Apr 25 2008
St. Mark the Evangelist
The author of the Gospel that bears his name is identified with John Mark, whose mother Mary’s house was used as a meeting place by the early Church in Jerusalem (see Acts 12: 12, 25). His cousin was St. Barnabas and, when Sts. Paul and Barnabas went on a missionary journey, Mark accompanied them. But Mark left them and St. Paul’s loss of confidence in him led to a split with Barnabas. Even in the early Church there were conflicts and hard feelings. In time they were reconciled and Mark helped Paul when he was in prison in Rome (Colossians 4: 10). It was while Mark was in Rome that he got to know St. Peter (1 Peter 5: 13) from whom he acquired the material he used to write his Gospel. As we continue our prayer with a focus on this month’s Mission Intention, let us pray that future priests may develop a deep love for Scripture. By meeting the Lord Jesus present in the Scriptures may they grow closer to him and be filled with a desire to share the Good News of Jesus with everyone they meet and serve.
In October the Synod of Bishops will meet to discuss the importance of the Scriptures. Our reflection today is from Pope Benedict’s January 21, 2008 address to the committee that is preparing for that Synod.
The next General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops will reflect on “The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church”. Among the Ecclesial Community’s many and great duties in today’s world, I emphasize evangelization and ecumenism. They are centered on the Word of God and at the same time are justified and sustained by it. As the Church’s missionary activity with its evangelizing work is inspired and aims at the merciful revelation of the Lord, ecumenical dialogue cannot base itself on words of human wisdom (1 Corinthians 2: 13) or on neat, expedient strategies, but must be animated solely by constant reference to the original Word that God consigned to his Church so that it be read, interpreted and lived in communion with her. In this area, St Paul’s doctrine reveals a very special power, obviously founded on divine revelation but also on his own apostolic experience, which confirmed anew the awareness that not wisdom and human eloquence, but only the power of the Holy Spirit builds the Church in the faith (1 Cor. 1: 22-24; 2: 4f).
Today’s Readings: 1 Peter 5:5b-14; Psalm 89:2-3, 6-7, 16-17; Mark 16:15-20
St. Fidelis, a name which means “Faithful”, was born in what is now Germany and became known as “the poor man’s lawyer” because he generously gave his time to defend the rights of the poor who could not afford the services of a lawyer. In 1612 he left this profession and became a Capuchin Franciscan. In 1622 the Pope created a special office in the Vatican to coordinate the Church’s missionary activities around the world—the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith. St. Fidelis was placed in charge of the Capuchin mission in Switzerland and he was so successful in bringing back Catholics who had left the Church during the Protestant Reformation that he was martyred, making him the Proto-martyr of the Propagation of the Faith. We ask this faithful witness to intercede with us for future priests: may they be courageous and faithful in bringing the Catholic faith to their people. Our reflection is from Pope John Paul’s Apostolic Exhortation, “Shepherds After My Own Heart,” on the Formation of Priests, #46.
Today’s saint was a great missionary bishop who suffered martyrdom at the hands of pagan priests in Prussia. In 1997 Pope John Paul II visited the Czech Republic where St. Adalbert was bishop to celebrate the millennial anniversary of his death. Reflecting now on the Holy Father’s words at that celebration, let us pray that the future priests in the younger dioceses of the world will have the same missionary zeal of today’s saint.
Today is a special feast day for the Society of Jesus, the religious order to which the popes of the last century have entrusted the work of the Apostleship of Prayer. St. Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits, had a deep devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and begged for her help at all the critical moments of his life and in the life of his order. On this day in 1541, after receiving official papal approval of his order and being elected its first General Superior, St. Ignatius and his first companions celebrated Mass and pronounced their vows at Our Lady’s altar in the church of St. Paul Outside-the-Walls in Rome. As we pray the following three prayers to the Blessed Virgin, let us ask that all Jesuit seminarians, as well as seminarians in mission countries, may grow in holiness and zeal for souls.
St. Anselm is a good example of someone who knew the love of God and was ready to go anywhere and do anything to spread the knowledge of that love. He was born in northern Italy, became a Benedictine monk in France where he became a great theologian, and was made Archbishop of Canterbury in England. Let us ask St. Anselm to join us today in our prayer for the seminarians of the world, and in particular for the future priests in mission countries. May they know the love of God as St. Anselm did and be willing to travel anywhere to share that love with those who do not know Jesus Christ. The following are two prayers of St. Anselm:
Today is the last day of the Holy Father’s visit to the U.S. At 9:30 AM he will visit and pray at Ground Zero, site of the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001. He will meet with families and friends who lost loved ones on that tragic day. At 2:30 PM he will celebrate Mass at Yankee Stadium and celebrate the 200th anniversary of the designation of Baltimore as an Archdiocese and the creation of the four Dioceses of Boston, New York, Bardstown (Louisville), and Philadelphia. Let us once more pray for his safety and well-being. May he bring comfort to those who lost loved ones in the terrorist attack and speak a message of reconciliation and peace to our nation. May he have a safe journey back to Rome this evening.
Today is the third anniversary of Pope Benedict’s election to the Chair of St. Peter. He will celebrate Mass at 9:15 AM with priests, deacons, and consecrated religious at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Then at 4:30 PM he will meet with thousands of young people and hundreds of seminarians at St. Joseph Seminary in Yonkers. The following prayer is from the “Manuel of Prayers” used by the seminarians at the Pontifical North American College in Rome. It may be prayed individually or in a group.
This year we are celebrating the sixtieth anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations and today Pope Benedict will travel to New York City where, at 10:45 AM, he will address the world at the United Nations. As Apostles of Prayer we are committed to praying for the Holy Father and his intentions. Surely he is depending upon us in a special way at this time. Then, at 6 PM he will celebrate an ecumenical prayer service with other Christian leaders at St. Joseph’s Church in Manhattan. Joseph is Pope Benedict’s baptismal name and St. Joseph was proclaimed the Patron of the Universal Church by Pope Pius IX on December 8, 1870. Let us pray today for Pope Benedict and our Church with a prayer that was officially approved by the Church in 1885.
Pope Benedict continues his visit to the U.S. with several very important meetings and addresses today. At 10 AM he will celebrate Mass with tens of thousands of people at the new Washington Nationals Stadium. Again we pray that the words of his homily may fall like seeds on the good soil of all those who will listen to or read them. Then at 5 PM he will meet with the presidents of more than 200 Catholic colleges and universities and the superintendents of education from the 195 dioceses. This is being seen as a key opportunity for the Holy Father to address the issues facing Catholic education in our country. Finally, at 6:30 PM he will meet with Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist leaders and representatives from other religions. This will be an important address not only for inter-religious dialogue and cooperation in this country but also in the world. Given the often negative responses to the Holy Father from representatives of some of these religions, and given the lack of true religious freedom in many countries where some of these religions are a majority, his address will be closely followed by people everywhere. Let us pray that the Holy Spirit will touch the minds and hearts of all people to whom the Holy Father speaks today.
St. Bernadette, to whom the Blessed Mother appeared at Lourdes, is remembered on this day though her feast is not celebrated in the universal calendar of the Church. She is a saint not because she received visions, but because of her holiness of life which involved carrying a cross of misunderstanding and physical suffering. Our Lady herself told her: “I do not promise you happiness in this world, but in the next.” During this year we have been celebrating the 150th anniversary of the apparitions at Lourdes, when Mary revealed herself to the fourteen year old Bernadette as the “Immaculate Conception.”