In the twentieth century, Soviet Communism tried to wipe out the Catholic Church in all of its territories, as did the German Nazis. Those regimes are gone, the Church remains.
• Today the saga continues, in Africa, the Middle East, China, and Vietnam…
The Church has endured, and it will continue to endure, just as Christ promised.
Peter will bring the net to shore, overstuffed with large fishes, and the net will not be torn.
How can we be sure to stay inside this Kingdom, this Church that will endure forever?
How can we be sure not to go astray? Did Jesus give us any sure guide?
Yes, he did. The sure guide is Peter, Peter and his successors, the Popes.
• Jesus established his Church, promised to be with that Church until the end of time, and commanded Peter to lead that Church, to “feed his sheep”, to “feed his lambs”.
• If we didn’t need a shepherd, Jesus would not have given us one.
• We need one because in this fallen world there are many dead-end paths, seductive voices, temptations, false shepherds.
• Only Peter and his successors, the popes, have received the divine guarantee to point out the path of Christ in the midst of confusion and unrest.
It is not always easy to follow the Pope’s teachings.
• When we follow Peter, sometimes that means following him to the cross, because Peter followed Christ so closely that he too ended up being humiliated and crucified, in Rome, under the Roman Emperor, Nero.
• And yet, that is the sure path to life; it was Peter’s net that was not torn; it was Peter who hauled that net safely onto the shore.
Today, as Christ comes again to feed our souls through the ministry of this Church which has grown and endured through the centuries under the guidance of Peter, let’s thank the Lord for taking such good care of us.
And let’s promise him that we will do our part too, listening to the teaching of his Vicar, Pope Francis, striving to understand it, and obeying it out of love for the Lord.

The Concho Padre (from various sources)