Apostleship of Prayer

Hippolytus was a theologian and Pontian was pope. Unfortunately, they were enemies. Hippolytus struggled with several popes whom he thought were too lenient in dealing with heretics who repented. He even allowed himself to be elected the first “anti-pope.” But then they were both exiled to the island of Sardinia where they were reconciled and died from the mistreatment they received. In our reflection today, we conclude Pope Benedict’s remarks at the opening ceremony for the recent World Youth Day. His words remind us to pray that all may know God’s plan for humanity and for creation; may the knowledge of God’s plan and the Holy Spirit help all to become holy.

Dear friends, life is not governed by chance; it is not random. Your very existence has been willed by God, blessed and given a purpose (Genesis 1:28)! Life is not just a succession of events or experiences, helpful though many of them are. It is a search for the true, the good and the beautiful. It is to this end that we make our choices; it is for this that we exercise our freedom; it is in this – in truth, in goodness, and in beauty – that we find happiness and joy. Do not be fooled by those who see you as just another consumer in a market of undifferentiated possibilities, where choice itself becomes the good, novelty usurps beauty, and subjective experience displaces truth. Christ offers more! Indeed he offers everything! Only he who is the Truth can be the Way and hence also the Life. Thus the “way” which the Apostles brought to the ends of the earth is life in Christ. …

My dear friends, God’s creation is one and it is good. The concerns for non-violence, sustainable development, justice and peace, and care for our environment are of vital importance for humanity. They cannot, however, be understood apart from a profound reflection upon the innate dignity of every human life from conception to natural death: a dignity conferred by God himself and thus inviolable. Our world has grown weary of greed, exploitation and division, of the tedium of false idols and piecemeal responses, and the pain of false promises. Our hearts and minds are yearning for a vision of life where love endures, where gifts are shared, where unity is built, where freedom finds meaning in truth, and where identity is found in respectful communion. This is the work of the Holy Spirit! This is the hope held out by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is to bear witness to this reality that you were created anew at Baptism and strengthened through the gifts of the Spirit at Confirmation. Let this be the message that you bring from Sydney to the world!

Today’s Readings: Ezekiel 9:1-7, 10:18-22;  Psalm 113:1-6;  Matthew 18:15-20

Humanity, made in God’s image and likeness, was designed by God to care for creation, to be stewards of creation. But because we have not followed God’s plan, a great moral as well as environmental pollution has resulted. Let us pray that the human family may learn to respect God’s plan for the world and care for creation as God’s gift. Our reflection continues Pope Benedict’s speech at the beginning of World Youth Day 2008.

What of man, the apex of God’s creation? Every day we encounter the genius of human achievement. From advances in medical sciences and the wise application of technology, to the creativity reflected in the arts, the quality and enjoyment of people’s lives in many ways are steadily rising. … All of us, young and old, have those moments when the innate goodness of the human person - perhaps glimpsed in the gesture of a little child or an adult’s readiness to forgive - fills us with profound joy and gratitude.

Yet such moments do not last. So again, we ponder. And we discover that not only the natural but also the social environment – the habitat we fashion for ourselves – has its scars; wounds indicating that something is amiss. Here too, in our personal lives and in our communities, we can encounter a hostility, something dangerous; a poison which threatens to corrode what is good, reshape who we are, and distort the purpose for which we have been created. Examples abound, as you yourselves know. Among the more prevalent are alcohol and drug abuse, and the exaltation of violence and sexual degradation, often presented through television and the internet as entertainment. I ask myself, could anyone standing face to face with people who actually do suffer violence and sexual exploitation “explain” that these tragedies, portrayed in virtual form, are considered merely “entertainment”?

Today’s Readings: Ezekiel 2:8-3:4;  Psalm 119:14, 24, 72, 103, 111, 131;  Matthew 18:1-5, 10, 12-14

St. Clare was a contemporary of St. Francis of Assisi and was so impressed by him that she resolved to follow his way of life. She gave away all her possessions and received the religious habit from St. Francis in 1212. As other women joined her in a life of prayer, penance, and poverty—including her mother and two of her sisters—the Order of Poor Clares was formed. In 1958 Pope Pius XII named her the patron saint of television because of the tradition that when she was too ill to participate in the Mass in her convent chapel she was miraculously able to see and hear it on the wall of her room. As we pray that the human family may know how to respect God’s design for the world and be good stewards of creation, let us pray for an end to pollution—in the natural world and in the media. Our reflections for the next three days will be from Pope Benedict’s speech at the welcoming ceremony for World Youth Day on July 17.

For people of your age, however, any flight is an exciting prospect. But for me, this one was somewhat daunting! Yet the views afforded of our planet from the air were truly wondrous. The sparkle of the Mediterranean, the grandeur of the north African desert, the lushness of Asia’s forestation, the vastness of the Pacific Ocean, the horizon upon which the sun rose and set, and the majestic splendor of Australia’s natural beauty which I have been able to enjoy these last couple of days; these all evoke a profound sense of awe. It is as though one catches glimpses of the Genesis creation story - light and darkness, the sun and the moon, the waters, the earth, and living creatures; all of which are “good” in God’s eyes (1:1 - 2:4). …

And there is more – something hardly perceivable from the sky – men and women, made in nothing less than God’s own image and likeness (1:26). At the heart of the marvel of creation are you and I, the human family “crowned with glory and honor” (Psalm 8:5). How astounding! With the Psalmist we whisper: “what is man that you are mindful of him?” (8:4). And drawn into silence, into a spirit of thanksgiving, into the power of holiness, we ponder.

What do we discover? Perhaps reluctantly we come to acknowledge that there are also scars which mark the surface of our earth: erosion, deforestation, the squandering of the world’s mineral and ocean resources in order to fuel an insatiable consumption. Some of you come from island nations whose very existence is threatened by rising water levels; others from nations suffering the effects of devastating drought.

Today’s Readings: Ezekiel 1:2-5,24-28c;  Psalm 148:1-2,11-14;  Matthew 17:22-27

The first International Eucharistic Congress was held in France in 1881. The 49th Congress will be held next week in Quebec City, Canada and will celebrate the 400th anniversary of the founding of that city and the first Catholic diocese north of Mexico City. In his Mission Intention this month Pope Benedict has asked us to pray for the upcoming Congress. Let us do so today by reflecting on part of the Introduction to the “foundational theological document” which was issued to help the Church prepare for the Congress.

The central theme of the Congress, approved by Pope Benedict XVI, is “The Eucharist, God’s gift for the life of the world.” It is particularly important today to remember God’s gift, for, in the midst of remarkable technological progress, notably in the area of communication, our world experiences a deep interior emptiness that it perceives as an absence of God. Fascinated by its own creative capacities, contemporary humanity tends to forget its Creator and set itself up as the sole master of its own destiny. …

Today’s Readings:  1 Kings 17:7-16; Psalm 4:2-5, 7b-8;  Matthew 5:13-16

These early Church martyrs were brothers and soldiers who, according to tradition, were baptized by St. Peter the Apostle. They gave their lives as Jesus and Peter did—in witness to the truth. May they intercede today for all Christians, that we will be courageous in standing for the truth of human dignity and in working against a culture that demeans the human person. Our reflection is from Pope Benedict’s 2008 Message for World Communications Day.

Man thirsts for truth, he seeks truth; this fact is illustrated by the attention and the success achieved by so many publications, programs or quality fiction in which the truth, beauty and greatness of the person, including the religious dimension of the person, are acknowledged and favorably presented. Jesus said: “You will know the truth and the truth will make you free” (John 8:32). The truth which makes us free is Christ, because only he can respond fully to the thirst for life and love that is present in the human heart. Those who have encountered him and have enthusiastically welcomed his message experience the irrepressible desire to share and communicate this truth. As Saint John writes, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life … we proclaim also to you, so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing this that our joy may be complete” (1 John 1:1-3).

Let us ask the Holy Spirit to raise up courageous communicators and authentic witnesses to the truth, faithful to Christ’s mandate and enthusiastic for the message of the faith, communicators who will “interpret modern cultural needs, committing themselves to approaching the communications age not as a time of alienation and confusion, but as a valuable time for the quest for the truth and for developing communion between persons and peoples” (John Paul II, Address to the Conference for those working in Communications and Culture, 9 November 2002).

Today’s Readings:  James 1:1-11;  Psalm 119:67-68, 71-72, 75-76;  Mark 8:11-13

In our General Intention we are praying with Pope Benedict that Christians may use literature, art, and mass media to create a culture which defends and promotes the values of the human person. Our prayer is not only for those who create art and media but also for all of us who use them. We pray that our use of these things may not support a culture of death but a culture of life. Let us reflect today on part of Pope Benedict’s 2007 Message for World Communications Day—“Children and the Media: A Challenge for Education.”

Educating children to be discriminating in their use of the media is a responsibility of parents, Church, and school. The role of parents is of primary importance. They have a right and duty to ensure the prudent use of the media by training the conscience of their children to express sound and objective judgments which will then guide them in choosing or rejecting programs available. In doing so, parents should have the encouragement and assistance of schools and parishes in ensuring that this difficult, though satisfying, aspect of parenting is supported by the wider community.

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

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.

Father, we pray for your protection and guidance over our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI. Give him strength and wisdom to stand as a prophet for our times. May he be a light in darkness around which we gather in hope. We ask you to bring about reconciliation through his faithful teaching of peace and justice. Grant him compassion and care to live the gospel in love and service to all people. Let him follow in the path of Peter and Paul who, filled with the Holy Spirit, preached that the Lord saves all who call upon his name. May the words he has spoken during his visit to our country and to the United Nations be pondered with receptivity so that all may come to know better your plan for humanity. You want us all to come to know Your love and desire that all people share in the Risen Life of Your Son and enter into His Kingdom. May Your Holy Spirit enlighten the hearts of all people so that they may know the truth of human existence and embrace it. May all people come to know, in the words of St. Augustine, that “You have made us for Yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You.” Amen.

Today’s Readings: Acts 6:1-7; Psalm 33:1-2, 4-5, 18-19; 1 Peter 2:4-9; John 14:1-12

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.

Leader: Let us pray for Benedict XVI, the Pope.
Group: May the Lord preserve him, give him a long life, make him blessed upon the earth, and may the Lord not hand him over to the power of his enemies.Leader: May your hand be upon your holy servant.
Group: And upon your son whom you have anointed.

 Today’s Readings:  Acts 13:44-52;  Psalm 98:1-4;  John 14:7-14

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.

O blessed Joseph, on whom God bestowed the name and dignity of foster-father of Jesus; and gave Mary ever Virgin to be your most pure spouse; head of the Holy Family on earth; finally chosen by the Vicar of Christ as Patron and Protector of the Universal Church established by the Lord Jesus Christ, with the greatest confidence I implore for that same Church militant on earth, your most powerful assistance. Keep, I beseech you, in the special care of that paternal love with which you burn forever, the Roman Pontiff, all bishops and priests united to the See of Peter. Be the defender of all who labor for the salvation of souls among the sorrows and trials of this life. Bring all peoples of their own free will to submit themselves to the Church, which is everywhere the necessary means of salvation. Accept, most holy Joseph, the offering of myself, whole and entire, which I make to you, freely and willingly. I consecrate myself wholly to you, to be always my father, protector, and leader in the way of salvation. Obtain for me exceeding great cleanliness of heart, and a burning love of the interior life. Grant that, following your footsteps, I may direct all my actions to the greater glory of God, in union with the love of the Divine Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of the Virgin Mary. Finally, pray that I may share in the peace and joy that was yours in your most holy death. Amen.

Today’s Readings:  Acts 13:26-33;  Psalm 2:6-11ab;  John 14:1-6