"Mother of the 'yes,' you who heard Jesus, speak to us of Him;

Twentieth Sunday After Pentecost-Extraordinary Form of the Liturgy. October 14th, 2012


This past week as been an very important week in our lives. On this past Thursday, October 11th, our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI at Mass in Saint Peter’s Square, Rome inaugurated the "Year of Faith" for the Catholic Church and so for each one of us. This Year of Faith is more important for us than the upcoming election! Not the election isn't important, but the Year of Faith and how we make use of its graces in our lives is even more important, much more important!

If you remember, it was one year ago that Pope Benedict announced the Year of Faith in a letter entitled Porta Fidei. In this letter Benedict reminded all of us that ‘The Door of Faith’, Porta Fidei, is always open for us. The ‘Door’ is never closed. Passing through that door means embarking on a journey that lasts a lifetime. It is a journey that begins with baptism and ends with the passage through death to eternal life. In his letter, and throughout his pontificate, Pope Benedict has recalled the need to discover again and again this all-important journey so as to experience the joy and enthusiasm of meeting Christ, Christ who leads people out of the desert into the fullness of life.

Porta Fidei also mentioned that The Year of Faith would mark the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council. And so at the Holy Mass this past Thursday Pope Benedict reminded us that, Pope John XXIII--“Blessed John,” in his opening address fifty years ago, presented the principal purpose of the Council in this way: “What above all concerns the Ecumenical Council is this: that the sacred deposit of Christian doctrine be safeguarded and taught more effectively. … Therefore, the principal purpose of this Council is not the discussion of this or that doctrinal theme, a Council is not required for that, ... [but] this certain and immutable doctrine, which is to be faithfully respected, needs to be explored and presented in a way which responds to the needs of our time.”

Pope Benedict went on to recalled how his predecessor Bl. John XXIII affirmed that the purpose of the council was "to spread ever wider the beneficial impact of the Incarnation and Redemption in all spheres of life." This goal, Pope Benedict said, "resounds today with particular urgency." In other words with regards to the Council and its proper and full implementation there is much more work to be done so as to be able to share ever more fully in its, the council’s, great riches and abundant fruits and graces.

As the faithful people of God, we need with great urgency and diligence to return again to the documents of the great Second Vatican Council. And to do so, not only to see more clearly the continuity of the documents with the Deposit of Faith that remains unchangeable, but because these fourteen documents contain, when properly understood, contain what we need to proclaim the fullness of the Deposit of Faith to our ever-unbelieving world, which grows daily in its self imposed separation from God. And as Benedict urged, "Without God, man ultimately chooses selfishness over solidarity and love, material things over values, having over being. We must return to God, so that man may return to being man,"

In the letter For the Year of Faith, Porta Fidei, Benedict also said, “In some respects, my venerable predecessor saw this Year as a “consequence and a necessity of the post conciliar period”, fully conscious of the grave difficulties of the time, especially with regard to the profession of the true faith and its correct interpretation. It seemed to me that timing the launch of the Year of Faith to coincide with the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council would provide a good opportunity to help people understand that the texts bequeathed by the Council Fathers, in the words of Blessed John Paul II, “have lost nothing of their value or brilliance.

But Benedict went on to say however, that, They (the Council Documents) need to be read correctly, to be widely known and taken to heart as important and normative texts of the Magisterium, within the Church's Tradition ... He said, I feel more than ever in duty bound to point to the Council as the great grace bestowed on the Church in the twentieth century: there we find a sure compass by which to take our bearings in the century now beginning.” I would also like to emphasize strongly what I had occasion to say concerning the Council a few months after my election as Successor of Peter: “if we interpret and implement it guided by a right hermeneutic, it can be and can become increasingly powerful for the ever necessary renewal of the Church."

And so the Year of Faith presents us, your and me, the unique opportunity to return to that grace-filled Council and to study, read or re-read its sixteen documents in its Constitutions, Decrees and Declarations. But to do so with a correct hermeneutic; that is, study them with a “hermeneutic of continuity” which discovers that the Council changed nothing with regards to what we believe about and how we worship the One True God. In other words, Vatican II changed nothing but only showed us the way to proclaim the unchanging Truth of our faith, which comes from God Himself, to our modern atheistic, sinful, murderous and so sorrow laden age in order to restore its hope and so its joy.

Later on in the Evening on Thursday there was held a beautiful vigil procession to celebrate the opening of the Year of Faith. In the moonlight Pope Benedict address the crowd just as Pope John XIII did in the moonlight fifty years ago at the opening of the Second Vatican II. It is an address that deserves to be heard in full. Benedict said, We're happy today, too – (as those present in the moonlight vigil at the opening of the Second Vatican Council) we should carry joy in our hearts. I would say, however, that our joy is a more sober one, something more humble. Over these fifty years, we have learned and experienced that original sin exists, and that it translates itself into personal sins which can become structures of sin. We have seen that even in the Lord's field there is discord, that even in the net of Peter we find bad fish, that human weakness is present even in the church, that the ship of the church journeys in the face of an opposing wind, amid storms that threaten the ship. And sometimes we have thought that 'the Lord is asleep and has forgotten us.' But this is only one part of the experience of these fifty years. We've also been made to experience the presence of the Lord, the gifts of his goodness and strength.

The fire of the Holy Spirit, the fire of Christ is never one that devours nor a destructive one. It's a quiet fire, a small flame of goodness, of goodness and truth, that transforms with its light and warmth. We have seen that the Lord doesn't forget us – even today, his way is humble. The Lord is present, he gives warmth to our hearts, shows us life, creates charisms of goodness and charity that shine in our world, which are for us a guarantee of the goodness of God. 

Yes, Christ lives with us today and we can be happy because, even now, his goodness remains and is strong. And finally, I dare to make my own the unforgettable words of Pope John: 'When you go home, give your children a kiss and tell them that it's from the Pope.' 

With this sense from my whole heart, I give my blessing to you.

Yes, a lot as been done wrongly and even maliciously in the name of Vatican II according to it so called “spirit” but the Lord as not abandoned His Church, as not abandon us. He has been with us in these fifty years of sometimes, utter confusion and will continue to do so. So let us be not afraid!!! The Holy Spirit that guided the Second Vatican Council continues to guide the Church and will help us to realize fully the fruits of the ecumenical gathering that took place fifty years ago. But we have to do our part. We have to do the sometime hard work of studying the documents in order to understand them more correctly and fully. We can then take their truths out to the modern world and re-evangelize it; and, we can correct in Christian charity those who have fallen prey to the false “spirit” of Vatican II… We can give a reason for the joy in our hearts.

Benedict also pointed out that this Year of Faith, is also the twentieth anniversary of the publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Catechism too offers us a unique opportunity to reacquaint ourselves with the power and beauty of our faith. By the way, I just subscribed to a service that text or emails a portion of the Catechism each and every day so that by the end of the year of the faith you will have read the entire Catechism. I'll put the information on how you can do the same in next week's bulletin ( http://www.flocknote.com/catechism )

Last week we spoke about making the power of the prayer of the Rosary both as individuals and as families an important part of our celebrating this year of the faith. Our prayer of the Rosary should also include by the way the recitation of the Rosary in public. In The Secret of the Rosary, Saint Louis de Montfort said: “Public prayer is far more powerful than private prayer to appease the anger of God and call down His mercy, and Holy Mother Church, guided by the Holy Ghost, has always advocated public prayer in times of public tragedy and suffering.”

And so, one of the most important things we can do in this year of the faith along with studying the Council documents, the catechism of the Catholic Church and growing in our love and devotion to the Holy Rosary is to make a commitment to pray for one another more; to especially pray more for one another in the parish; Just think what would happen in this Year of Faith if we all really prayed for one another in this parish family. In fact, I think that this is the most important thing we can do in this Year of Faith, to make a renewed commitment to pray for one another-perhaps it can be the rosary daily or weekly for one another; or a Memorare daily for each other, perhaps praying an Our Father at meals for one another, or even a hour of adoration weekly for each other. (Hopefully in few weeks, I will have a little cards to help us make this commitment by putting it in writing as a pledge).

May we all, during this Year of Faith, take the opportunity to gain a new understanding and renewal of that faith. May it contribute to a renewed conversion to Jesus the Lord!

"Mother of the 'yes,' you who heard Jesus, speak to us of Him; tell us of your journey, that we may follow Him on the path of faith; help us to proclaim Him, that each person may welcome Him and become the dwelling place of God," (Pope Benedict.)