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Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger on what "the feast of the Ascension wants to teach us"

From Images of Hope: Meditations on Major Feasts, in a chapter titled, "The Beginning of a New Nearness":

You are surely familiar with all those precious, naïve images in which only the feet of Jesus are visible, sticking out of the cloud, at the heads of the apostles. The cloud, for its part, is a dark circle on the perimeter; on the inside, however, blazing light. It occurs to me that precisely in the apparent naïveté of this representation something very deep comes into view. All we see of Christ in the time of history are his feet and the cloud. His feet—what are they? We are reminded, first of all, of a peculiar sentence from the Resurrection account in Matthew's Gospel, where it is said that the women held onto the feet of the Risen Lord and worshipped him. As the Risen One, he towers over earthly proportions. We can still only touch his feet; and we touch them in adoration. Here we could reflect that we come as worshippers, following his trail, close to his footsteps. Praying, we go to him; praying, we touch him, even if in this world, so to speak, always only from below, only from afar, always only on the trail of his earthly steps. At the same time it becomes clear that we do not find the footprints of Christ when we look only below, when we measure only footprints and want to subsume faith in the obvious. The Lord is movement toward above, and only in moving ourselves, in looking up and ascending, do we recognize him. When we read the Church Fathers something important is added. The correct ascent of man occurs precisely where he learns, in humbly turning toward his neighbor, to bow very deeply, down to his feet, down to the gesture of the washing of feet. It is precisely humility, which can bow low, that carries man upward. This is the dynamic of ascent that the feast of the Ascension wants to teach us. 

Read another excerpt from the same book, "Primacy in Love."

The Image of Man Has Been Raised Up: On the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord

The Image of Man Has Been Raised Up: On the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord | Carl E. Olson 

"You ascended into glory, O Christ our God, and You delighted the disciples with the promise of the Holy Spirit. Through this blessing, they were assured that You are the Son of God, the Redeemer of the World."
—Troparion for the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, Feast of the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ

"Christ's Ascension is therefore not a spectacle for the disciples but an event into which they themselves are included. It is a sursum corda, a movement toward the above into which we are all called. It tells us that man can live toward the above, that he is capable of attaining heights. More: the altitude that alone is suited to the dimensions of being human is the altitude of God himself. Man can live at this height, and only from this height do we properly understand him. The image of man has been raised up, but we have the freedom to tear it down or to let ourselves be raised."
— Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, from Images of Hope: Meditations On Major Feasts (Ignatius Press, 2006)

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Readings:

• Acts 1:1-11
• Psa. 47:2-3, 6-7, 8-9
• Eph. 1:17-23 or Heb. 9:24-28; 10:19-23
• Lk 24:46-53

"As he blessed them he parted from them and was taken up to heaven." (Lk 24:51)

With these simple, matter-of-fact words, Luke describes the Ascension of Jesus, expressed even more concisely in the Creed: "He ascended into heaven." This event is so important for Luke that the Acts of the Apostles opens with a description of the same event. As the disciples looked on, Luke records, Jesus "was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight" (Acts 1:9). Mark's account, heard today, is equally direct and succinct: "So then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them, was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God" (Mk. 16:19).

This dramatic moment has been celebrated in the Church on the fortieth day after Easter since the earliest centuries. Some of the Church Fathers, including Augustine, said that the feast had been observed since the time of the apostles, although the earliest evidence of its celebration dates to the fifth century. In the Latin Rite in the United States the Feast of the Ascension is one of six solemnities, the others being the solemnities of Mary, Mother of God (January 1); the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (August 15); All Saints (November 1), the Immaculate Conception (December 8), and the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ (December 25).

Despite being a solemnity and a holy day of obligation, the Feast of the Ascension is sometimes completely overlooked or not given much attention. Ask Catholics what is the significance of the Feast and answers aren't always immediate. The rather mysterious nature of the Feast is heightened in some ecclesiastical provinces by its transference from the sixth Thursday of Easter to the following Sunday. In a way, the Solemnity bears a resemblance to the sacrament of Confirmation, the exact meaning of which is not always understood well and suffers for not being more clearly explained and comprehended.

This occasional murkiness is unfortunate because the Ascension is such a joyful event in the work and life of Jesus Christ, as well as being a vital reality in the ongoing life and mission of the Church. To appreciate this joy and vitality we should keep in mind what the Catechism of the Catholic Church states about the liturgical calendar: The Church, "in the course of the year, . . . unfolds the whole mystery of Christ from his Incarnation and Nativity through his Ascension, to Pentecost and the expectation of the blessed hope of the coming of the Lord" (CCC, 1194).

Hinted at here are revealing parallels between the Incarnation and the Ascension and between the Nativity and Pentecost. In the Incarnation the eternal Son of God took on human nature in order to save mankind. By the power of the Holy Spirit, divinity and humanity were united in one Person; the Word became flesh (Jn 1:14) and lowered Himself to the level of dust and death. The Nativity is the physical, outward revelation of this reality: the Christ Child is born and history and the world are never the same.

At the Ascension the crucified, risen Son of God returns to His Father. Having descended to dusty earth, He now returns to heavenly glory. Having conquered death, He ascends to eternal life. But He returns to the right hand of the Father not just as the Word, but as the Incarnate Word. The doors of heaven are now open and humanity can now approach the throne room of God, the way having been paved by the life, death, and resurrection of the God-man. Pentecost, finally, is the manifestation of the God-man's Church, which is both human and divine. The Church was revealed to the world on that day—fifty days after Easter—by the power of the Holy Spirit.

All of this theology is nice enough, but what does it mean for us? It means the Feast of the Ascension is a celebration of salvation won. The Catholic Encyclopedia notes that "in the Eastern Church this feast was known as analepsis, the taking up, and also as the episozomene, the salvation, denoting that by ascending into His glory Christ completed the work of our redemption." The tendency is often to think of the Resurrection as the culmination of Jesus' salvific work, but it is the Ascension that places the final stamp of approval on the sacrificial and victorious work of our Savior. This is beautifully expressed in the first chapter of Paul's epistle to the Ephesians:

May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call, what are the riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones, and what is the surpassing greatness of his power for us who believe, in accord with the exercise of his great might: which he worked in Christ, raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavens ... (Eph. 1:17-20).

Now that the Incarnate Son of God has ascended into heaven and sits in the throne room of God, mankind can follow. United to the Son through baptism and deepening communion with Him through reception of the Holy Eucharist and the other sacraments, the hope of heaven is ours.

"The ascension of Christ is our elevation," declared Leo the Great in a sermon on the Ascension, "Hope for the body is also invited where the glory of the Head preceded us. Let us exult, dearly beloved, with worthy joy and be glad with a holy thanksgiving. Today we not only are established as possessors of paradise, but we have even penetrated the heights of the heavens in Christ." Where the sin of the first Adam closed the gates of Paradise, the righteousness of the new Adam has opened them wide.

Jesus promised His disciples that He would prepare a place for them (Jn. 14). Because of the Ascension, we know He has prepared a place for those who are His. Because of the Ascension, we have the hope of His return and of our future passage into glory. "The Ascension, then," Pope John Paul II explained in May 2000, "is a Trinitarian epiphany which indicates the goal to which personal and universal history is hastening. Even if our mortal body dissolves into the dust of the earth, our whole redeemed self is directed on high to God, following Christ as our guide."

Our Guide has come, died, rose from the dead, and ascended into heaven. Let us celebrate the Feast!

(This article was originally published in 2004 in Our Sunday Visitor in a slightly different form.)

Pope Francis, Romans 8, and the theme of theosis

by Carl E. Olson | Catholic World Report blog

Pope Francis made some waves today when he spoke to the plenary assembly of the International Union of Superiors General (UISG) about "men and women of the Church who are careerists and social climbers, who 'use' people, the Church, their brothers and sisters—whom they should be serving—as a springboard for their own personal interests and ambitions." It was another example of how the Holy Father—pick a cliché—pulls no punches and wastes no words.

We'll have more about that particular address and related matters soon, but I want to reflect a moment on Francis's general audience today, which focused on the work of the Holy Spirit, the gift of divine life, and the mystery of divine sonship. These are topics and themes that he has touched on several times already in the first weeks of his pontificate. A month ago, in his April 10th general audience, Francis asked, "What does the Resurrection mean for our life?" His answer, in part, is that the Resurrection (as the Apostle Paul explained) is not just freedom from, but freedom for: "we are set free from the slavery of sin and become children of God; that is, we are born to new life." This freedom is received in and through the sacrament of Baptism. Having received the sacrament,

the baptized person emerged from the basin and put on a new robe, the white one; in other words, by immersing himself in the death and Resurrection of Christ he was born to new life. He had become a son of God. In his Letter to the Romans St Paul wrote: “you have received the spirit of sonship. When we cry ‘Abba! Father! it is the Spirit himself bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God” (Rom 8:15-16).

It is the Spirit himself whom we received in Baptism who teaches us, who spurs us to say to God: “Father” or, rather, “Abba!”, which means “papa” or [“dad”]. Our God is like this: he is a dad to us. The Holy Spirit creates within us this new condition as children of God. And this is the greatest gift we have received from the Paschal Mystery of Jesus. Moreover God treats us as children, he understands us, he forgives us, he embraces us, he loves us even when we err. In the Old Testament, the Prophet Isaiah was already affirming that even if a mother could forget her child, God never forgets us at any moment (cf. 49:15). And this is beautiful!

This gift of supernatural filiation goes by many names, including divinization, deification, and theosis, as it is widely known in the Eastern Catholic and Orthodox churches. It is a teaching that has long interested me. It was a key reason for becoming Catholic many years ago, and it is the focus of a book I am co-editing with Fr. David Meconi, SJ, editor of Homiletic & Pastoral Review and assistant professor of theological studies at Saint Louis University, whose doctoral dissertation was on St. Augustine’s use of deification. The book has fifteen chapters by fourteen contributors (as well as a Foreword by Dr. Scott Hahn) and it covers two thousand years of Catholic teaching on the topic of theosis, beginning with Scripture and concluding with the Catechism of the Catholic Church and recent papal documents. This week, I am finishing up the final section of the opening chapter, co-authored with Fr. Meconi, on theosis in Sacred Scripture.

And so today's audience by Francis caught my attention, as he returns to the same themes as he highlighted a month ago. For example:

Continue reading on the CWR blog.

A Schall Report on Things Current and Otherwise

A Schall Report on Things Current and Otherwise | Fr. James V. Schall, SJ | Catholic World Report

Thoughts on moving across the country, teaching, universities, and popes.

Basically, I packed up my worldly goods at the Jesuit Community in Georgetown, gave many things away, and shipped other books here to Los Gatos. I flew via San Jose here on the first day of spring. It is a beautiful place. About seventy retired or infirm Jesuits live here, many old friends and classmates whom I have but rarely seen over the years.

What have I been doing? Once I was set up with the normal household things, the staff and my nephews set me up with a computer. I can still use my Georgetown e-mail. So the world is suddenly as close or as far away as it was in Washington.

So far, I checked the galleys of two books which are hopefully to be out in the fall. One is entitled, Rational Pleasures, to be published by Ignatius Press. I wrote this book while recovering from my jaw cancer operation during the Spring Semester 2010 when I was not teaching. The second is called, Political Philosophy and Revelation: A Catholic Reading, to be published in the fall by the Catholic University of America Press. In many ways, this book is the summation of my thinking about the nature, extent, and purpose of political philosophy, where it fits into the “order of things”.

Also, I put together for Jameson Books a manuscript entitled Schall at Georgetown: On Being Liberally Educated. This collection contains essays that I wrote in The Hoya, Utraque Unum, and other Georgetown journals over the years. It includes the “Last Lecture,” that was delivered last December 7 in Gaston Hall. The book is a reflective summation of what I was doing, or at least thought I was doing, during my many years at Georgetown. It reflects the memorable influence that students, colleagues, and friends have had on my thinking about what makes sense in the world.

Someone asked if I would return for Georgetown graduation in May. My answer was: “Alas, I shan’t be able to return for graduation. Missing it will break my heart, but not half as much as being there.”

Having left a place for a time, what does one miss?

Continue reading on the CWR site.

Benedict and Francis: A Lesson in Apostolic Continuity

Benedict and Francis: A Lesson in Apostolic Continuity | William L. Patenaude | Catholic World Report

The differences between the two men give witness to the different gifts of the same Holy Spirit

When Pope Francis visited his predecessor at Castle Gandolfo in March, he said to Benedict XVI that “we are brothers.” This image nicely frames the differences between them. It underscores that the election of Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio was not a rupture in the Church (as some suggest) but an unexpected lesson in apostolic continuity.

Specifically, both men have illuminated from different perspectives the relation between the primacy of God’s offering of grace in the liturgy of the altar and subsequent encounters of man and neighbor in the liturgies of love in everyday life. While Pope Benedict most often stressed the encounter of God with man—which then calls for and makes possible authentic encounters with neighbor—Pope Francis has stressed man’s interactions with each other, which allows us to bring Christ to a world despairing in atheistic politics and individual spiritualities.

These and other forms of despair are well known to both men. Joseph Ratzinger witnessed it in the rise and fall of Nazi Germany and the brutality of Communist and other explicitly secular regimes. Jorge Bergoglio witnessed it in the poverty and politics of Argentina. He has also echoed Benedict XVI’s concern over a “dictatorship of relativism.”

Providentially, both men share particular theological remedies for all this. In his autobiography Milestones, Ratzinger calls attention to the writings of theologians like Henri de Lubac—the twentieth century Jesuit that is also appreciated by Pope Francis. Ratzinger recalls his delight in de Lubac’s expression of Catholicism as a “social faith, conceived and lived as a we—a faith that, precisely as such and according to its nature, was also hope, affecting history as a whole, and not only the promise of a private blissfulness to individuals.”

Today, Pope Francis is demonstrating the power of these words. He has offered stunning visuals that have captivated international audiences. And he exhorts the faithful to love likewise. In his March 27^th General Audience, he said that “[f]ollowing and accompanying Christ, staying with him, demands ‘coming out of ourselves’, requires us to be outgoing; to come out of ourselves, out of a dreary way of living faith that has become a habit, out of the temptation to withdraw into our own plans which end by shutting out God’s creative action.”

Some who cheer these words groaned eight years ago when the College of Cardinals elected Joseph Ratzinger to succeed Pope John Paul II.

Continue reading on the CWR site.

The Catholic Church in Africa: Vibrant, Young, and Resilient

The Catholic Church in Africa: Vibrant, Young, and Resilient | William L. Patenaude | CWR

An interview with Allen Ottaro, national coordinator for MAGiS Kenya

Allen Ottaro, 28, lives in Nairobi, Kenya. A parishioner at St. Paul’s Catholic University Chapel in the Archdiocese of Nairobi, he studied Environmental Planning and Management at Kenyatta University. Mr. Ottaro is the national coordinator of MAGiS Kenya, an Ignatian young adult ministry, and has worked with the African Jesuit AIDS Network. He is also a cofounder of the Catholic Youth Network for Environmental Sustainability in Africa. Mr. Ottaro has attended the past three World Youth Days and looks forward to July’s event in Brazil. He recently spoke with William L. Patenaude for CWR about the Catholic Church in Africa, especially the role of faith in the lives of the continent’s young people.

CWR: After Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation and during the conclave, many in the mainstream media and within the Church hoped for an African pope. How did the election of Pope Francis of Argentina speak to the Church in Africa?

Ottaro: Many people in Africa share similar realities as those in Argentina. The Church in Africa was praying together with the Universal Church for the cardinals as they listened to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. And together with the Universal Church, Africans are rejoicing and giving thanks to the Lord for Pope Francis. The images of (then) Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio washing and kissing the feet of those living with HIV and AIDS in his Archdiocese of Buenos Aires and his commitment to the poor, to peace, and to the protection of creation is already making a very strong impression about our own responsibilities as people of faith.

CWR: In general, tell us about the Church in Africa—its strengths and challenges—including how its role varies throughout the continent.

Continue reading on the CWR site.

Flashback to April 19, 2005

Seminarian Joseph Previtali was in St. Peter's Square when Pope Benedict XVI was introduced on April 19, 2005. Here is what he saw and experienced:

Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum - habemus papam!  Eminentissimum et reverendissimum Dominum Josephum, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae Cardinalem Ratzinger.  Qui accipit nomen Benedictus XVI!

Indeed, it is a great joy to be Catholic today, as we receive yet another blessing from Our Father in Heaven: Pope Benedict XVI.  I just got back from St. Peter's, and I want to share with you my beautiful ecclesial experience.

I went down to St. Peter's Square at around 5:30 pm and joined my brother NAC seminarians.  A few of the guys had brought guitars and drums, and we began to sing praise-and-worship songs.  During our time of prayer, many of the others in the Square came over and joined us.  It was an awesome experience to praise the Lord in song with so many fellow Catholics, all of us imploring Him to send us another holy pope.

At around 6:00, as we were ending a song, the smoke emerged from the Sistine Chapel chimney.  At first, it was black and we were disappointed.  But then we realized that they must have reached a consensus because of the early burning of the ballots.  At about the same time, the smoke turned white.  Little by little the anticipation increased as white smoke came pouring out.  We began cheering, and waited for the conclusive sign that we were truly seeing white smoke: the ringing of the bells.

After about five minutes (at least it seemed that long), the crowd erupted into a huge roar as the bells began to move.  The explosion of emotion was much like what one would experience during an exciting moment at a sporting event.  Needless to say, the anticipation heightened.

We waited for 25 more minutes, singing praise to God for the new Pope and talking about who it might be.  Of course, everyone now says they knew it was Cardinal Ratzinger all along.  I, for one, have never been happier to be wrong.

When the gentiluomini  came out onto the center balcony of the facade of St. Peter's Basilica to close the curtains, the crowd roared in delightful anticipation.  Onto the balcony emerged Cardinal Jorge Medina Estevez, the Cardinal Proto-Deacon.  He greeted his "dear brothers and sisters" in  five languages, and then declared the solemn announcement of the new Bishop of Rome. 

When he said "Dominum Josephum", we began to jump around like we were sitting in the Kennel Club section at a Gonzaga basketball game.  And when the name "Ratzinger" was pronounced, there was pandemonium the likes of which I have never seen.

We waited with now-relieved anticipation for the procession of the new Pope Benedict XVI onto the balcony to greet the crowd.  The Church had gotten her man, and we were ready to give him what has now become a Pope's welcome.  And then he came. 

For most of us, it was the first time we had seen anyone besides John Paul II in the Pope's white zucchetto.  There was the familiar German face of Joseph Ratzinger, a humble servant of the Lord, as he rightly called himself in his address.  As he did many times as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Pope Benedict got right to the point: "After the great Pope John Paul II..."  The crowd roared in approval of this noble salutation for our dear departed JPII. 

Benedict then assured us that he has entrusted himself to the Lord and to His Mother and to the prayers of the Christian faithful.  There was a serene humility about him.  I imagine that he will waste no time in beginning his Petrine Ministry.  His choice of St. Benedict's name no doubt indicates something of the direction of his pontificate.  The choice of the name of the patron saint of Europe is certainly appropriate during this time of the secularization and de-Christianization of European society.  Additionally, St. Benedict's great promotion of and love for the dignified celebration of the Sacred Liturgy will not go unheeded by our new Holy Father.

After his brief address, our new Pope intoned the Urbi et Orbi Blessing.  As we knelt before him and made the sign of the cross, many were moved to tears.  The joyous celebration of this gift from God to His Church gives us the opportunity to reflect more deeply on the richness of our Catholic faith.  What an even more precious gift is that faith! 

Pope Benedict XVI is eating supper tonight with the cardinals in the Domus Sanctae Marthae, where he will spend the night.  He will celebrate Mass with them tomorrow morning at 9:00 am in the Sistine Chapel.  Let us pray for him as he begins his time as the 264th Successor of Peter.  May the Blessed Virgin Mary and her faithful son Pope John Paul II, intercede for him before the throne of God, that he may take up this cross and follow the Lord in complete fidelity and with peace and joy.

Your brother in Christ,
Joe

Joe is now Fr. Joseph Previtali of the Archdiocese of San Francisco and is Parochial Vicar at St. Gabriel parish.

Benedict XVI and the End of the “Virtual Council”

Benedict XVI and the End of the “Virtual Council” | Tracey Rowland | CWR

Up to the final days of his pontificate, Benedict XVI emphasized the importance of interpreting the Council in continuity with what came before it.

In one of the last acts of his pontificate, Benedict XVI gave an address to the clergy of the Diocese of Rome on the Second Vatican Council.  In the address he drew a distinction between what he termed the Virtual Council, or Council of the Media, and the Real Council or Council of those who actually produced the documents.  He observed that since the Council of the Media was accessible to everyone (not just to students of theology who studied the documents), it became the dominant interpretation of what happened at Vatican II, and this created “many disasters” and “much suffering.”  Specifically, he mentioned the closure of seminaries and convents, the promotion of banal liturgy, and the application of notions of popular sovereignty to issues of Church governance.  He concluded, however, that some 50 years after the Council, “this Virtual Council is broken, is lost.”

From what comes across my desk in theological literature there is still a lot of life in the Virtual Council, though it is true that it holds no enchantment for young seminarians or members of new ecclesial movements. Thus, the Church of the future, as a matter of demography, will be more closely oriented to the documents of the Real Council.  

The end of the “Virtual Council”

When Blessed John Paul II lay dying he said to the youth who had travelled to Rome to offer their prayerful support: “I have searched for you, and now you have come to me, and I thank you.”  Less irenically he might have said, “I have tried to get through to you, notwithstanding layers and layers of deaf and dumb bureaucrats, and now that I am dying, the fact that you are here means that at least some of you understood, and this is my consolation.” Similarly, Benedict seemed to be saying to the clergy of Rome, notwithstanding all the banality, all the pathetic liturgies, all the congregationalist ecclesiology, the Virtual Council of the Media has lost its dynamism.  It is no longer potent.  It no longer sets the course of human lives; it no longer inspires rebellion.  It too has become boring and sterile. 

In this particular address Benedict divided the documents of the Council into two broad categories:

Continue reading at www.CatholicWorldReport.com.

A Cardinal on the Subway

A Cardinal on the Subway | Andrea Tornielli | Catholic World Report

An excerpt from Francis: Pope of a New World.

From the chapter “A Cardinal on the Subway,” Francis: Pope of a New World (Ignatius Press, 2013), by Andrea Tornielli (translated by William J. Melcher)

How does someone experience prayer who as a youth, on that long-ago September 21, during a confession in a parish church, felt that he was surrounded by an embrace of mercy and chosen for the priestly life?

“For me, praying is in a certain way an experience of trust”, Bergoglio explains in the book-length interview El Jesuita,

in which our whole being is in the presence of God. This is where dialogue, listening, and transformation occur. Looking at God, but above all sensing that we are being watched by Him. This happens, in my case, when I recite the Rosary or the psalms or when I celebrate the Eucharist. However, I would say that I have this religious experience whenever I start to pray for an extended time in front of the tabernacle. Sometimes I doze while remaining seated and just let Him look at me. I have the sense of being in someone else’s hands, as though God were taking me by the hand. I believe that it is important to arrive at the transcendent otherness of the Lord, who is the Lord of all yet always respects our freedom.

Jorge Mario Bergoglio continues to consider himself as being the first in need of the mercy that he preaches and to which he witnesses.

The truth is that I am a sinner whom the mercy of God called in a special way. From my youth, life has entrusted to me tasks of governing—I had just been ordained a priest when I was appointed master of novices and, two and a half years later, Provincial—and I had to learn as I went along, starting with my mistakes, because I made some. Mistakes and sins. I would be a hypocrite if I said that nowadays I ask forgiveness for the sins and offenses that I might have committed. Today I ask forgiveness for the sins and offenses that I have actually committed.

“What grieves me more”, Bergoglio also tells the journalists Rubin and Ambrogetti, authors of the book-length interview, “is many times not having been understanding and impartial. In my morning prayer, at the moment of the petitions, I ask to be understanding and impartial, and then I continue by asking for a lot of other things that have to do with the defections along my journey.”

The new pope taught for a long time. In his style of instruction, the encounter with the person is an essential element. In the book El Jesuita, Bergoglio offers an example of this approach.

Continue reading on the CWR site.

Happy 86th Birthday, Benedict XVI!

Today is the 86th birthday of Benedict XVI, pope emeritus, and this Friday, April 19th, marks the eight anniversary of his election to the Chair of Peter. We extend our best wishes and prayers to the pope emeritus on this happy occasion. In Milestones: Memoirs 1927-1977 (Ignatius) he wrote the following of his birth:

I was born on Holy Saturday, April 16, 1927, in Marktl am Inn. The fact that my day of birth was the last day of Holy Week and the eve of Easter has always been noted in our family history. This was connected with the fact that I was baptized immediately on the morning of the day I was born with the water that had just been blessed. (At that time the solemn Easter Vigil was celebrated on the morning of Holy Saturday.) To be the first person baptized with the new water was seen as a significant act of Providence. I have always been filled with thanksgiving for having had my life immersed in this way in the Easter mystery, since this could only be a sign of blessing. To be sure, it was not Easter Sunday but Holy Saturday, but, the more I reflect on it, the more this seems to be fitting for the nature of our human life: we are still awaiting Easter; we are not yet standing in the full light but walking toward it full of trust.

Today's CWR feature, "Pope Benedict's 'First Convert'", is a testimony by Roger Dubin of his conversion to faith in Jesus Christ and the Church that was sparked in somewhat dramatic fashion by viewing, on television, the announcement of Benedict XVI on April 19, 2005. Dubin writes of that transforming moment:

Because as Pope Benedict walked onto the balcony and raised his arms, and the camera appeared to zoom in, an unstoppable power and presence came through his eyes and sliced me open. I burst into tears, and everything I ever thought I was, or wasn’t, poured out.

It was the Sword of Christ, and there would be no peace in me until I offered him mine.

CWR will be marking the anniversary of Benedict XVI's election with a couple of other essays, including a new piece by Tracey Rowland that focuses on Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI and the Second Vatican Council.

Pope Benedict XVI’s “First Convert”

 

Pope Benedict XVI’s “First Convert” | Roger Dubin | Catholic World Report

The story of how a New York Jew wrestled with Christ and became Catholic

Groucho Marx once said, “I wouldn’t want to belong to any club that would have a guy like me as a member.” 

So began my witness testimony at the Easter Vigil on April 7, 2007, when my wife Barbara and I entered the Catholic Church. For a New York Jew, who’d detested the name “Jesus” for as long as he could remember, to be standing before a packed congregation at Sacred Heart Church in Prescott, Arizona, having to recount in three minutes how he got there—well, you can imagine what a surreal a moment that was.

Yet now, when instead of three minutes I have three thousand words, plus six years as a Catholic, the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI and the election of Pope Francis for perspective, the task is, if anything, even more daunting. But Carl E. Olson, editor of Catholic World Report, asked me to give it a shot, so here goes.

On April 2, 2005, there came the news of the death of Pope John Paul II. I’d always admired the pope for his courage in confronting the horrors of communism, and for aligning with President Reagan and Prime Minister Thatcher in a united front that led to the downfall of the Soviet Union. Yet as a spiritual leader he meant nothing to me.

Nevertheless, Barbara and I found ourselves becoming involved in the events and the funeral as they unfolded on television. Even the typically skewed commercial coverage couldn’t disguise the tributes from all corners of the globe, and the love for the pope and grief at losing him from Catholics and people of every faith. At some point in the two weeks following, Barbara—a long-lapsed Protestant who’d never lost her regard for Christianity—turned to me and said, “You’ve got to get religion, Roger. You’ve been drifting way too long.”

Early on the morning of April 19, I left on a business trip, first taking the commuter flight from Prescott, our home since 2001, to the Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix. There was a wait before my next flight to the west coast, so I stopped for coffee, and soon after I arrived at the gate, the white smoke appeared over the roof of the Sistine Chapel on the television monitor. Sipping my cappuccino, I watched with a large group of travelers, interested—as a news hound mostly—in who’d been chosen. From my casual observation, however, quite a few in the crowd were Catholics, and far more invested in the outcome than I.

When the announcement was made that Cardinal Ratzinger had been elected, people around me seemed to register either shock or joy.

Continue reading on the CWR site.

The Mystery of the Annunciation is the Mystery of Grace

The Mystery of the Annunciation is the Mystery of Grace | Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger | Ignatius Insight

The mystery of the annunciation to Mary is not just a mystery of silence.It is above and beyond all that a mystery of grace.

We feel compelled to ask ourselves: Why did Christ really want to be born of a virgin? It was certainly possible for him to have been born of a normal marriage. That would not have affected his divine Sonship, which was not dependent on his virgin birth and could equally well have been combined with another kind of birth. There is no question here of a downgrading of marriage or of the marriage relationship; nor is it a question of better safeguarding the divine Sonship. Why then?

We find the answer when we open the Old Testament and see that the mystery of Mary is prepared for at every important stage in salvation history. It begins with Sarah, the mother of Isaac, who had been barren, but when she was well on in years and had lost the power of giving life, became, by the power of God, the mother of Isaac and so of the chosen people.

The process continues with Anna, the mother of Samuel, who was likewise barren, but eventually gave birth; with the mother of Samson, or again with Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptizer. The meaning of all these events is the same: that salvation comes, not from human beings and their powers, but solely from God—from an act of his grace.

(From Dogma und Verkundigung, pp. 375ff; quoted in Co-Workers of the Truth: Meditations for Every Day of the Year [Ignatius Press, 1992], pp. 99-100.)









The annunciation to Mary happens to a woman, in an insignificant town in half-pagan Galilee, known neither to Josephus nor the Talmud. The entire scene was "unusual for Jewish sensibilities. God reveals himself, where and to whom he wishes." Thus begins a new way, at whose center stands no longer the temple, but the simplicity of Jesus Christ. He is now the true temple, the tent of meeting.

The salutation to Mary (Lk 1:28-32) is modeled closely on Zephaniah 3: 14-17: Mary is the daughter Zion addressed there, summoned to " rejoice", in formed that the Lord is coming to her. Her fear is removed, since the Lord is in her midst to save her. Laurentin makes the very beautiful remark on this text: "... As so often, the word of God proves to be a mustard seed.... One understands why Mary was so frightened by this message (Lk 1:29). Her fear comes not from lack of understanding nor from that small-hearted anxiety to which some would like to reduce it. It comes from the trepidation of that encounter with God, that immeasurable joy which can make the most hardened natures quake."

In the address of the angel, the underlying motif the Lucan portrait of Mary surfaces: she is in person the true Zion, toward whom hopes have yearned throughout all the devastations of history. She is the true Israel in whom Old and New Covenant, Israel and Church, are indivisibly one. She is the "people of God" bearing fruit through God's gracious power. ...

Transcending all problems, Marian devotion is the rapture of joy over the true, indestructible Israel; it is a blissful entering into the joy of the Magnificat and thereby it is the praise of him to whom the daughter Zion owes her whole self and whom she bears, the true, incorruptible, indestructible Ark of the Covenant.

(From Daughter Zion: Meditations on the Church's Marian Belief [Ignatius Press, 1983], pp. 42-43, 82.)

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Related IgnatiusInsight.com Articles and Excerpts:

• Mary in Byzantine Doctrine and Devotion | Brother John M. Samaha, S.M.
• Fairest Daughter of the Father: On the Solemnity of the Assumption | Rev. Charles M. Mangan
• The Blessed Virgin in the History of Christianity | John A. Hardon, S.J.
• "Hail, Full of Grace": Mary, the Mother of Believers | Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger
• Mary in Feminist Theology: Mother of God or Domesticated Goddess? | Fr. Manfred Hauke
• Excerpts from The Rosary: Chain of Hope | Fr. Benedict Groeschel, C.F.R.
• The Past Her Prelude: Marian Imagery in the Old Testament | Sandra Miesel
• Immaculate Mary, Matchless in Grace | John Saward
• The Medieval Mary | The Introduction to Mary in the Middle Ages | by Luigi Gambero
• Misgivings About Mary | Dr. James Hitchcock
• Born of the Virgin Mary | Paul Claudel
• Assumed Into Mother's Arms | Carl E. Olson
• The Disciple Contemplates the Mother | Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis

Pope Francis, SJ

Pope Francis, SJ | Michael Severance | Catholic World Report

Several prominent members of the Society of Jesus reflect on the election of their fellow Jesuit as pope.

Pope Francis is different. Already in his young papacy, there are many examples of his different approach to matters big and small, personal and public.

On the smaller, personal level, there are the reports of how the Holy Father refuses to ask others to do many things he can simply do himself, like making telephone calls. He surprises local telephone operators when they hear his voice, and his friends in Argentina take a step back in disbelief when he says “It’s Cardinal Bergoglio” or “Jorge” ringing from the other side of the Atlantic.

Some of the differences are occasioned by unusual historical circumstances. On the Saturday prior to Holy Week, he visited the pope emeritus, Benedict XVI, at Castel Gandolfo, an unprecedented meeting. The video footage showed the younger, more animated Francis sharing a warm greeting with his older, increasingly fragile predecessor.

When Francis and Benedict entered the private chapel, the pope emeritus gestured to his successor to take his seat at the white papal chair in front of the altar. But Francis instead knelt beside Benedict in brotherly prayer. What could have been an awkward moment between the two white-cassocked men was masterfully handled by Francis.

The following day at the Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square, Francis kept his security detail on their toes when he set out to greet adoring pilgrims. His impromptu personal greetings and blessings have already been much noted and remarked upon. Then there was the news from the Vatican Press Office, last Tuesday, that for the time being Francis “intends to remain in the Domus Sanctae Marthae and stay with the employees…[because] he is experimenting with this type of living arrangement…in community with others.”

More significantly, Francis moved the traditional Holy Thursday Mass and the ritual washing of feet—usually a ticketed event at the Basilica of St. John Lateran—to an intimate location at a Roman juvenile detention center, closed to the media. In another unprecedented action, he washed the feet of 12 inmates, including two women and two Muslims, a fact that sparked a flurry of debate and discussion among Catholics, prompting the Vatican Press Office to release a statement explaining the action as “the very beautiful and simple gesture of a father who desired to embrace those who were on the fringes of society; those who were not refined experts of liturgical rules.”

Getting ready for a Jesuit

Not least among Francis’ papal “firsts” is the fact that he is the first Jesuit ever to be elected pope.

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"See How the Church Is Alive Today!"

"See How the Church Is Alive Today!" | Paul Erich Menge | CWR blog

The last forty years have witnessed a flowering of faith in the Church, despite numerous challenges and difficulties

"But we see how the Church is alive today!" — Benedict XVI, Final General Audience, Feb. 27, 2013.

Upheaval in the Church and confusion among the faithful.  The late 1960s and early 1970s were dark days indeed, as reported by Kenneth L. Woodward in his memoir of big changes to the Church in the wake of the Second Vatican Council, in the February 2013 issue of the journal First Things.  Woodward at that time was religion editor at Newsweek magazine.

But Woodward’s account takes us only into 1971.  It is only the beginning of the story.  Then, gradually, came a flowering, the evidentiary work of the Holy Spirit, a great happening, a turn in salvation history.

First stirrings were the emergence of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal in February 1967 with its appreciation for the work of the Holy Spirit, which spread throughout the Church; publication in 1971 of Malcolm Muggeridge’s Something Beautiful for God, which brought to the public’s attention the ministry of Mother Teresa of Calcutta and her Missionaries of Charity; founding of the international journal Communio in 1972 by Joseph Ratzinger and other prominent theologians who in 1970 broke with the progressive journal Concilium; the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision in January 1973 which prompted into existence the anti-abortion/pro-life movement; appointment of Fr. Michael Scanlan in 1974 to be president of the College of Steubenville and to begin the rescue and spiritual transformation of the college (re-named Franciscan University of Steubenville in 1985); and the “Hartford Appeal for Theological Affirmation” of February 1975, which was a response of fourteen Christian thinkers to current distortions of Christian faith, “the casual jettisoning of Christian orthodoxy,” and included identification of thirteen “false and debilitating” theses.

Multiple fruits of the Spirit appeared in the late 1970s and early 1980s, most notably the papacy of Bl. John Paul II, beginning in 1978 and continuing for 27 years.

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"The Truth of the Resurrection" by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger

The Truth of the Resurrection | Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger | From Introduction to Christianity

To the Christian, faith in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is an expression of certainty that the saying that seems to be only a beautiful dream is in fact true: "Love is strong as death" (Song 8:6). In the Old Testament this sentence comes in the middle of praises of the power of eros. But this by no means signifies that we can simply push it aside as a lyrical exaggeration. The boundless demands of eros", its apparent exaggerations and extravagance, do in reality give expression to a basic problem, indeed the" basic problem of human existence, insofar as they reflect the nature and intrinsic paradox of love: love demands infinity, indestructibility; indeed, it is, so to speak, a call for infinity. But it is also a fact that this cry of love's cannot be satisfied, that it demands infinity but cannot grant it; that it claims eternity but in fact is included in the world of death, in its loneliness and its power of destruction. Only from this angle can one understand what "resurrection" means. It is" the greater strength of love in face of death.

At the same time it is proof of what only immortality can create: being in the other who still stands when I have fallen apart. Man is a being who himself does not live forever but is necessarily delivered up to death. For him, since he has no continuance in himself, survival, from a purely human point of view, can only become possible through his continuing to exist in another. The statements of Scripture about the connection between sin and death are to he understood from this angle. For it now becomes clear that man's attempt "to be like God", his striving for autonomy, through which he wishes to stand on his own feet alone, means his death, for he just cannot stand on his own. If man--and this is the real nature of sin--nevertheless refuses to recognize his own limits and tries to be completely self-sufficient, then precisely by adopting this attitude he delivers himself up to death.

Of course man does understand that his life alone does not endure and that he must therefore strive to exist in others, so as to remain through them and in them in the land of the living. Two ways in particular have been tried. First, living on in one's own children: that is why in primitive peoples failure to marry and childlessness are regarded as the most terrible curse; they mean hopeless destruction, final death. Conversely, the largest possible number of children offers at the same time the greatest possible chance of survival, hope of immortality, and thus the most genuine blessing that man can expect. Another way discloses itself when man discovers that in his children he only continues to exist in a very unreal way; he wants more of himself to remain. So he takes refuge in the idea of fame, which should make him really immortal if be lives on through all ages in the memory of others. But this second attempt of man's to obtain immortality for himself by existing in others fails just as badly as the first: what remains is not the self but only its echo, a mere shadow. So self-made immortality is really only a Hades, a sheol": more nonbeing than being. The inadequacy of both ways lies partly in the fact that the other person who holds my being after my death cannot carry this being itself but only its echo; and even more in the fact that even time other person to whom I have, so to speak, entrusted my continuance will not last--he, too, will perish.

This leads us to the next step. We have seen so far that man has no permanence in himself. And consequently can only continue to exist in another but that his existence in another is only shadowy and once again not final, because this other must perish, too. If this is so, then only one could truly give lasting stability: he who is, who does not come into existence and pass away again but abides in the midst of transience: the God of the living, who does not hold just the shadow and echo of my being, whose ideas are not just copies of reality. I myself am his thought, which establishes me more securely, so to speak, than I am in myself; his thought is not the posthumous shadow but the original source and strength of my being. In him I can stand as more than a shadow; in him I am truly closer to myself than I should be if I just tried to stay by myself.

The Logic of the Resurrection

The Logic of the Resurrection | Fr. James V. Schall, SJ | Catholic World Report

The truth of the resurrection of the body is bound up with the question of justice.

The resurrection of the body is not primarily a question of logic. It is a question of fact, of witness. We do not begin from a philosophical theory to deduce the resurrection of the body. Rather we start from the fact of the resurrection of Christ. We ask whether it makes sense, whether it is “reasonable” in some basic manner. In this sense, philosophy follows fact, provided we can accept the facts of what is. 

In his book, Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week, Benedict XVI examined all the evidence that would argue that the resurrection as a fact did not happen. He concluded we have no evidence showing that the testimony and witness of the disciples present at the events were fabricated, false, or naïve. We conclude that Jesus was who He said He was. Included in this understanding of who He was is His resurrection. But the resurrection involves the fact that Christ as such was one of the Persons of the Trinity, the Word, who became man. It was not the Father or the Spirit who became man. The resurrection thus refers to Christ insofar as He was true man, yet also God.

We learn in the Old Testament that God never intended for us to die. But we also learn that death was a consequence of a prior act of man. Death followed the exercise of freedom. Man was not forced to be what he was intended to be. We might then expect that the overcoming of death would also be the consequence of freedom. The question is whether the exercise of human freedom, our self-redemption, was sufficient to accomplish this purpose. The whole account of Christ’s passion revolves about this issue.

Behind this question of freedom, however, is the fact that by nature we human beings, body and soul, are not free from death. We are the mortals. We die and we know that we die. Yet, something about us seems “immortal.” We call our souls precisely immortal, a spiritual power. But this immortality as such does not include our bodies, the whole persons that we are. 

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Revisiting Benedict XVI's three encyclicals

The good folks at Catholic Pulse asked me to write an essay reflecting on the three encyclicals of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, and that essay has now been posted. Rather than just recap the three texts, I reflected on some of the significant themes developed through each and indicate how those themes demonstrate the cohesive theological vision of the encyclicals and, of course, of Benedict. Here are the opening paragraphs of my essay:

Putting the pontificate of Benedict XVI into context and making judgments about the nebulous creature named “legacy” is a difficult task, especially just weeks after his pontificate concluded. Although I tend to be a “glass half empty” type of person and generally try to avoid hyperbole, I do believe we are living in a golden age of the papacy, at least in terms of popes who are holy and brilliant, a combination not to be taken for granted.

If Blessed John Paul II is, as many (including myself) think he is, the greatest philosopher-pope in the history of the Church, then Benedict is, I think, the greatest theologian-pope, whose theological corpus was already quite impressive in both scope and depth prior to his election. Equally remarkable is the body of work produced during his relatively short, eight-year-long pontificate, notably (but not limited to) the three Jesus of Nazareth volumes; the audiences on the apostles, saints, fathers, mystics, and doctors of the Church; the audiences on prayer; apostolic exhortations on the Eucharist and Scripture; and, of course, the three encyclicals: Deus Caritas Est (on Christian love), Spe Salvi (on Christian hope), and Caritas in Veritate (on integral human development).

Entire books could be written about each encyclical and, in fact, some have already been written. My modest goal here is to consider how these three significant texts provide a cohesive, integrated understanding of the person of Jesus Christ (Christology), the nature and mission of the Church (ecclesiology), and salvation and the last things (soteriology and eschatology).

Read the entire essay, "Love, Hope, and Truth: Benedict XVI’s Three Encyclicals", at CatholicPulse.com.

The three encyclicals are available online on the Vatican site, and are also available in handsome hardcover editions from Ignatius Press:

• God is Love: Deus Caritas Est (Hardcover)
• Saved in Hope: Spe Salvi (Hardcover)
• Charity in Truth: Caritas in Veritate (Hardcover)

Peter and Andrew: Brother Pilgrims to Jerusalem

Peter and Andrew: Brother Pilgrims to Jerusalem | Christopher B. Warner | Catholic World Report

Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew continue the 50-year legacy of Catholic-Orthodox dialogue begun by Paul VI and Athenagoras.

Pope Francis met with fraternal delegates of the Orthodox Churches, other Christian churches, and world religions on Wednesday, March 20. These representatives had come to Rome for Francis’ inauguration Mass on Tuesday. Prior to the Wednesday’s meeting, the Holy Father and the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople had a 20-minute private conversation. Father Lombardi, director of the Holy See Press Office, said the discussion was both “beautiful and intense.” Over the past week, Francis and Bartholomew have set a foundation for further cooperation and dialogue by reaffirming their joint desire to cooperate as Christian brothers in promoting the stewardship of God’s creation, helping the poor and suffering, and witnessing to life in Christ.

Bridge-building between Catholic and Orthodox Christians has not missed a beat following the papal election. It is well known that Pope Francis served as the ordinary for Eastern Catholics in Argentina so he is very familiar with the liturgical traditions of the East. “He knows our Tradition very well,” says Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, “as well as our Liturgy.” Shevchuk was ordained a bishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Buenos Aires in 2009 and has worked closely with the current pope.

When Pope Francis appeared on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica in simple regalia and humble manner, he used gestures and phrases that Eastern Church hierarchs could not fail to notice. He spoke of the Church of Rome as the church “which presides in love” and referred to himself as the bishop of Rome concerned for the Christians of the city of Rome. Referring to Roman primacy as a “primacy of love” harkens back to the famous second-century quote from St. Ignatius of Antioch in his letter to the Roman church. This choice of wording, which describes the Rome episcopate in terms of pre-schism ecclesiology, could not have been a coincidence.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew’s attendance at the events this week in Rome likely marks the first time ever that a patriarch of Constantinople has been present for the inauguration of a pope. “This is a profoundly bold step in ecumenical relations between the Orthodox and the Roman Catholics,” says George E. Demacopoulos, Ph.D., historian for the Orthodox Christian Studies Center at Fordham University. “One that could have lasting significance.”

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Preparing for Holy Week and Easter

20% off select books and films in preparation for Holy Week and Easter
Offer ends March 26th, 2013 at 12:00 midnight EST
These prices are available online only through Ignatius.com

To prepare for Holy Week and Easter, Ignatius Press is offering 20% off of ideal books and films for the season.  Reflect on Our Lord's last days by reading Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week or delve into de Wohl's novel on the Crucifixion The Spear. Join top Bible experts as they discuss the true meaning of Christ's death and resurrection in the fascinating & informative documentary film Did Jesus Really Rise from The Dead? Choose from any one of these great titles, including the new biography of Pope Francis to help prepare yourself for the upcoming Easter season.

Francis: Pope of a New World Andrea Tornielli In the words, the ideas, and the personal recollections of Pope Francis--including material up to the final hours before his election--the most highly regarded Vatican observer on the international scene reveals the personality of this man of God, gentle and humble.This complete biography offers the keys to understanding the man who was a surprise choice, even a kind of revolutionary choice, for pope. It is the story of the humble pastor of one of the world's largest archdioceses; a cardinal who takes the bus, talks with common folk, and lives simply. Regular price: $19.95, sale price: $15.96	Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God, and no myth, revolutionary, or misunderstood prophet, insists Benedict XVI. This is a book for Christians—Catholics, Protestants, Orthodox—as well as other believers and nonbelievers. Benedict brings to his study the vast learning of a brilliant scholar, the passionate searching of a great mind, and the deep compassion of a pastor's heart. In the end, he dares readers to grapple with the meaning of Jesus' life, teaching, death, and Resurrection. Also available as an e-book and audio download. Regular price: $24.95, sale price: $12.95
The True Icon Paul Badde In this lavishly illustrated book, best-selling author Paul Badde sets out on a journey through Europe and the Holy Land as he traces the rich history of the Shroud. With the investigative skills of a seasoned journalist, Paul Badde uncovers many of the mysteries surrounding the Shroud and also researches another relic honored as a burial cloth of Christ-the Veil of Manoppello, which bears the image of the Holy Face. Also available as an e-book. Regular price: $22.95, sale price: $11.50	The Spear Louis de Wohl This panoramic novel of the last days of Christ ranges from the palaces of imperial Rome to the strife-torn hills of Judea-where the conflict of love and betrayal, revenge and redemption, reaches a mighty climax in the drama of the Crucifixion. For this is the full story of the world's most dramatic execution, as it affected one of its least-known participants-the man who hurled his spear into Christ on the Cross. Regular price: $17.95, sale price: $14.36
On the Passion of Christ Thomas a Kempis in this wonderful meditation book, perfect for Lent, or any time of the year, the great spiritual writer and monk gives profound, short reflections on Gospel passages about the passion and death of Christ. Each chapter, focusing on a specific aspect of the Passion of Our Lord, gives a prayer, a meditation and spiritual advice and closes with another short prayer. Also available as an e-book. Regular price: $12.95, sale price: $10.36	Behold the Pierced One Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger In this profound and illuminating work, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger turns the gaze of an accomplished theologian upon the crucified Savior. This synthetic and meditative work is theological without being abstract or dry, and spiritual without being sentimental. The pierced heart of Christ must be the heart of theology and Christian life as well. Also available as an e-book. Regular price: $11.95, sale price: $9.56
Life Out Of Death Hans Urs von Balthasar Death and dying are inseparably linked with life. They are self-evident and at the same time cannot be grasped by reason alone - they are ordinary, and yet so incredible. In these meditations, the acclaimed theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar investigates this great mystery. Also available as an e-book. Regular price: $11.95, sale price: $9.56

A Week of Firsts

A Week of Firsts | Michael Severance | Catholic World Report

The “Bergoglio comeback” and insights from Vatican-watchers into what we can expect from Pope Francis

Some of the less-experienced journalists covering the papal conclave were right on the money one week ago. As wrote in my report last Monday, many of these young vaticanisti covering their first conclave believed that Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio had a strong chance of surging from behind to beat leading papabili such as Cardinals Scola and Ouellet. 

They were convinced the Argentine would have his rivincita—his comeback—in the 2013 conclave. Their rookie rhyme was not without reason.

Their plain and simple reasoning, not appreciated by the most experienced Vatican scholars and journalists, was essentially this: here is a man who was the apparent runner-up in 2005, and 50 of the cardinal electors from 2005 would be present again in the Sistine Chapel. Surely a good portion of them, say 30 to 40, would team up to recast a Bergoglio ballot for pope. Certainly many cardinal electors still felt wronged for having lost and desired retribution. Thus, they came to battle for their chosen leader.

Even if this wasn’t exactly what played out behind the closed doors of the conclave, a man known as “the quiet thunder” would indeed come roaring from behind to be chosen in the 2013 papal election.

To their credit, expert papal scholars and veteran vaticanisti, such as John Allen, Jr., did have a hunch: namely, the next pope would come from a developing country, most likely from the New World, and with little or no Curia experience, thus being positioned as an objective reformer without the local friends or nepotistic considerations that can fuel corruption.

Like other experts, Allen thought the most likely scenario involved a New World candidate who is Euro-compatible, that is, a polyglot with plenty of first-world experience and Continental heritage. Thus there was strong support for the Brazilian of German extraction, Cardinal Odilo Pedro Scherer. Bergoglio was seen as too old, especially considering Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI had apparently indicated the need for a younger, more energetic successor.

All said and done, it is a fairly safe bet that Cardinal Bergolgio had very strong support on the first vote and that he enjoyed a wave of momentum until the white smoke blew after the fifth round on day two.  It is also a safe bet to say the Holy Spirit gently nudged cardinal electors to reconsider Bergoglio when, during the last of the pre-conclave general congregations, he urged his colleagues to revitalize the Church’s sensitivity to poverty, renew her virtue of austerity in a consumerist-materialistic society, and rid herself of sinful corruption.

The rest is now history.

A week of firsts

Certainly, last Wednesday was not the first time many faithful had personally witnessed the exciting Habemus Papam! pronounced from St. Peter’s loggia.

Many folks, just like me, were right there in St. Peter’s Square only eight years ago when a shy Benedict appeared before a spill-over crowd. Still others, now graying and with grandchildren, were there on John Paul I’s or John Paul II’s first day nearly 35 years ago.

Notwithstanding, this past week proved a historic week of “firsts” for many other noteworthy reasons.

Continue reading on the CWR site.