Integral ecology

Why Spain has a deficit in palliative care

Continues the report on palliative care in our country. Today we address the situation of this specialty in our country and especially the reasons for its lack of development, which are centered on the lack of a regulated medical specialty in this field.  

Rafael Miner-February 5, 2021-Reading time: 4 minutes

Palliative services, medications

Let us now look at the challenges posed by the development of palliative care in the different countries. Miguel Sánchez Cárdenas, researcher of the Atlantes Research Group (ICS), points to Omnes that in the context of a person's needs at the end of life, is needed: "1) a culture in the country in which it is considered that at the end of life there are problems to be addressed. This is solved with public policies, awareness campaigns, etc.; 2) professionals trained to solve end-of-life problems. Here education is very important, and also the services where to do it; and 3) essential drugs are required to control the problems that may arise at the end of life".

These are the main parameters, and Sánchez Cárdenas reviews them in the Spanish case, according to the Atlas of Palliative Care in Europe 2019. In his opinion, "there are two very important indicators: how many services there are, and how many opioids are consumed. For the year 2019, the Atlas found 260 services. [in Spain] and an average number of services of 0.6 per 100,000 inhabitants. The European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC) says that this indicator should be at least 2. 0.6 is far from the 2010 standard of the European association. This places Spain in the third quarter".

Unlike most European countries, Spain does not have a specialty in palliative care medicine. That is perhaps the most critical point for developing palliative medicine."

Miguel Sánchez Cárdenas

However, a more global average can be sought. The researcher mentions that also in 2019, a global study was published that puts Spain "very well. In the World Atlas, this position is called Advanced Palliative Care Integration. It does this by computing indicators. It does not take just one, but it takes ten indicators and analyzes them, so that they allow it to define where the country is. In that process, it shows that Spain has a good level of advanced integration of palliative care. It is a much more general look at the countries (198)", contained in the Mapping Levels Glasgow cited at the beginning of this report.

Spain is far from the average proposed by the European Association for Palliative Carethe Atlantes researcher underlines, but "It has already come a long way and must continue to increase the number of services. And a very important indicator is that of education. Unlike most European countries, Spain does not have a specialty in palliative care medicine. That is perhaps the most critical point for developing palliative medicine.".

The hitherto president for the past few years of the Spanish Society of Palliative Care (Secpal), Rafael Mota, synthesized a year and a half ago "five key measures to be implemented as soon as possible".. They are as follows:

  • 1) approval of a National Palliative Care Law, with a budget allocation.
  • 2) Reactivate the 2007 National Palliative Care Strategy, which was then a significant advance in regulation and resourcing, but paralyzed since 2014.
  • 3) To recognize the professionals who develop their work in Palliative Care through the accreditation of the specialty or subspecialty, and that this is a prerequisite for working in specific Palliative Care resources.
  • 4) That the central government urge the Autonomous Regions to develop the professional category.
  • 5) Include Palliative Care as a compulsory subject in the University.

Good opioid use

The use of opioids or strong painkillers, such as morphine, for example, is another indicator that WHO has recognized on countless occasions, but which is sometimes the subject of debate. Miguel Sánchez Cárdenas comments: "There is high resistance to opioid use in the world because they are seen as potentially addictive, which is true if misused. But if professionals are well trained and understand that pain and other symptoms at the end of life are a source of suffering, the consumption of these drugs is a good thermometer of how much states are concerned with alleviating people's suffering and addressing their needs.". In his opinion, it is necessary to put in the balance the fact of having well-trained professionals, but also having the medicines that can essentially help to manage people's suffering.

Therefore, "the WHO itself has considered that the most relevant indicator to assess the development of palliative care is how many opioid drugs are consumed". And it has been established what would be the ideal standard, the appropriate measure. For example, in rich countries, the average consumption is 103 milligrams per capita.

It is necessary to put in the balance the fact of having well-trained professionals, but also having the medicines that can essentially help to manage people's suffering.

Miguel Sánchez Cárdenas

"There are many countries, such as Austria (524) or Germany (403) that have much higher consumption. What we would consider adequate consumption is more than 103 milligrams. Spain has it, Spain has 249 milligrams per capita, which is a good consumption. There are those who worry about that and point out that high consumption could be dangerous in terms of the use of these drugs for addictive purposes. But if you have a clear idea, and a very well-trained staff, this is positive, because it says that the countries have the structure to deal with pain and other end-of-life problems. The ranking eliminates methadone, which is used to eliminate dependencies and other types of problems, and only includes drugs that are useful for relieving pain and other end-of-life problems.

Final balance

The analysis shows that palliative care in Spain is not too bad, but it must be improved, especially in terms of education and training.. "In my opinion, we should not convey a pessimistic message, but recognize that it has some aspects gained in the development of palliative care services, the use of medicines, but it does have opportunities in the short term to consolidate education programs, to integrate palliative care into other areas of medicine."Sánchez Cárdenas adds.

"Today, for example, many oncology patients, people with cancer, receive palliative care, but it is not clear that people with other diseases, such as heart disease, chronic lung disease, liver disease, neurological diseases, etc., receive this type of care."

"Spain has many opportunities for improvement. Every time it moves a little further towards the best position, more opportunities open up; but there are some aspects that deserve attention. Spain being a country that has achieved a relatively adequate level of services, and with adequate levels of consumption of essential medicines, it is very surprising that it does not have a specialty." [in Palliative Medicine]..

And also "it is very striking that Spain is a country with such a well-established primary care system that palliative care services are not integrated into primary care.", concludes.

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Integral ecology

"Palliative care should be a right, not a privilege."

Europe will have to care for almost 5 million patients with severe suffering and serious illness in 2030, compared to the current 4.4 million, while 65 % of the population still does not have access to palliative care. Spain lags in education and training in this type of care, while the euthanasia law is already in the Senate.

Rafael Miner-February 5, 2021-Reading time: 4 minutes
RelatedRelated NewsWhy are they accelerating the promotion of euthanasia?Related NewsBishops warn of social failure of euthanasia lawRelated NewsDr. Centeno: "Palliative medicine improves well-being and alleviates suffering".

The estimates are real and recent. Every year in Europe more than four million people need palliative care. But in a few years they will be almost five million patients will require this specialized care in the face of severe suffering due to their illness, according to estimates by the World Health Organization (WHO).) realized in 2020.

Thirty-eight percent will have oncological diseases, cancer; 33 percent, cardiovascular; 16 percent, variants of dementia; 6 percent, chronic; and 7 percent, other.

In a global perspective, David Clark, of the University of Glasgow, and other professors and physicians, studied the state of palliative care in 198 countries in 2019. Among their conclusions, they noted that "palliative care at the highest level of provision is available to only 14 % of the world's population and is concentrated in European countries."

Facilitating access to palliative care

The experts added their forecast of "a global growth of 87 % in severe health-related suffering amenable to palliative care interventions by 2060.". However, in his opinion, despite this growing need, "palliative care is not reaching the levels required by at least half of the world's population." (Mapping Levels of Palliative Care Development in 198 Countries: The Situation in 2017, published in Journal of Pain and Symptom Management).

For example, in Spain, of the more than 220,000 people who died in recent years in need of palliative care, it is estimated that around 80,000 died without access to palliative care.according to data from the Spanish Society of Palliative Care (Secpal). Moreover, it is a service that will be needed by around 50 % of the population at the end of their lives.

The reality is that "Greater access to palliative care could greatly alleviate the pain of millions of people. Palliative care should be a right, not a privilege of the few."a report in the magazine Our Time just before the outbreak of the pandemic early last year.

"Today euthanasia is demanded in society, even in law, for many things that have a solution. Medicine also has many things to say in the face of suffering that at times can be intolerable. Medicine has something, and I know it is effective, because I have seen it in action so many times", has assured Omnes the doctor Carlos Centeno, director of Palliative Medicine at the Clínica Universidad de Navarra and of the Atlantes research team of the Culture and Society Institute (ICS) from the same university, who has participated in the Glasgow report, in recent studies for the WHO, and also for the Vatican.

Support from the Holy See

The concern of the Holy See in support of palliative care, that is, comprehensive care of patients with intense suffering in a serious illness, in an interdisciplinary manner, in order to maintain their well-being and quality of life, is notorious. In 2019 the White Book for Global Palliative Care Advocacy, a White Paper in which experts from around the world, convened by the Pontifical Academy of Life and coordinated by Atlantes, studied ways to promote palliative care..

At the end of the work, it was recorded in the document that "the scientific community of palliative care recognizes the important role of religions in promoting this form of care for the sick., given the ability of religions to reach out to the peripheries of humanity, those who, within a community, are the most needy". Pope Francis was also quoted, in his description of the culture of the "discard" in the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii gaudiumn. 53, and it was stated for the record that "religious faiths support the principles of palliative care to relieve pain and suffering approaching the natural end of life."

"The hope is that all religions, in an active way, will support the palliative care movement." concluded the document, "offering their valuable contribution of wisdom to achieve a culture of accompaniment that is truly inclusive and respectful of the dignity of every human being.".

Human dignity was alluded to a month and a half ago José María Torralbadirector of the Core Curriculum Institute of the University of Navarrain a conference on on line organized under the title Science and values of palliative care. The professor emphasized that human dignity shines in a special way in the activity of caring for another person. "The Problem, he added, "It is the dominant utilitarian mentality, for which caring is a waste of time, because life is seen in terms of performance and success. Our society needs to recover the awareness that we are weak beings in need of care"..

He has also referred to the dignity Tomás Chivato, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Professor of the CEU San Pablo University. "Dignity is intrinsic to every human being." "it is preferable to speak of a dignified life and not of a dignified death".he points out. In his opinion, "if a person feels like a burden or that he or she is useless, he or she may feel that his or her life is meaningless. Conversely, when someone feels loved, appreciated and accompanied they don't feel like someone 'unworthy'".

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RelatedRelated NewsWhy are they accelerating the promotion of euthanasia?Related NewsBishops warn of social failure of euthanasia lawRelated NewsDr. Centeno: "Palliative medicine improves well-being and alleviates suffering".
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ColumnistsJaime Gutiérrez Villanueva

No human dignity at the borders

Thousands of people are fleeing war, persecution and natural disasters. Others are rightfully seeking opportunities for themselves and their families. They dream of a better future.

February 5, 2021-Reading time: 2 minutes
RelatedRelated NewsSolidarity, the key after the pandemic. Fratelli tutti's proposal

Almost every day we hear from brothers and sisters immigrants who die in the attempt to reach our countrymainly fleeing from hunger and impoverishment. All the political parties of the Spanish and European parliamentary arc, and many Catholics with them, advocate that the arrival of immigrants should be avoided at all costs. impoverished. Behind this stance are thousands of lives that are torn apart every year at our borders. Many flee war, persecution, natural disasters. Others are rightfully seeking opportunities for themselves and their families. They dream of a better future.

Unfortunately, others are "attracted by Western culture, sometimes with unrealistic expectations that expose them to great disappointment. Unscrupulous traffickers, often linked to drug and arms cartels, exploit the weak situation of migrants, who along their journey all too often experience violence, human trafficking, psychological and physical abuse, and indescribable suffering." (Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Christus vivit, 92).

Whether we like it or not, migration is a sign of the times. They are a determining element of the world's future.

Jaime Gutiérrez Villanueva

Those who emigrate "They have to separate themselves from their own context of origin and often experience cultural and religious uprooting. The fracture also concerns the communities of origin, which lose the most vigorous and enterprising elements, and families, particularly when one or both parents emigrate, leaving the children in the country of origin." (ibid., 93). Pope Francis, in his encyclical Fratelli tuttiOnce again, it reaffirms the right of people not to have to emigrate, to have decent living conditions in their own land.

Francis regrets that "In some countries of arrival, migratory phenomena arouse alarm and fear, often encouraged and exploited for political purposes. This spreads a xenophobic mentality of people who are closed and turned in on themselves". (ibid., 92). Migrants are not considered worthy enough to participate in social life like anyone else, and it is forgotten that they have the same intrinsic dignity as any other person. Therefore, must be "protagonists of their own rescue". (Message for the 106th World Day of Migrants and Refugees 2020).

It will never be said that they are not human, but in practice, with the decisions and the way they are treated, it is expressed that they are considered less valuable, less important, less human. It is unacceptable for Christians to share this mentality and these attitudes.Sometimes certain political preferences prevail over the deep convictions of one's own faith: the inalienable dignity of every human person regardless of origin, color or religion, and the supreme law of fraternal love (FT, 39). We are all responsible for everyone.

Whether we like it or not, migration is a sign of the times. They are a determining element of the world's future. Europe "inspired by its great cultural and religious heritage, it has the necessary instruments to defend the centrality of the human person and to find the right balance between the moral duty to protect the rights of its citizens, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, to ensure the assistance and reception of migrants." (FT, 40).

The authorJaime Gutiérrez Villanueva

Pastor of the parishes of Santa María Reparadora and Santa María de los Ángeles, Santander.

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RelatedRelated NewsSolidarity, the key after the pandemic. Fratelli tutti's proposal
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  • Pope on the Day of Human Fraternity: "Either we are brothers, or everything falls apart".
The World

Pope on the Day of Human Fraternity: "Either we are brothers, or everything falls apart".

This Thursday, February 4, on the first International Day of Human Fraternity, the Pope continued on the path undertaken two years ago, at the meeting he held with the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, where they signed the Document on Human Fraternity for Peace and Common Coexistence.

David Fernández Alonso-February 4, 2021-Reading time: 3 minutes
RelatedRelated News"Fratelli Tutti": Friendship and fraternity, dialogue and encounter.Related NewsHuman fraternity marks Pope's trip to Abu DhabiRelated NewsBackground on the fraternity: Inspiration of "Fratelli Tutti".

Pope Francis has celebrated the First International Human Fraternity Day in a Virtual Meeting organized by the sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed in Abu DhabiThe event was attended by the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmad Al-Tayyeb, the Secretary General of the High Committee for Human Brotherhood, Judge Mohamed Mahmoud Abdel Salam, the Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, and other personalities.

The date was established by the United Nations General Assembly. and coincides with the anniversary of the Abu Dhabi meeting on February 4, 2019, when the Pope and the Grand Imam of Al- Azhar signed the Document on Human Fraternity for Peace and Common Coexistence.

During the event, the winners of the first Zayed Prize inspired by the Document on Human Fraternity were also presented.

Gratitude for the path taken

The Holy Father began his speech by expressing his gratitude to the Grand Imam Ahmad Al-Tayyeb, whose friendship, commitment and companionship he emphasized.on the road to reflection and the drafting of this document, which was presented two years ago". He also appreciated the efforts that His Highness Sheik Mohammed bin Zayed "has put in to make it possible to move forward on this path. He believed in the project. He believed.

To conclude his thanks, he joked with Judge Abdel Salam, "accusing him" of being "l'enfant terrible" of this whole project. Judge Abdel Salam, the Holy Father continued, is that "l'enfant terrible" of this whole project.friend, hard-working, full of ideas, who helped us to move forward. Thank you all for betting on fraternity, because today fraternity is the new frontier of humanity. Either we are brothers, or we destroy each other.".

Avoiding indifference

Pope Francis has emphasized in his speech to avoid indifference to others. "We cannot wash our hands. With distance, with disregard, with contempt. Either we are brothers -allow me-, or everything falls apart. It is the frontier. The frontier on which we have to build; it is the challenge of our century, it is the challenge of our times.".

Fraternity means firmness in one's convictions. Because there is no true fraternity if one's own convictions are negotiated.

Pope Francis

The fraternity, Francis continued, "means outstretched hand, fraternity means respect. Fraternity means listening with an open heart. Fraternity means firmness in one's own convictions. Because there is no true fraternity if one's own convictions are negotiated.".

Children of the same Father

In this sense, he wanted to relate the common fraternity with the common filiation, since ".we are brothers, born of the same Father. With different cultures and traditions, but all brothers. And respecting our different cultures and traditions, our different citizenships, we must build this fraternity. Not by negotiating it".

Finally, Francis called on humanity to engage in an era based on listening. "It is the moment of sincere acceptance. It is the moment of certainty that a world without brothers is a world of enemies". And he wanted to underline this idea: "We cannot say: either brothers or no brothers. Let us say it well: or brothers, or enemies. Because dispensation is a very subtle form of enmity.".

Congratulations

In conclusion, the Pope addressed words of congratulation to the two recipients of the Zayed Prize, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterresand to the French-Moroccan activist Latifa Ibn Ziaten: "your last words are not spoken by hearsay or convention, "we are all brothers". They are the conviction. And a conviction embodied in pain, in your wounds. You gambled your life for the smile, you gambled your life for the non-resentment and through the pain of losing a child -only a mother knows what it is to lose a child- through that pain you dare to say "we are all brothers"and to sow words of love.".

Continuing on the road

A few months after the signing of the Document on Human Fraternity, the High Committee for Human Fraternity was established to translate the aspirations of the February 4, 2019 Document into concrete commitments and actions.

The High Committee plans to establish a Abrahamic Family Housewith a synagogue, a church and a mosque, on the island of Saadiyat, in Abu Dhabi. It has established an independent jury to receive the nominations for the Zayed Prize for Human Fraternity, selecting the winners whose work has stood out for their permanent commitment to human fraternity.

The Pope urged the Holy See to participate in the celebration of the International Day of Human Fraternity under the direction of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.

Last January, the Holy Father launched the year 2021 with an appeal to fraternity, in the video with his prayer intention, for people of different religions, cultures, traditions and beliefs to return to the essentials: love of neighbor.

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RelatedRelated News"Fratelli Tutti": Friendship and fraternity, dialogue and encounter.Related NewsHuman fraternity marks Pope's trip to Abu DhabiRelated NewsBackground on the fraternity: Inspiration of "Fratelli Tutti".
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  • Culture
  • "The Church has cared for the needy in every pandemic."
Culture

"The Church has cared for the needy in every pandemic."

The past and present history of the Church in the face of disease and pandemics is the focus of the 14th edition of the Conference on the History of the Church in Andalusia organized by the Beato Marcelo Spínola Chair of the San Isidoro Faculty of Theology in Seville.

Maria José Atienza-February 4, 2021-Reading time: 2 minutes

The care of the faithful, the sick and the poor in times of pandemics and plagues is nothing new in the history of the Catholic Church. This experience has marked the development of congregations, associations and brotherhoods for the care of those affected throughout the centuries.

‘Church and epidemics in Andalusia. Hospitality and devotions', is the title of this "Conference on the History of the Church in Andalusia" which, as described by the director of the Chair, Manuel Martín Riego:"we wanted to dedicate to this theme as soon as its preparation began because the Church has been the only institution that, throughout history, in such situations, has maintained its attention to the poor and sick. Also in our recent times, especially in areas of Africa and Asia.".

Papers

Three speakers will address the subject from different angles and experiences on February 8, 9 and 10, starting at 7:00 pm.

The first session will be led by Francisco BenavidesDirector of the Archive-Museum San Juan de Dios Casa de los Pisa, Granada, who will dedicate his speech to the following topics The Order of St. John of God between epidemics and pandemics: 500 years of social and health service to the most vulnerable population.'.

The following day, it is the turn of Antonio Claret GarcíaProfessor at the University of Huelva, whose lecture focuses on "''.Health practices in times of epidemics in 17th century Seville according to the Obregones nurses'.. Known as Obregón nurses, they were the religious of the Congregation of the Poor Nurses, founded by Bernardino de Obregón, whose nursing work was pioneering in its time and laid the foundations for today's health care work.

Finally, it will be the religious Magdalena HerreraDaughter of Charity, who will present the '.Presence of the Daughters of Charity in Andalusia: Charity, mission and service'.The presentation focused especially on the Andalusian capital where the Daughters of Charity have been responsible, throughout its history, for the care of the Casa Cuna or the old hospital of the Five Wounds of Our Redeemer, also known as the Hospital de la Sangre.

The Chair of Blessed Marcellus Spinola

The Chair of Blessed Marcelo Spinola was created in 2007 to coincide with the first centenary of the death of the Bishop of the Poor. It is currently integrated into the San Isidoro de Sevilla School of Theology. This chair, promoted by the Handmaids of the Divine Heart, aims to deepen the history of the Church in Andalusia. In the 14 editions that have been developed, topics such as charity, archives, priestly formation or the Church and education have been addressed.

The conferences, which will take place at the Faculty of Theology in accordance with all the hygienic and security precautions established for this time of pandemic, are open to everyone via the youtube channel of the Faculty.

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Spain

Spain prepares for Seminar Day 2021

Despite the pandemic, the Spanish Church will not change, this year 2021, the date of celebration of the Seminary Day, as it happened last year, to move this day to December 8 due to the State of Alarm, in force at that time in the Spanish nation.

Maria José Atienza-February 4, 2021-Reading time: < 1 minute

St. Joseph is the protagonist of this day that this year increases, if possible, its Josephine accent, as it is celebrated within the Year dedicated to St. Joseph by Pope Francis. In this sense, the EEC's Subcommission for Seminaries emphasizes that the day recalls that "priests are sent to caring for each person's lifewith the heart of a father, knowing that each one of them is his brother".

"Father and brother, like St. Joseph."is this year's slogan, which is obviously marked in its actions by the Covid19 pandemic and which refers to the fact that "The priest takes care of Jesus in every man, in every brother. For this reason he is called to become "a neighbor to others".". In the Theological-Pastoral Reflection published for this day, it is emphasized that "the seminary is a privileged place and time for each seminarian to discover how God makes him grow through the Church and His provident hand"..

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TribuneJuan José Larrañeta

World Mission Day. Sowing in tears

We celebrate on October 18 the day of the DOMUND. A missionary song in this celebration, to stir this missionary world, which is fascinating. Let these memories of the years spent in the Mission (36 years) in the Amazon jungles of Peru serve to stir the feelings of people who love the missions.

February 4, 2021-Reading time: 3 minutes

In my missionary years in Peru, sowing was always surrounded by tears, as the farmer who opens, with sweat, the furrows in the earth and places the seed with care to defend it from adverse winds knows! It was not easy to proclaim the Gospel of Christ - mission work has never been easy - because it had to include so many aspects: health, education, catechesis, attention to children, careful care of marginalized women, protection of the sick, defense of lands, communities and people who seemed to have lost the right to the human dignity that we all have.... 

In the bottom of our hearts, I recognize our own limitations. We could have done more, mitigated the hunger, the sickness, the death of those who came close to us, who lived next to us, who suffered in the quiet nights of their lives a pain that we could hardly discover. 

On December 27, 1978 we inaugurated and blessed the new "San Martin de Porres" cemetery in Puerto Maldonado. The old cemetery had become too small. Just a year later, I felt the curiosity to visit the cemetery. I have engraved in my mind the image of a real forest of crosses. I was overwhelmed when I counted the white crosses whose graves delicately guarded the remains of children: 376 white crosses; in just one year, and in a small town! I also counted the black crosses of adults: there were 92. Today, as I travel through my years in the territory of the Vicariate that the Lord entrusted to me, I feel a kind of remorse. Perhaps if we had put more effort, if we had been better priests, if the lives of those precious children had been more deeply rooted in our personal and community feelings, they would not have died and would continue to bring joy to our lives.

I recognize that we could have done more in the broad fields that pastoral life offered us. Often we should have spoken more and kept quiet less, especially in the face of the distressing problems of our people. The scent of the orange blossom, which every year invaded our lives in the jungle, faded quickly with the wind; the words did not. We lost beautiful occasions: in the daily aspects of the lives of the faithful, of the religious, of the laity. They were their lives, our lives, the lives of our peoples. Today, before God, I believe that, perhaps, if they had had a good shepherd, the achievements would have been more satisfactory. Sometimes I think that we were on the verge of dying of thirst when we had already reached the fountain of crystalline water. 

Those who sowed in tears... Jesus of Nazareth had announced to his disciples the sadness that awaited them with his passion and death. Once the cataclysm of the passion had begun, they lamented because they saw how Christ was seized, how he was humiliated, brought to an iniquitous trial, condemned and crucified. They watched as, to finish off the enormous injustice, one of the soldiers thrust the spear into his side seeking the weakened heart of Jesus. There were, that Friday, many hidden and silent tears from those who contemplated the end of the Master, Lord of Life. He did not deserve to have ended that way. The sowing continued its course: "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains unfruitful; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." (Jn 12:24). And the Master went before, and his body was buried, to rise again with unusual strength before the astonished gaze of his disciples. And those men were giants of sowing in tears.

The mission field is surrounded by a huge fence of thorns. It is difficult to move along these winding roads; life in the missionary land is difficult. All of us missionaries have had to work, to suffer, to suffer. We did it with enthusiasm because we believed that one day the fate of our marginalized brothers and sisters would change. In this life there is no success without hard work, there is no progress without sacrificed effort. And we chose a difficult route, walking incredible paths, striving to find resources, putting our own health as a guarantee, working with a sense of missionary honesty, looking with faith to the fountain that one day we could find to quench the thirst for life that was in the possession of the weak. Our lives were vast fields where we had to sow in tears. And we sowed hopes, eternity, illusion for the harvest, songs of celebration, anticipated joy. We sowed dreaming of the harvest, often with tears in our eyes and in our hearts, because to be able to sing with true joy it is necessary to cry. But we felt passion. When it began to rain in our jungle, everything was filled with the green smell of the sprouts. The tide of clouds would arrive and lay on the green mantle, transforming the colors into messengers of peace and tranquility. We witnessed this many times. For all that we suffered and lived, I thank God.

The authorJuan José Larrañeta

Bishop Emeritus of Puerto Maldonado (Peru)

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  • Meetings for Catholic musicians and artists, and Catholic music festivals
Newsroom

Meetings for Catholic musicians and artists, and Catholic music festivals

"The priests attended to their ministry, while the Levites glorified the LORD with the instruments that King David made to accompany the songs of the LORD." (2 Chr 7:6) Where did David learn to compose the songs of the LORD? What was his school of formation? Where do Spanish Catholic musicians learn?

The Beloved produces love-February 4, 2021-Reading time: 5 minutes

In this new installment, we dive into the different proposals, very few, that have been developed in Spain for some decades.

Meetings of Christian Artists

One of the most long-standing is the proposal of the Meetings of Christian Artistsalso called EAC's. They are held three times a year. Two of them are usually held in Madrid: one in autumn, another in winter, and the last one outside the capital, in small towns in Burgos or Castellón. 

In these meetings, open to any expression that has to do with Faith and Art, we share from the theme that the same group has chosen in the previous meeting, after drawing up a list of concerns or themes that are in the air and that we would like to address. Some of the members of the group (always rotating) prepare the theme for the others not only in a theoretical way, but also with experiential activities.

Organization

The Faith and the work that derives from this Christian experience are shared: melodies, plastic elements, stories, sculpture, etc... Each meeting is woven with a diverse, broad, inclusive approach, where the Word, creation, questions, prayer, answers, experiences, and so many other times, silence, converge before the magnitude of the mystery that pushes the Catholic artist to the creation of the work: a song, a drawing, a poem, a gesture, the movement in the fingers, the words of a story, a tale, an illustration that flies together with a chord that irrigates that character and brings it newborn to life.

These meetings have been in existence for more than 20 years and, depending on the people who have been arriving, they have been developing, growing, giving way to other times, reflecting on their origins, their answers, their path and their questions. Themes as suggestive as: De-Crecer; Pain: that uncomfortable companion along the way; God and time; Peace Art-healthy; Dream bearers; Art and Prayer... are some of the titles of the more than 60 meetings that have taken place, where fundamental questions continue to be asked: "From what sources does your art drink? Is your art the favor of God, a balance of consciousness, a social critique, the planning of a new world... Why and why do we build forms and melodies, play with words and colors, and express experiences? 

Proposals

Some proposals were: "The project was to LOOK ART (spectator experience, a contemplative experience, an experience of divinity), CREATE ART (the creative process brings me closer to God and others) and SHOW ART (our artistic production as a means of bringing others closer to God). In image, the purification of Mary. They could not offer a lamb, which would have cost six days of work. They gave two doves, because they were poor. Like a cathedral stained glass window, panel art brings us closer to God."

For young people

On another level, for the past six years the Youth Department of the Spanish Episcopal Conference has been trying to provide a meeting place for Catholic musicians in Spain to advise and accompany artists, especially the youngest ones, spiritually and musically. The first meetings were dedicated to mark the roadmap for a Catholic artist/musician, addressing issues such as tour promotion, management, with the intervention of the director of the SGAE, the commercial director of a distributor, speakers for the legal, fiscal and economic organization of the artists.

Some music producers were seen in these first meetings, and of course a creative as Siro Lopez with a lot of experience in the field of art and Faith from his more plastic look. We could not miss the testimony of committed people like Chito, from Brotes de Olivo. In a II Encounter, fortunately, steps begin to be taken for a great number of participants.

In its III Edition, the tone is similar. With the IV Edition, the first prizes were awarded Speraas well as presentations on digital promotion and distribution, workshops on vocal technique and anatomy applied to singing, and testimonials such as those of Migueli and Fermín Negre, from Ixcis, which we mentioned in the previous issue. 

We close this space of formation for Catholic musicians in Spain with a last online edition, this past June 2020, where Martin Valverde and the director of TRECE TV told us the truth. All of them have had a night of prayer or a "now it's your turn!". All of them meetings aimed especially at the youngest where we seek to dialogue with them and their Faith through music.

Training space for Catholic music festivals in Spain

Almost at the same time, the Festival has emerged Laudato Si in Adra (Almeria), where a multifestival format, which had its heyday more than 30 years ago throughout Spain, has been resumed. Many of you will remember the multifestival DavidThe Festival, where several fundamental pillars of the formation of a Catholic musician or artist, and of the life of every Christian, were raised: faith, spiritual and musical formation, the experience of God and community life, prayer groups, parishes, personal calls, religious life, testimonies, workshops, resources and materials for religious education, the meeting tent, and of course, the great vigil on Saturday night, the concerts of large and small format, and the Eucharist on Sunday, with which the Festival was closed. The Festival Laudato Si became the most important festival in Spain, and had international transcendence.

Returning to Adra: in recent years it has been flooded by the Spirit of God, opening hearts that empathize with this idea of bringing to others the message of the gospel through music. As their website says: "Moved by the desire to share the faith through music, we started this project with a night of concerts, where Catholic artists express their experience of God to all attendees. The acceptance and reception of this form of evangelization led us to dream: Why not a full weekend of music, formation and sharing for musicians, open to anyone who wants to come? And the answer was: Laudato Si".. Little by little it has been growing and adopting a format reminiscent of David, but in a smaller format, with concerts, vigil, workshops, lectures, presentations, etc...

This year 2020, given the health situation, some of these training events for Catholic Christian musicians and artists have been held online, or simply not held at all.

Where did David learn to compose the songs of Yahweh? What was his school of formation? Where do our Catholic artists learn? Where do Spanish Catholic musicians learn worship and praise, composition and the making of instruments to accompany the songs of God? Is it at the SGAE, or perhaps at the Asociación de Intérpretes y Ejecutantes (AIE), or through the promotion of tours and management, or by listening to the life testimony of Christians committed to God, the Faith, the Word and their Art? 

Standing or kneeling, the solitude of the shepherd is full of humility, work, communion with nature, bowing before the Creator, prayer, desert, listening, openness, simplicity, faith, patience and fortitude. Only God is the All and can do everything. He alone. As St. Francis of Assisi sang: "Most High, omnipotent, good Lord, thine are the praises, the glory and the honor and every blessing." (Canticle of the creatures).

You are Lord, the only giver and creator of the true melody, of the work. All this is what prepared the "shepherd David" who tended the flock and was chosen and anointed by God to one day be the "David the King" who occupied the throne of Israel.

The authorThe Beloved produces love

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Diego Zalbidea: "I hope for a new springtime in the Church".

We interviewed Diego Zalbidea, priest and professor of Canon Patrimonial Law at the University of Navarra. Diego introduces us to a series of articles and interviews with experts on economic issues, which will be published in Omnes under the title 5G Sustainability.

David Fernández Alonso-February 4, 2021-Reading time: 3 minutes
RelatedRelated NewsThe compliance model in an ecclesiastical entity, under debateRelated NewsWord Forum on 'Compliance' in ecclesiastical entitiesRelated NewsA crucial law for the reform of the Curia arrives: financial management

Diego Zalbidea, in addition to being a priest and professor of Canon Patrimonial Law at the University of Navarra, is the author of numerous publications on economic matters of the Church, ecclesiastical patrimony, support of the clergy and economic organization.

The importance of paying special attention to economic matters, both in the business and ecclesiastical spheres, makes it necessary in today's world to continue refining the mechanisms of control and management of ecclesiastical institutions. Diego participated, together with expert in compliance of KPMG Alain Casanovasin the Foro Palabra held last Junewhere the implementation of regulatory compliance programs was analyzed. (compliance) in ecclesiastical entities.

In this interview, Prof. Zalbidea introduces the series of articles and interviews with experts on economic issues, which will be published in Omnes and which can be followed under the name of 5G SustainabilityThe title chosen by the author, and for which we have asked him.

"I love co-responsibilityalthough I am not entirely convinced by the term. I admire the bursars of the Spanish dioceses who do so much with so little. I have learned a lot in the United States from lay people who live the Church as their home".

P- What don't you like about the term co-responsibility? 

R- Responsibility. This way of understanding the participation of all the faithful in the mission of the Church puts the focus on what each one of us does. 

P- And what's the problem with everyone taking their part in that mission? 

R-I am convinced that the focus should be on what we receive: from God, from others, from the Church, from society. 

P- So where is the maturity of the Christian's vocation? 

R- In being grateful. He who learns to receive and allows himself to be "given", is then capable of spreading joy, illusion and dedication wherever he goes. 

P- Isn't this all a bit theoretical? 

R- Not a little bit, totally in my case. That's why I'm a university professor. The stage holds everything. My mission is to sell smoke. That's why I'm going to ask the experts how they do it. It has been proven that it bears fruit, and long-lasting fruit. 

Stewardship is more intended to involve the time and talents of the faithful.

Diego ZalbideaPriest and Professor of Canonical Patrimonial Law

P- A lot of money? 

R- That is the least of it. Stewardship is more intended to involve the time and talent of the faithful. Money only comes when these two fundamental resources are exhausted. 

P- But parishes are in dire need of the money now, right? 

R- Of course, and the faithful are aware and we are seeing acts of true generosity in very difficult situations. There is a lot of sainthood next door. 

P- What is 5G? sustainability 

R-A window for experts to talk to us about what can be done at this time to help the faithful to be grateful, creative and happy. 

P- Why 5G?

R-  What is impressive about this new technology is the reduction in latency time. Data is coming and going very fast and in great quantity. I would like God's gifts to His Church to flow unimpeded.

P- What is going to happen? 

R- As always, the generous will be more generous and the selfish will sink deeper and deeper into their misfortune. Our mission is to make everyone see the gratuitousness of salvation. 

We will abandon complaints, we will become grateful because God is the same as always and we will be creative as Christians have been in every time and place.

Diego ZalbideaPriest and Professor of Canonical Patrimonial Law

P- Do you expect anything from this time? 

R- Yes, a new springtime in the Church. We will abandon complaints, we will become grateful because God is the same as always and we will be creative as Christians have been in every time and place. 

P- Not afraid? 

R- Yes, of missing out on some gift that God is offering me and of not being grateful.

P- A book? 

R- From complaint to gratitude: spirituality in difficult times, by Don Francisco Cerro. 

P- A song? 

R- Si può dare di più. He won San Remo in 1987.  

P- A website? 

R- www.portantos.es

P- A dream? 

R- To be able to help a little bit those who are in the front line of the battle to distribute the gifts that God has prepared for us.

P- A sentence? 

R- One from the prophet Malachi (3:10): Put me thus to the test, says the Lord of the universe, and see how I open the floodgates of heaven and pour out blessing without measure.

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RelatedRelated NewsThe compliance model in an ecclesiastical entity, under debateRelated NewsWord Forum on 'Compliance' in ecclesiastical entitiesRelated NewsA crucial law for the reform of the Curia arrives: financial management
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"The Christian vision integrates realities that ideologies have separated."

Miguel Brugarolas, priest and theologian, the philosopher Juan Arana and the writer Juan Manuel de Prada were the speakers at the Round Table ".A Current Debate: Intellectuals, Christianity and the University."moderated by José María Torralba, held at the University of Navarra.

Maria José Atienza-February 4, 2021-Reading time: 3 minutes

This meeting, which was also followed virtually and especially addressed to university professors, once again highlighted the central importance of forming intellectuals with a Christian mentality, that is, overcoming the duality between a professed faith and the proper exercise of social and intellectual life.

This round table is preceded by an intense and rich debate that, since last November, intellectuals, journalists and academics have been having, through various digital media, about the presence of a so-called "Catholic intelligentsia" in the space of general debate.

A debate that especially calls for the role of universities, and even more so, universities of Christian inspiration, in this formation of Catholics. "with head and truly Catholic thinking"and which was also discussed a few days ago at a round table at the Francisco de Vitoria University.

The danger of the ideologization of faith

From a theological perspective, Miguel Brugarolasnoted that "We must keep in mind that God has endowed all human activity with a divine value, but human activity is not enough to attain knowledge of the divinity; Christ is needed, Therefore, to approach any subject as a Catholic requires a faith incarnated in one's own life and, therefore, in one's own reason.

Likewise, Brugarolas stressed that, by this same logic of the incarnation of God, "The way in which the Christian relates to the world is profoundly theological, he lives his relationship with God from his humanity, and therefore, his activity is Christian even if he does not do it from an official Catholic point of view".

All the participants agreed on the danger posed by the "ideologization of faith": "This postmodern society reduces the greatest things to banalities, so that they can be set aside, as happens with faith reduced to a simple ideology, stated Brugarolas himself.

For his part, the philosopher Juan Arana emphasized that by not cultivating faith and, above all, Christian and intellectual maturity and formation: "It may be that what is really in a precarious situation is our Christian identity and we are not living up to what society is asking of us.". He also wanted to emphasize that "intellectuality and Catholicism have universality in common as their own thing".

"We have fallen into an impoverishing dualism."

Juan Manuel de PradaThe President, for his part, referred to some of the key problems of this "disappearance" of the Catholic intelligentsia. "when someone is presented as a Catholic intellectual, this 'label' is almost a label, which creates a prior prejudice that everything that person affirms or defends is 'subjugated' to their being Catholic, as if faith did not belong to the realm of the rational"..

Another stumbling block, the writer pointed out, is a problem present in the daily lives of many Catholics: "we have fallen into dualism, separating faith from natural reasons and we have introduced ideological conflict into our activity and, what is more serious, into our Christian life".

"Our challenge"continued de Prada, "is to break this impoverishing and suffocating dualism and to recover Catholic thought as an inspirer of natural realities, capable of offering a novel reading of these realities that is necessary". For De Prada, "It is about proposing a vision of the world that integrates those realities that ideologies have appropriated separately".

The key is for Christians to have a Christian head and, to this end, in response to the doubts raised, the speakers agreed on the need to get rid of this ideologization of the faith. A position that avoids dialogue: "the more catholic we are, the less ideological we will be."Juan Manuel de Prada has even said, since, in the words of Brugarolas: "ideology is reason oriented to power and not to truth".

On the other hand, the need to generate a true Catholic culture that does not end up in a ghetto of comfort was highlighted, "avoid situations such as Catholic writers writing only for Catholics." and to propose the Christian vision as a light on all education, for example in the case of the University, not only as a specific subject: Christian thought should illuminate all areas of personal development of the human being.

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Pope's teachings

Trust, culture of care and ecclesial ministries

Beginning with the Holy Father's address to the Roman Curia on the occasion of Christmas, the author then turns to two other significant moments of the past month: the Message for the World Day of Peace and the opening of lay ministries to women.

Ramiro Pellitero-February 3, 2021-Reading time: 5 minutes

Still at the end of December, the Pope's Christmas greeting to the Roman Curia is always seen as an orientation for the coming year. The message for the World Day of Peace, on January 1, dealt with the theme of the culture of care. Later in the month, the Pope published the motu proprio Spiritus Domini, which establishes the access of women to the ministries of lector and acolyte.

A trust protocol to face the crisis

In its address to the Roman Curia (December 21, 2020) on the occasion of Christmas, Francis pointed out that the pandemic, with all its drama, is also an opportunity for the conversion. Conversion particularly to fraternity (cfr. enc. Fratelli tutti).

In a second step, Francis addresses the meaning of the crisis: "sieve that cleans the wheat grain after harvesting". Crises, ultimately crises of faith or trust, were experienced by the important figures in the history of salvation. Above all, the Son of God, Jesus himself, wanted to be a grain of wheat that dies in order to bear fruit (cf. Jn 12:24). And then the saints, with their trust in God and their witness. This is also what Francis suggests, "each of us could find our place".. 

What to do during this crisis? And he proposes the following protocol: accept it as a time of grace (given to us to discover God's will for each one of us and for the whole Church); pray more, as much as we can; at the same time, do what we can with confidence in God (because Christian hope is an active hope), serving others with peace and serenity. A crisis that is not overcome remains a conflict, which depletes energy and predisposes to evil. And the first evil to which conflict leads is murmuring that encloses in itself without resolving anything.

Finally, with regard to service, he points out that our service must be directed especially to the poor and needy, to whom we must also proclaim the Good News (cf. Mt 11:5). 

Trust in God, humility and courage to face the crisis. Discernment and prayer, work and service to come out of it better. A good road map to manage the crisis at the beginning of the new year. 

Careful" navigation to peace

Pope Francis' message for the 54th World Day of Peace (January 1, 2011), The culture of care as a path to peaceThe letter of St. Joseph, in connection with the beginning of the Petrine ministry (January 19, 2013), is related to the task of guardianship and service, as seen in St. Joseph. In the previous issue of the magazine, we referred to the letter Patris corde (December 8, 2020) on St. Joseph. 

The image chosen by the Pope is the navigation towards peace, in this boat of fraternity, on the path of justice. In addition to the context of Covid, he points out some obstacles and above all the ways: to take care of creation and fraternity, to eradicate the culture of indifference, rejection and confrontation, which often prevails today. 

Secondly, the Pope points out the need for make informed judgments in this topic. The foundations and criteria for discernment can be found in revelation, in the signs of the times, in the human sciences and always in the present situation. Those presented here are of two types. Some refer to the salvation history from creation (God himself teaches the meaning of caring for people and the world; it is taught by the prophets, and especially by Jesus, with his life and preaching; it is lived by his disciples and transmitted by the Church with its tradition and praxis); others refer to the social doctrine of the Church and her fundamental principles (human dignity, the common good, solidarity and the protection of creation, as taught in the encyclical Laudato si'). 

Finally, and within the proposalsFrancisco points out the importance of establishing processes The aim of the project is to develop educational programs that promote peace care with the "compass" of these criteria. It should be noted that, according to Evangelii gaudium, Fratelli tutti y Laudato si', and in the current context that includes the pandemic, these educational processes imply: an anthropology, an ethic (back to social principles), openness to others, discernment and dialogue in search of the "lived truth". 

This will have to be translated into concrete projects at the universal and local levels: in the family, the parish and the school, in the university, in relation to religions and in collaboration with other educators (educational pact). These projects should be able to highlight the values (valuable contents) and the paths of human reality and creation. 

Lay ministries", open to women

With the motu proprio Spiritus Domini (January 10, 2012), the so-called "lay ministries" are no longer reserved to men. In 1972, St. Paul VI established these ministries (m. p. Ministeria quaedam) for access to the sacrament of Holy Orders, although they could also be conferred on men considered suitable. Doctrinal developments in recent years have led to the recognition that the basis for these instituted ministries is in baptism and the royal priesthood received with it (along with the reinforcement of confirmation). Consequently, the Pope has changed the wording of canon 230, &1 to remove the reservation of access to these ministries for men only, and to leave it definitively open also to women who are considered suitable for these ministries. 

On the same day, in a letter addressed to Cardinal Ladaria, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, he recalled the distinction between the so-called "instituted" (or "lay") ministries and "ordained ministries", in respective relation to the common priesthood of the baptized and to the ministerial priesthood.

Interestingly, this letter states: "The commitment of the lay faithful, who 'are simply the vast majority of the People of God' (Francis, Evangelii gaudium102), certainly cannot and should not be exhausted in the exercise of non-ordained ministries".. At the same time, he maintains that the institution of these ministries can help to enhance Christian commitment in relation to catechesis and the celebration of the faith, in order to "to make Christ the heart of the world"as the mission of the Church demands, without being locked into the sterile logics of the "spaces of power".  

The reactions to this decision have not always been adequate, as was perhaps foreseeable. Particularly on the part of those who consider it as a step in the direction they would like to see: the access of women to priestly ordination. 

This is explicitly contradicted by the Pope's letter to Cardinal Ladaria recalling the impossibility for women to be ordained as priests (cf. John Paul II, Letter to Cardinal Ladaria, "The impossibility for women to be ordained as priests"). Ordinatio sacerdotalis, 1994).

It should be added, in line with the letter, that while these or other ministries are necessary in many places (such as in the missions or in the young Churches), they do not change the ecclesial condition of those who exercise them: they continue to be lay faithful or members of religious life. Therefore, they should not be considered as the goal or fullness of the lay vocation, which is situated in relation to the sanctification of the temporal realities of ordinary life. 

In this sense, it could have been used to change the denomination of "lay ministries" (which had already become obsolete, since they could be conferred to religious, now also in a stable way to religious women) for that of "ecclesial ministries" or another equivalent, along the lines that the same letter suggests when quoting the synod of Amazonia, when it proposes to open up "new paths for ecclesial ministry"..

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Pope's Audience: "Mass is not simply listened to; it is celebrated and lived".

Francis held a general audience on Wednesday, February 3, from the Library of the Apostolic Palace, in which he reflected on the relationship between prayer and liturgy. 

David Fernández Alonso-February 3, 2021-Reading time: 3 minutes
RelatedRelated NewsWe return with joy to the Eucharist!Related NewsThe land of Abraham, the Iraq the Pope wants to visitRelated NewsPope Francis expands women's service in the liturgy

On the first Wednesday of February, the Holy Father Francis held the general audience from the Library of the Apostolic Palace.as usual due to the health emergency.

The catechesis took place after the reading of the Letter to the Hebrews in different languages, which served as inspiration for the Pope's preaching. This text speaks of the elect, of those who have approached the heavenly assembly, a multitude of angels, an assembly of the first-born whose name is written in Heaven.

– Supernatural Arabic reading has attracted particular attention, with a close horizon of the Pope's apostolic trip to Iraq in early March.

Francis continued his catechesis on prayer. At today's general audience, he reflected on the relationship between prayer and liturgy. He began by recalling the traditional intimate prayer that had been consolidated in some periods of the Church's history. A religiosity that did not recognize the spiritual dimension and importance of the liturgy. This led many of the faithful, even when participating in Sunday Mass, to downplay its importance and to seek nourishment for their faith and spiritual life in devotional sources rather than in the liturgy.

Holy Mass cannot be merely "listened to", as if we were mere spectators of something that is happening without getting involved. Mass is celebratedand not only by the priest who presides over it, but also by the for all Christians who live it. 

The roots of Christian spirituality

However, in recent decades, the Constitution on the Liturgy of Vatican II has underlined the importance of the divine liturgy in the life of Christians, for in it is found that objective mediation requested by the fact that Jesus Christ is not an idea or a feeling, but a living Person, and his Mystery, a historical event..

"The prayer of Christians passes through concrete mediations: Sacred Scripture, the Sacraments, the liturgical rites, the community. In the Christian life we do not dispense with the corporeal and material sphere, because in Jesus Christ it has become the way of salvation. We could even say that yes, now we have to pray with the body. The body enters into prayer.

A Christianity without liturgy is a Christianity without Christ.

The liturgy, the Pope explained, "is not just spontaneous prayer, but the action of the Church and an encounter with Christ himself."and, therefore, "there is no Christian spirituality that does not have the celebration of the divine mysteries as its source.".

"The liturgy is an event, an occurrence, a presence, an encounter. It is an encounter with Christ. Christ makes himself present in the Holy Spirit through the sacramental signs: from this derives for us Christians the need to participate in the divine mysteries. A Christianity without liturgy, I would dare to say, is perhaps a Christianity without Christ".

Even in the most stripped-down rite, - the Holy Father affirmed - such as that which some Christians have celebrated and celebrate in places of imprisonment, or in the hiding place of a house during times of persecution, Christ makes himself present and gives himself to his faithful.

Fervor is key to the celebration of the liturgy

The liturgy, moreover, asks to be celebrated "fervently"The grace poured out in the rite should not be dispersed, but should reach the life of each person.

Every time we celebrate a Baptism, or consecrate the bread and wine in the Eucharist, or anoint the body of a sick person with holy oil, Christ is here! It is He who does, it is He who is present. He is present as when he healed the weak limbs of a sick person, or gave at the Last Supper his testament for the salvation of the world.

The Mass is celebrated and lived

Thus, the Mass cannot be only "...".listened": "I am going to listen to Mass"is not an expression "correct"said Francis, because the Mass "is always celebrated":

"The Mass cannot be listened to without further ado, as if we were just spectators of something that glides by without involving us. The Mass is always celebrated, and not only by the priest who presides, but by all Christians who live it. The center is Christ! All of us, in the diversity of gifts and ministries, are united to his action, because it is He, Christ, the Protagonist of the liturgy".

In the liturgy we pray with Christ

Francis made reference to the fact that when the first Christians began to live their cult, they did "actualizing Jesus' gestures and words"The first step was to become a spiritual sacrifice offered to God, with the light and power of the Holy Spirit, so that his life, reached by that grace, would become a spiritual sacrifice offered to God. An approach that was a "revolution"For life is called to become a worship of God. Something that, however, "cannot happen without prayer, especially liturgical prayer.".

May this thought help us all when we go to Mass on Sunday: I am going to pray in community, I am going to pray with Christ who is present. When we go to the celebration of a baptism, for example, Christ is there, present, baptizing. "But, Father, this is an idea, a way of saying...": no, it is not a way of saying. Christ is present and in the liturgy you pray with Christ at your side.

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Father S.O.S

Personal denial that develops authenticity

Is it compatible to deny oneself, as the gospel demands, and to develop a healthy personality? It is precisely the surrender to God that can contribute to the growth of a more authentic personality.

Carlos Chiclana-February 3, 2021-Reading time: 3 minutes

Is it compatible to deny oneself, as the gospel asks, and to develop a healthy personality? If God is the truth, denying oneself and following him should enhance self-esteem, a better self-concept, the flourishing of self-identity and authentic personality.

However, sometimes this is not the case and we find people who, with the premise of refusing to follow Christ, have ended up annulled, subdued, lifeless, without a project of their own or with a complex. Could it be that God has deceived them?

Healthy personal denial

Imagine yourself having a coffee with several Teresian Saints: of Calcutta, Jornet and Ibars, Benedicta of the Cross, of Jesus, of Lisieux. You observe them, you listen to their stories, you let yourself be carried away by their way of speaking, saying and being. They smile as they tell you about your life.

You see that they have all denied themselves, you perceive that each personality is very different and that, precisely thanks to the denial of themselves, they have enhanced the development of their authentic being, they have sculpted their character and, far from becoming uniform, they have become more diverse.

The counsel of the saints

St. Gregory the Great has an answer to this that integrates very well with a healthy psychology: "It would not be enough to live detached from things, if we did not also renounce ourselves. But where will we go outside of ourselves? Who is he who renounces, if he leaves himself? Know that our situation is one in that we are fallen by sin, and another in that we are formed by God. We have been created in one way, and we are in another because of ourselves. Let us renounce what we have become by sinning, and let us maintain ourselves as we have been constituted by grace. Thus he who has been proud, if, having been converted to Christ, he becomes humble, has already renounced himself; if a lustful person changes to a continent life, he has also renounced himself in what he once was; if a covetous person ceases to covet and, instead of seizing what belongs to others, begins to be generous with what is his own, he has certainly denied himself.".

In music

It seems that, far from running away from oneself, the interesting thing is to connect and search for oneself as God-formed while dancing to the song. Blessed glory by Mario Diaz: "I once wanted to be someone / and ended up being myself / I tried to fly so high / that it made all sense.". There is a question that I sometimes ask those who are caught up in giving to others in a disorderly way, or are dedicated to solving the problems of others without attending to their own.

They argue that this is God's will for them and that doing so enriches them, but the reality is that they are sitting in the office asking for help, because their energy levels are very low and the compass of their life does not point north. I ask you: who is the person that God has entrusted you to care for with the greatest dedication and quality? Think about it now. 

Personal care

On one occasion, a married woman with several children heard the question, looked at me defiantly with a half smile and commented: "I know I have to say it's me, but it's not going to get it. I thought first of my husband, but I said to myself: no, my husband is not; then I thought of my children, but as I had said only one person, I couldn't choose any of them. So I concluded that it had to be me, but it was by exclusion.".

The search for what is good for oneself with self-care, setting limits to the requests of others, saying no, asking for help, letting oneself be helped and served, having desires and dreams, or enhancing one's tastes and hobbies, is what is most proper to a Christian who has denied himself in that which distances him from God and follows a Christ who has the face of the risen Christ.

To give oneself it is necessary to possess oneself, to get out of oneself, you need to be inside. That person will balance between giving and taking care of himself, between loving and letting himself be loved, and will not stop looking for what makes that person, that God has entrusted to him, reach his best version.

St. Thomas Aquinas explains it in De Malo: "As in the love of God God himself is the last end to which all things that are rightly loved are ordered, so in the love of one's own excellence is found another last end to which all things are also ordered; for he who seeks to abound in riches, or in knowledge, or in honors, or any other goods, by all this seeks his own excellence.". 

Self-denial integrates the search for personal excellence with the rejection of what detracts from that excellence, thinking of oneself and others, caring and letting oneself be cared for, loving and letting oneself be loved, in reciprocity: loving one's neighbor as oneself.

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Adorers: "Living close to pain is possible through the Eucharist and prayer".

In the midst of the pain and injustice generated by human trafficking, especially of women victims of prostitution, the work and labor of the Handmaids of the Blessed Sacrament and of Charity, the Adorers, appears as a ray of hope.

Maria José Atienza-February 3, 2021-Reading time: 4 minutes

Projects such as Amaranta, Source of Life, Hope, Onna o Sicar are some of the paths that these consecrated women have opened in defense of the liberation, personal integration, promotion and social reintegration of women exploited by prostitution or victims of various forms of slavery.

project hope

Anaadoratriz, is one of the voices of Consecrated Life that is part of the report included in the printed issue of this magazine.s. When asked about her charism as an Adorer, she pointed out thate "live adoration from and for liberation, and liberation from the encounter, in prayer and adoration, with Jesus in the Eucharist and incarnated in each of the women, the sisters, in each person of the team of professionals and volunteers. For me, to live the Adorers Charism is to concelebrate life with Jesus, and at the same time with the people closest to me, especially with the women. It is to live my journey with Jesus in a conscious way. I remember now this phrase of Maria Micaela: "Do you know what Adorers and Handmaids mean? Adorer means to adore Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, not only at the foot of the Tabernacle, but all the moments of life, and for this we carry the monstrance hanging from our breast, recommending ourselves at every moment that we must adore Him... Slaves: What is a slave? To be always with her Lord...; and thus we give ourselves body and soul to serve, ... and to love Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. (PIV f. 1168)"

Prayer in the face of human misery

The Adorers touch, on a daily basis, the consequences of the social wounds of prostitution and trafficking. Their prayer unfolds in the face of this reality, How is the prayer of one who touches so much pain and injustice?  Ana responds: "Pray with confidence, in poverty, leaving in the heart of the Good God the people we carry in our hearts with all their wounds, worries and also with all their strengths, with all their dreams, their desire to overcome. Pray in communion with so many people who pray".

His dealings with women are part of his prayer material: "I am convinced that the secret of being able to live close to the pain that violence produces in women survivors of trafficking, and above all the possibility of accompanying processes of liberation, is to do it from the essence of the charism in the experience of the Eucharist and from moments of prayer and adoration. To enter into the Mystery, to identify myself with Jesus, to relive his feelings of praise and thanksgiving, of encounter, of closeness, of respect and affection, to feel vulnerable, in need of help, to welcome the affection of the women and together to carry out our processes of liberation"..

To make an incarnated prayer, from the concerns and occupations, personally and communally, to pray with women, in their way, from their parameters, to understand their religiosity, their songs, dances, their images of God ... to welcome in God their fears and, above all, their trust in Him. Women are my teachers in many things, also in prayer. So many experiences to tell. They are marking my path of fidelity and happiness. I thank Jesus for having chosen me and for sharing with them my Life and their Life"..

The hopeful future

Ana sees the future of consecrated life and the Adorer charism with hope: "We have much to contribute in the church and in society. We have to continue to open ourselves more and without fear to the shared mission. Enter into an open and participatory dialogue within the Congregation and in the ecclesial, inter-ecclesial and inter-congregational work. To share from the essence of our identity.

We will do well if we are more and more credible, more spiritual, more prophetic, more open, more flexible, if we are a sacrament of presence, of encounter. We must continue to deepen our way of leading in order to be charismatic. We have to continue creating intercultural, inter-generational, inter-ecclesial communities... The future, although always uncertain, is an opportunity for renewal, for new looks, for rethinking. The future is the great challenge as long as we live the present as a gift.".

The Handmaids of the Blessed Sacrament and of Charity

The Adorers recently celebrated their VIII General Conference and are preparing the Provincial Chapter "Together on the Way" for March. These meetings are intended to lay the foundations for the future of their ecclesial and social work around three axes:

  • LeadershipWith a style capable of animating life and the Mission. It implies: change of structures: mental and physical, closeness, care for people, listening and accompaniment."
  • Adorer Mission and Apostolic ActionFrom our concrete reality and with a broad view as a congregational body, to respond to the challenges presented today by the reality of women, given the situations of vulnerability in which they find themselves".
  • Laity and Shared MissionTo strengthen the involvement of sisters and lay people in apostolic action. To live the Shared Mission as a challenge and hope for the Congregation".

Today, the congregation of the Handmaids of the Blessed Sacrament and Charity, founded by Saint Mª Micaela Desmaisières y López de Dicastillo, is made up of the following members four provinces and a delegation of the General Government:

  • Province of Europe/Africa, comprising Spain, Italy, Portugal, London, Morocco, Cape Verde and Togo.  
  • The Province of America, comprising Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Brazil, Peru, Cuba, Haiti and Venezuela.  
  • In India the Provinces of Kolkata integrating Nepal and Mumbai to the Philippines.
  • Japanese delegation present in Vietnam and Cambodia.
Photos: Project Hope - www.proyectoesperanza.org
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The Vatican

Saints Martha, Mary and Lazarus to be included in the General Roman Calendar

Pope Francis has established that the memory of Saints Martha, Mary and Lazarus be included in the General Roman Calendar.

David Fernández Alonso-February 2, 2021-Reading time: 4 minutes
RelatedRelated NewsHildegard of Bingen: The Unknown Doctor of the ChurchRelated NewsHoly priests: Saint John of Avila

In addition to the brothers of Bethany, Pope Francis has also established, through the publication of the corresponding decree of the Congregation for Divine Worship, the optional memory of the three Doctors of the Church: St. John of Avila, St. Gregory of Narek and St. Gregory of Narek. St. Hildegard of Bingen to be held on May 10, February 27 and September 17, respectively..

July 29: Feast of Martha, Mary and Lazarus

On January 26, Cardinal Robert Sarah and Archbishop Arthur Roche, Prefect and Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, have signed a Decree of Variation in the General Roman Calendar concerning the July 29th celebration. A from this year it will be called Saints Martha, Mary and Lazarus..

In the Decree signed by Cardinal Robert Sarah and Archbishop Arthur Roche, respectively Prefect and Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, it is recalled that ".in the house of Bethany, the Lord Jesus experienced the family spirit and friendship of Martha, Mary and Lazarus, and that is why the Gospel of John affirms that he loved them.". And it adds:

"Martha generously offered him hospitality, Mary listened attentively to his words, and Lazarus came quickly out of the tomb at the command of Him who has humbled death."

Marta's inscription

It also highlights that "the traditional uncertainty of the Latin Church about the identity of Mary - the Magdalene, to whom Christ appeared after his resurrection, the sister of Martha, the sinner whose sins the Lord forgave - which led to the inscription of only Martha on July 29 in the Roman Calendar, has been resolved in recent studies and times, as testified by the current Roman Martyrology, which also commemorates Mary and Lazarus on the same day.".

Already celebrated in some calendars

It also explains that "In some particular calendars the three brothers are celebrated together on that day. Therefore, considering the important evangelical witness they gave by hosting the Lord Jesus in their home, by listening to him attentively, by believing that he is the resurrection and the life.":

"The Supreme Pontiff Francis, welcoming the proposal of this Dicastery, has decreed that July 29 be inscribed in the General Roman Calendar as the memorial of Saints Martha, Mary and Lazarus."

Therefore, the memory of Martha, Mary and Lazarus should appear under this name in all liturgical Calendars and Books for the celebration of Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours.The variations and additions to be adopted in the liturgical texts attached to the present decree are to be translated and approved. After confirmation by this Dicastery, they will be published by the Episcopal Conferences.

The three doctors: St. John of Avila, St. Gregory of Narek and St. Hildegard of Bingen

In this way, "these new memorials should be inscribed in all Liturgical Calendars and Books for the celebration of the Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours." y "the liturgical texts to be adopted, attached to the present decree, are to be translated, approved and, after confirmation by this Dicastery, published by the Episcopal Conferences.".

In this regard, the text states:

"Holiness is combined with the knowledge, which is experience, of the mystery of Jesus Christ, indissolubly united to the mystery of the Church. This link between holiness and the understanding of things divine and at the same time human, shines forth in a very special way in those who have been adorned with the title of Doctor of the Church, says the decree that bears the date of January 25, 2021, feast of the Conversion of the Apostle St. Paul.".

The decree also explains the meaning of this title for the universal Church: "The wisdom that characterizes these men and women is not theirs alone, for in becoming disciples of divine Wisdom they have in turn become teachers of wisdom for the entire ecclesial community. From this point of view, the holy "doctors" appear in the General Roman Calendar.".

The monk of Andzevatsik

The monk Gregory of Narek probably lived around 950 in Andzevatsik, Armenia, now Turkish territory. 

He was an excellent theologian, poet and religious writer. commentary on the Song of SongsHe wrote numerous panegyrics and a collection of 95 prayers in poetic form called "Narek", after the name of the monastery where he spent his entire life. 

Important elements of Mariology are found in his theology, such as the prefiguration of the dogma of the Immaculate Conceptionproclaimed more than eight hundred years later. In 2015 Pope Francis declared him "Doctor of the Universal Church" with the Apostolic Letter "quibus sanctus Gregorius Narecensis Doctor Ecclesiae universalis renuntiatur".

St. John of Avila, model for priests

John of Avila lived in Spain in the 16th century in a well-to-do family of Jewish origin. He became a priest and, moved by an ardent missionary spirit, he wanted to go to the Indies but the archbishop of Seville kept him in his homeland to preach in Andalusia.

There he worked for nine years, converting people of all ages and social classes and leading them to progress in their faith journey.

He lived in poverty and prayer, continuing his studies in theology and preaching. He laid the foundations of what would become his spirituality, which took Mary as model and mother. He asked for apostolic and missionary zeal, starting with the contemplation and a stronger commitment to the universal call to holiness. 

Mercilessly accused of heresy by the Inquisition, he was later acquitted of the unjust accusations. He was a counselor and friend of great saints and one of the most prestigious and consulted spiritual masters of his time.. Among them, St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of God. Canonized in 1970 by St. Paul VI, Benedict XVI proclaimed him "Doctor of the Church" on October 7, 2012.

St. Hildegard of Bingen

A woman endowed with an extraordinary intelligence, multifaceted and eclectic genius, St. Hildegard of Bingen was a Benedictine nun and abbess.writer, mystic, philosopher and theologian, composer of music, expert in natural sciences and medicine, advisor to princes, popes and emperors. 

She was born in Bermesheim, Germany, in 1098, the last of ten children. "She who is bold in battle"means his first name. In spite of her delicate health, she reached the age of 81 facing a life full of work. Her visions, transcribed in notes and later in organic books, made her famous. On the mountain of St. Rupert, near Bingen, on the banks of the Rhine, Hildegard founded the first monastery. In 1165, the second, on the opposite bank of the river.  In 2012 she was declared Doctor of the Church by Benedict XVI..

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Culture

Hildegard of Bingen: The Unknown Doctor of the Church

The inscription of Hildegard of Bingen in the General Roman Calendar brings back to the forefront the life and work of this medieval saint who advocated a renewal of the ecclesial community through a sincere spirit of penance. 

Maria José Atienza-February 2, 2021-Reading time: 3 minutes

This morning, the Holy Father decreed that St. Hildegard of Bingen, together with St. Gregory of Narek and St. John of Avila, be inscribed in the General Roman Calendar as a memorial ad libitum.

Who is this saint whom Benedict XVI elevated to Doctor of the Church?

Hildegard is part of the small number, four, of women doctors of the Church. Together with her, St. Catherine of Siena, St. Teresa of Avila and St. Therese of the Child Jesus make up the female presence among those proclaimed, so far, as doctors of the Church.

Although of reduced presence, as I pointed out Jaime López Peñalba in its article "Women Doctors of the Church. The mothers God has given us."published in the printed issue of our last november's magazine, "The history of the Church is incomprehensible without these female figures, the celebrated and the anonymous, who mark and sustain the life of families, communities, charisms and missions."

Life of Hildegard of Bingen

In the same issue, López-Peñalba recalls the figure of what he calls the "sibyl of the Rhine".

Hildegard was born in 1098 in the German Palatinate, the youngest daughter of a noble family, and as such was educated among the Benedictines of Disibodenberg. When the abbess of the female community died, Hildegard, her favorite disciple, was unanimously chosen to replace her, despite her youth of 38 years, which demonstrates her talents, already evident to all. Her personality gave impetus to the life of the monastery, and above all, to its freedom. Therefore, in 1148 the community founded the new monastery of St. Rupert in Bingen, seeking autonomy to deepen the reform promoted by Hildegard.

The fame of our nun spread throughout the European Church, spurred on by the decisive support of Bernard of Clairvaux and the reigning Pope Eugene III. By letter, in face-to-face interviews, in preaching trips, her word reached monks, nobles, the emperor, the legitimate Pope and the schismatic antipopes. In the middle of the late Middle Ages, this woman raised her voice calling for reform, conversion and holiness in Christendom... and she was heard!

Hildegard had had mystical experiences since she was a child. At the age of 41, the prophetic visions became stronger and were accompanied by an urge to put them in writing. Hildegard, submitting to the discernment of Bernard and Rome, wrote her main work: Scivias (Know the Ways), completed a decade later, in 1151. Here we find her personal mysticism, abounding in nuptial symbolism, as is frequent in feminine spirituals, with allegorical descriptions of her visions - enriched with the miniatures typical of medieval scriptoriums - that remind us in many ways of the prophecies of the Old Testament, and with a charismatic intelligence of Scripture and the history of salvation that demonstrates her spiritual stature. In 1163, he published the Book of the Merits of Life, a work of moral theology and discernment, centered on man as the image of God, where he shows a very fine anthropology and spiritual psychology. The last work is the Book of Divine Works, of 1173, a treatise on creation. She became ill, her poor health began to deteriorate, and she finally died in 1179.

It is said that Benedict XVI wanted to name her Doctor of the Church to rescue the spiritual figure of St. Hildegard from the oblivion of a cult that was too regional and from the abuse that some pseudo-religious movements such as the New Age were beginning to make of her works. Because Hildegard cultivated all the knowledge of the time: a Physics on natural sciences, the medical treatise Causes and Cures based on knowledge of biology and botany, a collection of liturgical chants called Harmonic Symphony of Heavenly Objects, which today musicologists study with interest. In this sense, Hildegard embodied perfectly the Benedictine ideal of seeking the eternal God who does not pass away (quaerere Deum), and in the process discovering man and the world, and learning a catholic wisdom that embraces everything, heaven and earth. 

Benedict XVI and Hildegard of Bingen

The Pope emeritus dedicated two audiences to the figure of Hildegard of Bingen, on September 1 and 8, 2010. In them, he emphasized that this medieval saint "speaks to us with great timeliness, with his courageous ability to discern the signs of the times, with his love for creation, his medicine, his poetry, his music - which today is reconstructed -, his love for Christ and his Church, which was suffering even at that time, wounded even at that time by the sins of priests and laity, and much more beloved as the body of Christ". 

Benedict XVI also emphasized that Hildegard, with her writings about her visions, is an example of how to "theology can receive a special contribution from women, because they are able to speak of God and the mysteries of faith with their particular intelligence and sensitivity".

His feast day, now included in the General Roman Calendar, is celebrated on September 17.

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The Vatican

Eight years after a historic resignation

It has been eight years since what we can consider Benedict XVI's great lesson, his resignation from the papal throne on February 11, 2013.

David Fernández Alonso-February 2, 2021-Reading time: 2 minutes
RelatedRelated NewsThank you, BenedictoRelated NewsWhen everything moves. Joseph Ratzinger in the "Report on Faith".

On February 11, 2013, Pope Benedict XVI announced before the cardinals, to the great surprise of all, that he no longer had sufficient "strength" to continue exercising the Petrine ministry, and that he was therefore resigning to continue at the head of "the barque of Peter".

"After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that, because of my advanced age, I no longer have the strength to exercise the Petrine ministry adequately". It was with these words with which he surprised the world, with which he departed, giving a great lesson in humility.

A vigor that had diminished

Benedict explained that he was "well aware that this ministry, by its spiritual nature, must be carried out not only by works and words, but also and to no lesser degree by suffering and prayer."

However, he explained that "in today's world, subject to rapid transformations and shaken by questions of great importance for the life of the faith, in order to steer the boat of St. Peter and proclaim the Gospel, it is necessary to have vigor of both body and spirit, a vigor that, in recent months, has diminished in me to such an extent that I must recognize my inability to exercise well the ministry entrusted to me".

Resignation from the Petrine ministry

And so, he conveyed his decision to announce "in full freedom, I declare that I renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome, Successor of St. Peter, which was entrusted to me through the Cardinals on April 19, 2005, so that, from February 28, 2013, at 8 p.m., the See of Rome, the See of St. Peter, will become vacant and the conclave for the election of the new Supreme Pontiff must be convened, through whoever has competence,".

I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the love and hard work with which you have carried the burden of my ministry with me, and I ask forgiveness for all my shortcomings.

Benedict XVIResignation statement, February 11, 2013

In addition to this decision, from which we can all learn, he has also left us other great lessons throughout his almost eight years of pontificate.

A theological legacy

On the one hand, his theological work. Specifically, his masterpiece "Jesus of Nazareth", where he shows that the Jesus who appears in the Gospels is the same Jesus who existed. It consists of three volumes, in which he comments on the life of Christ. In fact, he wrote it during his little free time.

Benedict XVI is a great theologian. Because of this concern, he organized a synod for Catholics to better appreciate the Bible; where he explained that the Second Vatican Council cannot be read as a break with the past but as continuity; and he taught how to appreciate the liturgical meaning of the ceremonies.

His speeches in Europe

His three major political speeches on the contribution of religion to public debate are another aspect of his legacy. In particular, they are the speeches he delivered in the French Academy (College des Bernardins)in the English Parliament (Westminster Hall) and in the German Parliament (Bundestag).

It is clear that in fundamental questions of law, in which the dignity of man and humanity are at stake, the majority principle is not enough.

Benedict XVISpeech in the German Parliament

Benedict XVI's dialogue

Finally, Benedict demonstrated a special willingness to dialogue. The now Pope Emeritus extended a hand to the Fraternity of St. Pius X, the traditionalist group founded by Marcel Lefebvre.

On the other hand, he also promoted the Catholic Church's relations with the Jewish community, traveling to the Holy Land and holding meetings with rabbinical organizations. After the Regensburg crisis, he multiplied his gestures to reject the idea of a conflict of civilizations between Christians and Muslims.

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RelatedRelated NewsThank you, BenedictoRelated NewsWhen everything moves. Joseph Ratzinger in the "Report on Faith".
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Books

The next Pope

Rubén Pereda recommends reading The next popeby George Weigel.

Omnes-February 2, 2021-Reading time: 2 minutes
RelatedRelated NewsSpiritual lessons from an old English gardener.Related NewsChristian marriage: a great hope

The latest book by George Weigel, an author well known for his biography of St. John Paul II, contains his reflection on the tasks awaiting the Church in the immediate futureas a series of challenges that will face whoever is elected pope after the current pope..

Book

TitleThe next Pope
AuthorGeorge Weigel
Editorial: Homo Legens
Pages: 200

The starting point for this reflection is the moment of transition that, according to the author, the Catholic Church is going through.

The seriousness of this moment is underscored by comparing it, as he does in the introduction, to the transitions that involved, successively, the break with rabbinical Judaism, the emergence of patristics, the constitution of medieval Christianity and, finally, Counter-Reformation Catholicism.. At this point we would be in what he calls the "step".from Counter-Reformation Catholicism to the Church of the New Evangelization". 

On the other hand, the author is aware of a purely chronological issue: the transition that the Church is undergoing The fundamental point is the Second Vatican Council, in which both John Paul II and Benedict XVI took an active part; Pope Francis, for his part, was preparing for priestly ordination in the Jesuit novitiate.

However, whoever is elected Pope at the next conclave will certainly have experienced the Council as an adolescent.The oldest of the electors would have been twenty-five years old at the time. This implies that he will not have lived with the same intensity as his predecessors the post-conciliar debates.

At the same time, the next Pope will have to continue the task of implementing the outcome of the conciliar sessions and give shape to what Weigel calls "the Church of the New Evangelization".

Logically, it is impossible to know what the outcome of this step will be, just as it is impossible to know what concrete challenges the Church will face in the future. Nevertheless, Weigel offers some indications on the most relevant issues, and - given his background and experience, combined with a vision anchored in faith - he is a voice that deserves to be heard.

The task of the next Pope is centered on Christ and the Gospel, and he must lead the Church along that path.

Ruben Pereda

Starting with the most obvious one - the new evangelization - Weigel discusses the following topics what it will mean to be Pope in the decades to comeHe also stressed the importance of a new approach to the Vatican, descending to how his relationship with bishops, priests and laity should be, or the reform of the Vatican. He underlines the importance of a Church in which doctrinal clarity coexists with mercyin which the dialogue with other religions is based on the search for truth.and whose relationship with social problems is based on knowledge and moral authority.

The conclusion of the essay sums up the key point perfectly: the task of the next Pope is centered on Christ and the Gospel, and he must lead the Church along that same path..

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ColumnistsMaria Laura Conte

The new poor

The global pandemic caused by the coronavirus has brought about a paradigm shift, whereby the new poor are discovered: the family member or next door neighbor who has lost their job, has passed on the disease and is struggling to bring home a plate of food.  

February 1, 2021-Reading time: 2 minutes

They are called the "new poor" because of the Covid crisis. But why new? What is new about them? 

In fact, the poor are ancient, as old as the world is alive, they have always been there. They were in the most remote places in the world. They were sent help in case of floods, catastrophes and wars. We mobilized with impetus donations in the face of certain emergencies.

Then they began to move in unprecedented numbers, to migrate from those corners of the planet to appear at the crossroads of our highways, to invade the news, presented by some media as dangerous "invaders" threatening our welfare. And while the wealthy countries were struggling to resolve the reception or rejection of these uncontrollable flows, the pandemic arrived that has changed all paradigms.

One of them is that the poor have become "new", that is, they have taken on features that are familiar to us, they may even be our neighbors who, having lost their jobs (precarious? unstable? already fragile?), find themselves in difficulty to guarantee even a plate of food at home for their children.

These new poor line up at the doors of aid centers to receive a bag of food, or sign up on the lists of municipalities and parishes to receive a food package at home. 

It would be interesting if everyone had at least once the experience of taking a package of food to a "poor person". In the real bodily sense. The sequence is as follows: pick up the loaded and sealed box from the floor, feel its weight in your arms, load it into the car, ring the doorbell of the "poor", see the face of the person who opens, say hello, approach the first available table and drop the package. You don't know who is more embarrassed or shy or uncomfortable, the giver or the receiver. It may just be an exchange of pleasantries, but still, it's a meeting. And you can't help but make your way through.

It is repeated that the pandemic calls for a paradigm shift. The NGOs that worked for decades in these countries are now working in European regions that are among the richest, with projects identical to those carried out in Burundi or the Congo: they follow the same procedures, help the beneficiaries with the same needs: to eat, to be accompanied from the psychological and social point of view, to be treated, to find a job. If we were to go one step further in becoming aware of this new closeness within a new form of globalization, we would already be at the beginning of an April morning. A new era.

The authorMaria Laura Conte

Degree in Classical Literature and PhD in Sociology of Communication. Communications Director of the AVSI Foundation, based in Milan, dedicated to development cooperation and humanitarian aid worldwide. She has received several awards for her journalistic activity.

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Pope's teachings

Fraternity, Word of God and Education

The Pope's teachings in the last month have mainly revolved around three axes: fraternity, due to the recent encyclical signed in Assisi; Sacred Scripture, to which he has dedicated a notable Apostolic Letter; and education, due to his interventions to promote a global educational pact.

Ramiro Pellitero-February 1, 2021-Reading time: 5 minutes

On October 3, Francis signed his third encyclical in Assisi, Fratelli tutti, on fraternity and social friendship. A few days earlier, on September 30, he had published the apostolic letter Scripturae Sacrae affectuson the 16th centenary of the death of St. Jerome. And on October 15, from the Aula Magna of the Lateran University, the Pope issued a video message on the occasion of the meeting promoted and organized by the Congregation for Catholic Education. Global compact on education. Together we look beyond. 

Fratelli tutti

In this social encyclical, Fratelli tuttiand following the method of pastoral discernment, Francis offers keys, criteria and orientations for dreaming together and building together a new humanity, "as walkers of the same human flesh, as children of this same earth that shelters us all, each one with the richness of his faith or his convictions, each one with his own voice, all brothers." (n. 8). Under the main inspiration of St. Francis of Assisi, and in a perspective that is both ethical and theological-pastoral, the Pope takes into account the context of the Covid-19 pandemic and what it has brought to light: "A fragmentation that made it more difficult to solve the problems that affect us all." (n. 7). 

It is not simply an aseptic description of reality, but the gaze of Christ's disciples (cfr. Gaudium et spes, 1), who wishes to "to look for a light in the midst of what we are living".. A search open to dialogue and with the purpose of "to raise some lines of action". (n. 56). 

The background of faith illuminates the picture with reference and prayer to God the creator and common father. "We believers think that, without an openness to the Father of all, there will be no solid and stable reasons for the call to fraternity. We are convinced that only with this awareness of children who are not orphans can we live in peace among ourselves." (n. 260). And he adduces the reason, pointed out by Benedict XVI, that "reason alone is capable of accepting equality among men and of establishing a civic coexistence among them, but it does not succeed in founding brotherhood." (encyclical Caritas in veritate, 19).

This openness to the common Father is fully reinforced by Christian faith in divine filiation, which we the baptized proclaim as a concrete and operative horizon for advancing human solidarity. Christian faith is presented here as capable of generating the spiritual forces that make what might seem to be a utopia a reality: fraternity in all areas of reality, following the model of the Good Samaritan presented by Jesus.

As one of the keys to the reading of the document, it can be considered the binomial which appears in the subtitle of the document: fraternity (and not a solidarity based only on the noble human bonds of friendship, but also on a transcendent dimension, which guarantees common human dignity, as an absolute value and prior to decisions and actions); and at the same time, social friendship (which must be opened and extended universally to all, precisely as a manifestation and path of fraternity). 

From this dynamic connection between universal fraternity and social friendship, proposals arise to confront the issues that affect us. We cannot abandon them to mere self-interest or to the temptation of idleness of those who have their needs sufficiently resolved. Priorities and means can and should be discussed. But we cannot neglect or hide the problems, nor can we change the goals that correspond both to society as a whole and to individuals: integral development, the common good, true human progress. 

For a more detailed presentation of the encyclical, see Fratelli-tutti: friendship-and-fellowship-dialogue-and-encounter.

Love for Sacred Scripture

"An esteem for Holy Scripture, a living and gentle love for the written Word of God."is the heritage of St. Jerome, the Pope affirms in the apostolic letter Scripturae Sacrae affectus (30-IX-2020). 

In Bethlehem, where St. Jerome moved when he was 41 years old, he spent a large part of his life, dedicating himself, among other studies, to translating the Old Testament into Latin from the original Hebrew text (what is known as the "Old Testament edition"). Vulgatabecause it became the common heritage even of the Christian people). 

In contrast to certain strong tones found in some of his works, moved by love for the truth and his ardent defense of Christ, this saint emphasized in the Scriptures, in the words of Francis, "the humble character with which God revealed Himself, expressing Himself in the rough and almost primitive nature of the Hebrew language.". He showed the importance of the Old Testament, since it "only in the light of the OT 'figures' is it possible to fully understand the meaning of Christ's event, fulfilled in his death and resurrection.". 

St. Jerome is a good teacher and guide for the study of the Sacred Scriptures, whose richness, the Pope notes, "is unfortunately ignored or minimized by many because they have not been provided with the essential foundations of knowledge.". For this reason Francis desires that the biblical formation of all Christians be promoted, so that each one may draw from it many fruits of wisdom, hope and life. 

Thus Jerome exhorted his contemporaries: "Read very often the Divine Scriptures, or better, never let the sacred text fall out of your hands." (Ep 60, 10).

For a global educational pact 

In addressing the current situation of education in his video message of October 15, Francis also begins by referring to the pandemic. To the health, economic and social difficulties he adds the difficulties in the field of education (he speaks of an "educational catastrophe"), despite the benefits and efforts of digital communication. 

To alleviate this situation, we need to go deeper and with realism. A whole new cultural and development model is required. "What is in crisis." -acknowledges the Pope. "it is our way of understanding reality and of relating to each other".

We cannot stand idly by without promoting an education for all that is able to "to generate and show new horizons, in which hospitality, intergenerational solidarity and the value of transcendence build a new culture.". For education is an effective way to humanize the world and history. And above all, "a matter of love and responsibility".

Therefore -deduce Francisco-"education is proposed as the natural antidote to individualistic culture", without allowing our faculties of thought and imagination, of listening, dialogue and mutual understanding to be impoverished. 

That is why a new educational commitment is needed to overcome injustices, violations of rights, great poverty and human exclusion, and we need courage to generate processes precisely in the perspective of fraternity. Processes capable of"to have an impact on the heart of a society and give birth to a new culture".. And for that, we should not expect to get everything done from governments or institutions.

The Pope proposes seven criteria to advance in this global educational pact: the centrality of the person and the responsibility to transmit values and knowledge children, adolescents and young people; the promotion of education for girls and young women; to place the family as the first and indispensable educator; to educate and to educate ourselves in order to the reception of the most needy; to look for another way of understanding economics and politics, growth and progressto safeguard and care for our natural resources. common house. 

For this renewed educational project, we offer the reference of the Church's social doctrine as a light and impulse of beauty and hope.

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ColumnistsMauro Leonardi

A gesture of the Pope full of meaning

Pope Francis wanted to pay tribute to all the people who go unnoticed in these times. They are all the people who find in St. Joseph the man of daily presence, an intercessor in times of difficulty.

February 1, 2021-Reading time: 2 minutes
RelatedRelated NewsYear of St. Joseph: good husbandRelated NewsWorld Day of Peace: Prophets and witnesses of the "culture of care".Related NewsPope institutes the first World Day of the Elderly

The military of #stradesicure who were on duty in Rome on the day of the Immaculate Conception, suffering the cold and rain, have been rewarded in the best way they could imagine. In fact, against all expectations, they saw a man dressed in white get out of a blue Focus and bring them cookies. It was Pope Francis returning from Santa Maria Maggiore where he had been praying and had celebrated Mass absolutely privately. If the videos were not there to document it, one would not believe it.

What happened was that, contrary to what had been announced, Bergoglio decided to go very early, to avoid any crowds, to Piazza di Spagna for the traditional homage to Our Lady, and from there he went to Santa Maria Maggiore where, first he prayed in front of the icon of the Salus Populi Romani and then celebrated Mass in the Chapel of the Nativity. While the whole city, battered by rain and cold wind, was still sleeping in the warmth of their homes, the surprising scene happened for a small group of soldiers who were on duty.

This gesture, like all the Pope's, is full of meaning. On the same day, in fact, December 8, 2020, the Bishop of Rome, with the Pastoral Letter Patris Corde, had decided to dedicate the year to St. Joseph, whose humble and hidden service he had remembered, and on the same occasion he had named the forces of order. "Our lives are interwoven and sustained by ordinary people - usually forgotten - who don't make the headlines in newspapers and magazines or on the big catwalks of the latest show."

The cookies that the Pope wanted to give to the soldiers from #stradesicuresymbolically go to all the people who exercise patience every day and instill hope, trying not to sow panic but responsibility. They are fathers and mothers, grandfathers and grandmothers, teachers; they are the people who go unnoticed. They are all the people who find in St. Joseph the man who reminds us that, for God, there are no people in the "second line" but only in the "first line", the line of love.

The authorMauro Leonardi

Priest and writer.

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RelatedRelated NewsYear of St. Joseph: good husbandRelated NewsWorld Day of Peace: Prophets and witnesses of the "culture of care".Related NewsPope institutes the first World Day of the Elderly
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Education

'Family Forum' asks to listen to parents to stop LOMLOE

The #EuropaEscúchanos campaign is aimed at MEPs in order to stop the LOE Improvement Act, which, since its proposal, has been rejected by the majority of the private and subsidized education community. 

Maria José Atienza-February 1, 2021-Reading time: < 1 minute

The # campaignEuropalisten to us invites the Spanish society to participate by means of mails addressed to the MEPs in which they can publicly show their discontent with this law that limits the freedom of parents and the rights of children.

Family Forum has been one of the entities that has shown its rejection to the new education law. As reported by the Forum itself: "They wanted to continue insisting on the work against the LOMLOE which puts at risk the concerted education in Spain and with it more than 82,000 teachers without counting the administrative and management staff of the centers. Evidently without leaving aside the risks that this law presents for freedom and human rights".

In order to participate in this campaign, the Forum offers, through this web addressThe first one is a Report that breaks down all the problems against human rights, educational freedom and the right to education. The second is a STATEMENT through which MEPs can express their disagreement with the so-called Celaá Law.

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The World

Margaret Karram is the new Focolare president

David Fernández Alonso-February 1, 2021-Reading time: 3 minutes
RelatedRelated NewsChiara Lubich's culture of unity at UCV

Elected on January 31, she is the third president to lead the Movement after the founder, Chiara Lubich, and Maria Voce, who has just completed two terms.

Successor of Chiara Lubich

Margaret Karram, from the Holy Land, has been elected president of the Focolare Movement with more than two-thirds of the votes cast among the participants in the General Assembly of the Movement, composed of 359 representatives from all over the world. Succeeding foundress Chiara Lubich and Maria Voce, who remained in office for 12 years (two terms).

From the Holy Land

Margaret Karram is 58 years old and is an Arab, Christian-Catholic. Born in Haifa and graduated in Judaism from the Hebrew University of Los Angeles (USA).. He has held various positions of responsibility in the Focolare in Los Angeles and Jerusalem. He has also worked in various commissions and organizations for the promotion of dialogue between the three monotheistic religions, such as the Episcopal Commission for Interreligious Dialogue, the Assembly of Ordinary Catholics of the Holy Land and the ICCI organization (Interreligious Coordinating Council in Israel). He worked for 14 years at the Consulate General of Italy in Jerusalem.

Since 2014 it has been at the Focolare's International Center. as advisor for Italy and Albania, and co-responsible for the Dialogue between Ecclesial Movements and New Catholic Communities.

She speaks Arabic, Hebrew, Italian and English. In 2013 she was awarded the "Mount Sion Award"The award was given together with Jewish scholar and researcher Yisca Harani, for their commitment to the development of dialogue between different cultures and religions.

In 2016, she received the Santa Rita International Award for fostering dialogue. between Christians, Jews, Muslims, Israelis and Palestinians, starting from the everyday.

The election was held yesterday, January 31, 2021, but his appointment became effective only today, following confirmation by the Holy See.as required by the General Statutes of the Focolare.

The document expresses the hope that the new president will be able to to perform their duties "with fidelity, a spirit of service and a sense of the Churchfor the good of the members of the Work and of the universal Church".

The president's tasks

According to the General Statutes of the Movement, the president is elected from among the focolarinas (consecrated women with perpetual vows) and will always be a woman. It is a "sign of the unity of the Movement"This means that it represents the great religious, cultural, social and geographical variety of all those who adhere to the spirituality of the Focolare Movement in the countries of the world. 182 countries where it is presentand which are recognized in the message of fraternity that its foundress, Chiara Lubich, drew from the Gospel: "....Father, may they all be one" (Jn 17:20-26).

There are many commitments and challenges awaiting Margaret Karram in the coming years: the tasks of governance and leadership of a worldwide movement like the Focolare, deeply immersed in the local and global realities and challenges of humanity, beginning with this time of pandemic.

The style of his work

The Bylaws also indicate the "style"that should distinguish the work of the president: "His presidency will be first and foremost a presidency of charity", it is said, "because it must be the first to love, that is to say, to serve her brothers and sistersrecalling the words of Jesus: 'Whoever wishes to be first among you will be the servant of all'." (Mk 10:44).

The president's overriding commitment, therefore, is to be bridge-builder and spokeswoman for the central message of the Focolare's spiritualitywilling to practice it and spread it, even at the cost of his own life.

The next steps of the Focolare General Assembly are the election of the Co-President this afternoon and of the Councilors on February 4.

RelatedRelated NewsChiara Lubich's culture of unity at UCV
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AnnotationsJuan Luis Lorda

The Christian intellectual

February 1, 2021-Reading time: < 1 minute

In its Introduction to Christianity (1968), Ratzinger takes up the parable of Kierkegaard in his Diapsalmata (1843): a clown runs to warn the people of a fire in the circus. The more he shouts, the more they laugh at him, and so the fire eats the circus and the people.

It is the fate of the Christian intellectual, Kierkegaard thinks, who announces what people no longer want to hear. Then, because he had made a Christianity to suit himself. Now, because it has become detached and flees from it.

It is a fact that Christianity seems to people to be a known thing; that words alone do not move; and that, as Nietzsche charged, we Christians do not look very much like we have been saved. Orwell said that "freedom consists in telling people what they do not want to hear".. Ortega, recalling Amos, said that the mission of the intellectual is to "oppose and seduce".. But with the beauty of charity, a continual miracle and proof of God in this world, which the Holy Spirit puts in hearts. Newman knew this from experience: Cor ad cor loquitur. So many witnesses. 

The authorJuan Luis Lorda

Professor of Theology and Director of the Department of Systematic Theology at the University of Navarra. Author of numerous books on theology and spiritual life.

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Spain

The EEC Permanent Secretariat will discuss living wills and the protection of minors.

The bishops who form part of this commission will meet on February 23 and 24 to analyze various pastoral and current issues. 

Maria José Atienza-February 1, 2021-Reading time: < 1 minute
RelatedRelated NewsBishops warn of social failure of euthanasia lawRelated News"The LOMLOE is confessional in its understanding of education."

The Standing Committee of the Spanish Episcopal Conference (CEE) will meet starting tomorrow at the Casa de la Iglesia in Madrid in what will be its first meeting of the year.

On this occasion, the conference will focus on the following topics:

  • Lines of pastoral action of the Episcopal Conference for the quinquennium 2021-2025.
  • Implementation of the letter of Pope Francis for the institution of lay men and women as readers and acolytes.
  • Dialogue on the work of the Diocesan Offices for the Protection of Minors.
  • Dialogue on the implementation of the training plan that was approved at the previous Plenary.
  • Information about Euthanasia and the living will.
  • Information about Ábside Media's work
  • Dialogue on various current issues.

In addition to this, the meeting will serve to approve the agenda for the Plenary Assembly scheduled for April 19-23 and to update information on economic issues, various follow-up matters and the various Episcopal Commissions, as well as the chapter on appointments.

The Standing Committee

The Standing Commission is the organ of the Bishops' Conference that is responsible for the preparation of the Plenary Assemblies and the execution of the decisions adopted thereat. It is made up of the members of the Executive Commission; the presidents of the Episcopal Commissions; the military archbishop - who will be represented by the Vicar General - and the metropolitan archbishops who are not included for the above reasons.

 

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RelatedRelated NewsBishops warn of social failure of euthanasia lawRelated News"The LOMLOE is confessional in its understanding of education."
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Education

InNovaReli, innovation and teamwork

Today I would like to share with you an educational experience that is worth sharing. It is InNovaReli, an initiative that was born with the aim of sharing experiences and good practices among Religion teachers. It is an initiative that will be presented in the forum opened by the EEC to build the new Religion curriculum, and I have asked one of its promoters, José Fernando Santos, to tell us about it in first person.

Javier Segura-January 31, 2021-Reading time: 2 minutes

The history of InNovaReli is brief compared to other initiatives. It was born on the Web, so reviled and used for so many things, on the initiative of Susana García. From her humble situation as an ERE teacher in Asturias, a commitment she kept with enthusiasm for years, she moved to involve and unite different teachers who were sharing experiences in isolation through the Network. Why not join together, enriching each other mutually and generously, and whatever comes next?

As an invitation launched into the air, without knowing what would happen, teachers from all kinds of areas responded: public and subsidized; infant, primary, secondary, high school; young and experienced; technological or not; very different charismas and proposals open to different emphases. That is to say, without a concrete line and open to the necessary recovery and significance of the ERE. This is the broad field in which it moves, generating synergies of all kinds, with respect and communion as a fundamental aspect.

The second surprise, as Susana says, was to see the interest aroused in many people interested in listening and receiving, in renewing and innovating. The gap that this word opened up, both in general methodologies and in more specific projects, served as a hook to respond to a concern that was alive. They have always wanted to be more than those possible, both in the four editions held in person, thanks to the collaboration of La Salle University (Madrid), and in the last one, which has been held virtually with the support of the resources of SM. In the latter, with a broader spectrum, nearly 2,000 teachers wanted to join, more out of personal interest than as a project of the institution of which they are a part.

Therefore, we continue working on this future in community and welcoming new experiences, projects, ideas put into practice in the classroom, with different contents and objectives. Convinced, in a way, not only of the relevance of ERE in itself, but also of the need to update it to the new times. Aware not only of the general social situation regarding religion and Christianity, but also of the pedagogical and technological progress, in which ERE cannot be left behind. It should be emphasized that it arises from the most concrete and that is its greatest richness.

On the other hand, it also has to face important challenges if it wants to continue to grow. It will continue if it continues to nurture horizontality in sharing, if individual initiatives are valued and welcomed and respected, if it continues to awaken good ideas in others.

For more information and to contact Twitter: @josefer_juan

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Education

Towards a new Religion curriculum

Religion teachers are the ones who know the needs of the students and the limits of the previous curriculum of this subject.

Javier Segura-January 31, 2021-Reading time: 2 minutes
RelatedRelated NewsHow does the Religion class look like in the LOMLOE?Related NewsOnline forum "Towards a new Catholic Religion curriculum".

With the implementation of the LOMLOE, it is mandatory to review the Religion curriculum and adapt it to the new legal framework. It is undoubtedly, beyond the technical necessity, an opportunity to review and update the curriculum of this subject and put it back in dialogue with the educational needs of the new generations.

This is undoubtedly the intention of the Spanish Episcopal Conference in launching this open forum 'Towards a new Religion curriculum', to facilitate a dialogue among all that will lead to the creation of a new Religion curriculum. It will be an open call for four virtual forums that will lead to a revision of the sources of the curriculum. The forums will be held on February 23, and March 2, 9 and 16, from 5:30 to 7:30 pm.

Several sessions will deal with aspects that have an impact on the development of the curriculum. The session on February 23 will deal with 'Reasons for a new Religion curriculum' and will include a presentation by Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, President of the Conslilium Conferentiarium Episcoparum Europae. The following sessions will address the social keys in the session 'Challenges of the school and society of the 21st century to the ERE', the theological keys in the session 'From Theology to the pedagogy of Religion', and the pedagogical keys in the last meeting on 'Psychopedagogy for a renewed Religion class', which I will have the opportunity to moderate.

Each session will have an open forum until the following Sunday to receive input on the specific topic addressed each Tuesday. It will be possible to follow the broadcasts through the YouTube channel of the Episcopal Commission for Teaching. All this will be accompanied by the possibility of participation of teachers through a form that will be available on the web site http://hacianuevocurriculo.educacionyculturacee.es/ which will be open from February 15.

Undoubtedly, this is an opportunity for all of us to participate and it can mean a new impulse to the subject in a really transcendental time. The teachers who are imparting this knowledge in the classroom are the ones who most directly know the needs of the students, the limits of the previous curriculum, the adaptation needs that they themselves have made. That is why they should be, and this is what the EEC wants, the first protagonists in the elaboration of the new Religion curriculum.

Photo: Banter Snaps/unsplash

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RelatedRelated NewsHow does the Religion class look like in the LOMLOE?Related NewsOnline forum "Towards a new Catholic Religion curriculum".
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Books

May the call of God resound in us

José Miguel Granados recommends the book "Take over", by Joseph Grifone.

José Miguel Granados-January 31, 2021-Reading time: 2 minutes

Take up the baton. Models of holiness for a new evangelization.

Joseph Grifone

Ediciones Cristiandad, Madrid 2020

The author, a university professor of mathematics, has published several books on spirituality and anthropology. As Cardinal Robert Sarah writes in the Preface, "the purpose of this book is to make God's call resound in our hearts." To this end, it "presents the central themes of the new evangelization not in a theoretical and abstract way, but precisely through the example and lives of some saints." And he offers profiles of these saints that can be of particular relevance for Christians of our time.

It begins with the figure of our Father Abraham. It situates us in his time and in his peculiar psychology. He highlights not only his great human qualities, but also his unwavering fidelity to God's call. He then delves into the faith of the Mother of God, who knew how to remain in the light throughout the darkness of her earthly pilgrimage and, especially, in the dark night at the cross of her Son. Of St. Paul, we can highlight his sweeping evangelizing adventure. Of St. Irenaeus of Lyons, his keen discernment in finding the way between tradition and progress in the development of the revealed message. In St. Augustine, he considers the sincerity of his search for truth until his conversion to Christ. In St. Thomas Aquinas, he underlines the splendid synthesis between faith and reason achieved by the great doctor of the Church.

He also approaches us to the personality of St. Thomas More, characterized by coherence in obeying the voice of conscience in the face of violent tyrannical imposition. In dealing with St. Teresa of Jesus, he delves into her life of prayer as an essential path for the efficacy of the believer's action. He also introduces us to the Jewish convert and Carmelite philosopher, St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, outstanding not only for her integrity until her martyrdom, but also for the intelligent dialogue she knew how to carry out in order to favor the encounter of faith with important cultural currents of contemporary thought.

He also approaches the impressive saint of charity, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who has fascinated humanity with her dedication to the poorest for the love of Jesus, as well as for her audacity in proclaiming the sacred value of every human life. In this sense, it includes an outstanding scientist and servant of the sick, still in the process of being declared a saint: the geneticist researcher Jerôme Lejeune, who had the courage to defend the inviolable dignity of the human being in the embryonic phase or suffering from hereditary pathologies. Finally, by way of a synthesis, it echoes the message proclaimed and lived by St. Josemaría on the call to holiness in ordinary work, as a specific sphere of apostolate for all the baptized who live in the midst of the world.

In short, the book is a journey through the history of great souls from very different eras, which helps to illuminate the meaning of the divine call to collaborate in the extension of the Kingdom of God on earth; its reading constitutes a stimulating invitation to every believer to feel a protagonist in the evangelizing task.

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Sunday Readings

Readings I Sunday of Lent

Andrea Mardegan, priest, comments on the readings for the First Sunday of Lent.

Andrea Mardegan-January 31, 2021-Reading time: 2 minutes

The first Sunday of Lent brings us the word of God's covenant with Noah and all creatures after the flood, and the certainty that there will not be another flood to devastate the earth. It brings us the rainbow as a divine sign of this covenant.

The hope-filled and confident words of Peter's first letter: "Dearly beloved, Christ suffered his passion once for all for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring you to God. He died in the flesh, but was made alive in the Spirit; in the Spirit he went to preach even to the spirits in prison, to the disobedient in another age".

A climate of confident hope, which also permeates the narration of the temptations that Jesus suffers in the desert, with the peace of victory over the tempter. Mark does not detail the temptations like Matthew and Luke, giving us to understand that they were all overcome by Jesus. He writes for the faithful immersed in a pagan society, and could easily have used tones of condemnation or fear for the temptations of the enemy.

Instead, the story is serene. Jesus is driven into the desert by the Spirit who rests in him. He is tempted by Satan, but we contemplate him in the desert with jungle beasts and angels who serve him, an image that reminds us of the messianic prophecies and a harmony in creation like the one before Adam's sin, and even greater. Jesus, the new Adam, harmonizes various dimensions of man's life: relationship with the Spirit, victorious struggle with the tempter, dialogue with earthly creatures and with angels.

Jesus' initial kerygma, presented as "the Gospel of God," is composed of four brief phrases: "The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the Gospel".

The first two phrases speak of God: the time has come to its fullness with the Incarnation of the Word and the kingdom of God is near, it is already here, but it is not yet fulfilled. It needs man's correspondence, specified by the other two phrases: convert and believe in the Gospel.

To convert, to change one's way of thinking, one's orientation, to return to God, to abandon idols, to change one's life. That is to say, to believe in the proclamation of the Gospel requires a commitment not only of the mind, but of the whole human being. If we want to imitate Jesus, listen to him and put into practice what he teaches, we are called to allow ourselves to be led into the desert by the Spirit, to resist the temptations of Satan, to live in harmony with the creatures of the whole universe, including those of the angels.

We are also called to turn from idols and believe that the time is fulfilled, that the kingdom of God is at hand, and to live according to the gospel of Jesus.

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Sunday Readings

Readings for the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)

Andrea Mardegan comments on the readings of the 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time 

Andrea Mardegan-January 31, 2021-Reading time: 2 minutes

For the lepers, according to the law of Moses, to the pain of the disease was added the total marginalization from the people and being considered sinners, as if the disease were a direct consequence of some sin. In the first steps of his public life, Jesus has already challenged the customs: he cast out a demon on the Sabbath day, he approached Peter's mother-in-law and made himself served by her, something very striking for a rabbi of his time and culture, where women had no importance and it was rather opportune to avoid them. He, on the contrary, dedicates his first miracle of healing to her. Now he lets a leper come to him, and instead of saying to him: "I am unclean, get away from me", he kneels down and begs: "If you wish, you can cleanse me".

Jesus does not put distance between himself and the leper. With a gesture he changes the approach of the religion of his ancestors: not to keep the sinner outside and far away, but to purify and include him. The Levitical priests do not have the power to cure leprosy: they only certify whether the disease is present or not. The leper already knows that Jesus has this power. The Levites had only the ability to judge; Jesus, on the other hand, purifies and heals. They turned away, Jesus comes near and heals. Jesus, "having compassion, stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, 'I will: be cleansed'. And immediately the leprosy disappeared and "he was cleansed". Jesus reciprocates trust with compassion. "He sent him away, sternly charging him: Tell no one." This harshness might be surprising after the tenderness, but there was something important at stake: if the leper spoke, Jesus would have had to interrupt his preaching, because he would be suspected of having caught leprosy. Jesus treats him as a father does his little child, so that he does not endanger his own integrity or that of others by his imprudent actions. He sends him away so that they will not be seen together.

Jesus often recommends that they do not say what good it does, because spreading the truth is not an absolute value that is always valid: it depends on the circumstances and the opportunity, and on the real possibility that those to whom it is addressed have the capacity to understand, on the good that can be derived and the evil that can be avoided. He sent it to the priests "to serve as a testimony", hoping that they would understand the error of his approach. But he knew that he who sympathizes, then suffers. He suffers in his flesh the consequences of his audacity and his love. The cured leper disobeys him and tells everyone everything; that is why Jesus must enter in quarantine, in deserted places, without entering the cities. But they come looking for him from everywhere. Compassion, loving people, even in contravention of the law of Moses, attracts people to him.

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Sunday Readings

Readings Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)

Andrea Mardegan comments on the readings of the 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time 

Andrea Mardegan-January 31, 2021-Reading time: 2 minutes

The Gospel of Mark is, according to the most widespread opinion today, the first to have been written, and, according to Bishop Papias of Hierapolis (70-130 A.D.) in his work Explanations of the Sayings of the Lord, it derives from the preaching of Peter in Rome. In one of the few fragments that remain, it says that Mark was Peter's interpreter and that he was his disciple, and that he writes what he remembered of what Peter related of the facts and sayings of the Lord.

St. Irenaeus of Lyons (130-202 A.D.), years later, added that Mark wrote it in Rome, after the death of Peter. We think of this tradition when we notice in Mark some particulars that seem to be "visual" memories. For example, the frequent recourse to the adverb "immediately" (in Greek euzús). In the first two verses of today's Gospel, he uses it twice: "Jesus, leaving the synagogue, euzús went with James and John to the house of Simon and Andrew" and "Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and immediately (euzús) spoke to him about her".

In his Gospel 42 times he says "immediately", while this adverb is used 18 times in Matthew, 7 in Luke and 6 in John. Mark is very attentive to the visual description of the action and the rapidity of the events. He describes Jesus, who after having expelled the demon from the man who had suddenly (euzus) insulted him in the synagogue, "immediately" takes care of the fever of Peter's mother-in-law. He takes her by the hand, without saying a word: the power of the touch of the Son of God, who, together with his whole body, will often be the vehicle of his healing power. In the evening, they can start moving again, free from the Sabbath rest, and they bring the sick to him. Jesus heals and frees from evil personally, one by one, but his action is directed to all.

Mark underlines many times this universal destination of Jesus' attention: "all the sick", "the whole city", "he cured all those who were afflicted with various diseases and cast out many demons", and Simon, who tells him "everyone is looking for you!", and Jesus replies: "Let us go somewhere else, to the nearby villages" and he will go to "all Galilee". The totality of the horizon of Jesus' heart is greater than that of Simon, who has in mind only the inhabitants of his city. Mark gives us the synthesis of Jesus' journey and his actions: he preaches, he heals, he prays. Jesus manages to be there for everyone, and at the same time not to be dependent on the crowd and its demands, and reserves time for himself to be with the Father. He leaves early in the morning, before everyone else, and goes to a solitary place to pray. He likes to pray in nature and in solitude. In this way he educates those who follow him. And us.

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Sunday Readings

Readings for the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Andrea Mardegan comments on the readings of the IV Sunday in Ordinary Time

Andrea Mardegan-January 31, 2021-Reading time: 2 minutes

Mark says: "They went into Capernaum, and as soon as the Sabbath came, he went into the synagogue and began to teach". In the liturgy we read: "At that time, in the city of Capernaum, on the Sabbath he went into the synagogue to teach". The "as soon as he came" is lost, with the vivid description of Jesus going immediately to the synagogue to teach.

In the ruins of Capernaum, Peter's house, where Jesus may have stayed, is very close to the synagogue. In Mark's "as soon as" (euzús in Greek, sta-tim in Latin) we grasp the temporal sense: without unpacking or getting organized, without resting or refreshing himself after the journey, Jesus goes to the synagogue. We also see this inner "as soon as": it was his desire, his priority. He goes immediately to the synagogue because there are the people to whom he wants to reveal himself progressively.

He has a desire to teach: he reveals himself as a Teacher. He has a desire to speak: he reveals himself as the Word of God. He has the desire to heal the wound of ignorance: he reveals himself as a physician. He wants to carry on his shoulders those sheep that have been left uncared for: he reveals himself as a shepherd. And, in fact, he arouses astonishment. His speech is different from that of the scribes, who recount the fruits of their studies and discuss school matters. He speaks of his life, and of the Father whom he knows like no other, he who is in his bosom, and whom he has come to reveal to us. No one else like him, who is God, can reveal the hidden meaning of the Word of God that is read every Sabbath in the synagogue. He is the principal author of that Word. He will reveal it little by little, so as not to be stoned or thrown from the rocks, although they will try.

People say that he "has authority". Let us imagine that astonishment, so understandable: they have heard the words of the Word of God with the tone of his unique and unmistakable human voice. But all is not well in the life of Jesus. As the people are happy with his preaching, a demon, through the man he possesses, causes confusion: "You are the holy one of God". The demons feel threatened by the presence of Jesus and his word, and become agitated. They believe in him: "You are the holy one of God", and they sense that he has come to "destroy" their kingdom. Jesus says to them: "Shut up!" Come out of this man", and the demon "twisted him violently and, giving a very loud cry, came out of him". Jesus' authority is not only in word, but also in action, which adds surprise to the astonishment of the people. As a consequence, people speak of him throughout Galilee.we too: let us listen to the word of Jesus, open to conversion, and then allow ourselves to be healed and purified by his word and by the efficacious signs of his grace, and then carry his word and his healing everywhere.

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Newsroom

Living stones. Religious art, "mediator" for the encounter with God.

"If a pagan comes and says to you: 'show me your faith,' take him to the church and, presenting to him the decorations with which it is adorned, explain to him the series of sacred pictures." This phrase of St. John Damascene summarizes the service that this initiative aims to provide, giving visitors the keys to read in order to recover the message of faith written on Christian monuments.

Carlos Azcona-January 31, 2021-Reading time: 5 minutes

When, in 2008, Jesuit Jean Paul Hernandez Di Tomaso took the initiative to gather a few young university students in the city of Bologna for his ordinary pastoral work with them, he may not have been aware that he had started a new project. something new. From the desire to communicate Jesus Christ through art -and from the anger at seeing how badly this Christian art is so often explained- arises a new way of evangelizing through art, while at the same time taking into account prayer, formation, service and community life, always in the key of living gratuitousness. A novelty that, however, is already a reality in many countries and cities of our immediate and distant surroundings.

Origin and start-up

Temples are sacred places, in which the divine presence is felt through the deep spirituality that oozes from their walls. Architectural elements that have witnessed many centuries of history, culture and art, but above all the necessary encounter of the soul with God. How often this perspective is missing when visiting churches! Perhaps we have lost sight of their consideration as the place where the Christian community prays together and where the heart is set on fire to serve others as Christ desires to serve them. This path of service is a two-way street.

For this reason Living Stones (pietre lives(in its original Italian): to bear witness to the fact that our churches are alive and give birth to life. In them we are born to Christian life and they are privileged places for an encounter with God. One cannot enter them as one enters a museum. This, however, is so frequent nowadays. In the words of their initiator, "the less you go to church, the more you go to churches.". However, from the point of view of faith, the visit to a temple is based on the experience of God that one has had with him. And this is what these Living Stones They try to do this through prayer, service and community life.

Target

As is evident, it is not a tourist visit to the use. Nor is it about giving a lecture or a class in history, art or theology. Rather, it is a matter of offering the necessary reading keys to recover the message of faith that is written in sacred art. Although, as is no less evident, in the explanations that are given there are -necessarily- historical, artistic or theological data. It is necessary to know well the object of the explanation; but above all it is necessary to have lived it previously. And of this, of experiences, these guys understand a little bit...

International communities

Each community of Living Stones begins where there is a minimum of interest among young people (usually university students aged just over eighteen and into their thirties) who, in general, have become acquainted with this community of communities in some of the cities where they serve, to which they may have come as part of an exchange program for their studies. But this is not the only channel: the social networks (where their presence is becoming more and more notorious) are also a source of information.its website is worthy of being known-, the sensitivity for the art lived from the faith and, above all, the face to face is what has made this reality, in just ten years, to be present in more than thirty cities (and those to come...) throughout the wide world.

It has a major presence in Italy. But it is also present in Spain (Madrid, Barcelona, Santiago de Compostela and, incipiently, in Burgos), Portugal, Germany, Switzerland, Hungary, Romania, England, Slovenia, Canada, France, Czech Republic and Malta, as well as in Chicago and Mexico City.

Organization

The organization and the number of members of each community is something that depends a lot on the circumstances of the place. There are communities of only two members and other more extensive ones that reach up to twenty. Their meetings are usually fortnightly (in some places, where they are more established, the meetings are even weekly). Their content varies (each meeting has a different theme), but always revolves around prayer, formation and service.

However, there are places, such as Madrid, where the pace of life makes it difficult to have a proliferation of meetings. For this reason, the local team decided very early on to have a single monthly meeting. As Sofía Gómez Robisco, the coordinator of the Living Stones In Madrid, it is the church of San Jerónimo el Real that currently houses them (although the beginnings of this community are in the chapel of the Beata María Ana Hospital, with its famous mosaics by Rupnik).

In this meeting, which is always open to those who wish to get to know them, they begin with an hour of prayer, followed by another hour of formation. After lunch and a long time together, the service begins. The young people who are part of the community are distributed throughout the church and its surroundings, to welcome anyone who is interested in getting to know it: tourists, passers-by and anyone who is willing to listen to them.

The desire of these young people is to go out to meet the people to offer them the true meaning of the sacred space that houses them. Many other young people remain in the prayer corner: a privileged corner of the church, where there is always live music that invites them to pray, as well as a notebook where people write down their reflections. Often they also ask for prayers. Something that the community of Living Stones always does at the end of the service is to take the notebook, evaluate the day and put it all in the presence of God.

In addition, there are summer camps. There are specific training and service camps. The specific formation camps are located in Paris (on medieval theology and Gothic art), Munich (on biblical exegesis) and Greece (on the origins of Christianity). For the service camps they go to Santiago de Compostela (they have also done some in Puente La Reina) and, ordinarily, to the New Year's meeting of Taizé.

In addition, having a strong Ignatian imprint in its origins, the members of Living Stones to make retreats and spiritual exercises. In Madrid, for example, there is one retreat per quarter. For the retreats, the privileged place is offered in a house in the Alps, at the end of August. And the fact is that Living Stones It is not a watertight group, but rather an itinerary of faith and community life, which usually concludes with the discovery by the young person of his own vocation and his place in the world and in the Church. Hence the importance of the spiritual exercises.

During the pandemic

The circumstances of the current confinement have meant that many of the scheduled meetings have had to be held in a forced modality. on-lineThis was an adaptation that, given the average age of the participants, did not cost them much. In this regard, they were able to experience a very participative and multilingual sacred triduum, as well as their traditional formation camp at the beginning of May (which this year was to be held in Malta) and which focused on the theme: violence, art and religion.

And all of this obviously requires a minimum of organization, which is based on an international team of columnsThe eight members who, in direct collaboration with Jean Paul Hernandez, are in charge of scheduling the meetings, directing the training and, above all, taking care of the young coordinators and giving them a chance to take the lead, as Mari Paz Agudo (column from Living Stones in Spain).

The team of coordinators, to which Sofía Gómez and Diego Luis, a priest from Burgos and initiator of the community in his diocese, also belong, meets annually. In his first experience in Assisi half a year ago, the latter was able to feel the closeness, naturalness and welcome with which everything was lived in this authentic school of apostolic life. He, like everyone else who comes into contact with this community of communities, is invited from the very first moment to become one of them, a Living Stone more, in the beautiful mosaic that we Christians make up in the Church.

The authorCarlos Azcona

Parochial Vicar, parish of the Good Shepherd, Miranda de Ebro.

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Evangelization

Pastoral care in a hollowed-out Spain. Diary of a Serrano priest

We went to two villages in empty Spain to learn about the work of a young priest. These are areas where the population is sparse and scattered, and a small number of priests attend numerous parishes. An evolution that implies difficulties,... and many possibilities.

Carlos Azcona-January 31, 2021-Reading time: 5 minutes

Today we travel to the Burgos area of the Sierra de la Demanda. Around the capital of the region, Salas de los Infantes (in memory of the seven Infantes de Lara), eleven priests and a seminarian distribute the pastoral work to attend to the little more than 11,000 inhabitants of a population scattered in more than sixty localities. There are many and varied initiatives that, not only in this time of pandemic, but throughout the year, are carried out in the so-called archpriesthood of the Sierra of the archdiocese of Burgos.

Dispersed population

The first thing that is striking about the pastoral work of the priests in this region is the dispersion of the population in many villages. There are two large centers: Salas de los Infantes (1,955 inhabitants) and Quintanar de la Sierra (1,658); several medium-sized towns: Huerta del Rey (923), Palacios de la Sierra (725), Hontoria del Pinar (661), Vilviestre del Pinar (520), Canicosa (449), Araúzo de Miel (306) and Regumiel (340). The rest are almost sixty villages, of which barely a dozen have more than a hundred inhabitants.

We are facing a clear example, therefore, of what is the empty Spain. However, it is an area with a lot of natural charm and a quality of life that is so often lacking in the big cities. Also the peculiarities of the area mean that the task of the priests must constantly reinvent themselves, always looking for new ways to be close to the parishioners. The mere ringing of bells is no longer enough to bring people closer to the temples, many of them, by the way, authentic marvels of art. It is necessary to go house by house, family by family, one by one. As in the early days of Christianity. Getting to know each one personally is, without a doubt, one of the greatest satisfactions that a pastor of souls can experience in these circumstances.

The Pastor and the parishioners

Isaac Hernando González welcomes us in two local villages. A young priest, who is not yet in his thirties, and who is beginning his priestly ministry in these lands. Although he has known the area for three years: there he has carried out his final stage of pastoral formation as a seminarian and his year of diaconate. Specifically, since last summer he has been parish priest of Canicosa and Regumiel. Two of the municipalities that we previously described as of intermediate size.

They are undoubtedly remote places in our geography. But where any gesture, no matter how small, is always reciprocated with an enviable kindness and openness of heart. There is no doubt how well they treat the Mr. Priest in these towns; and if not, just ask him, who was recently celebrating his birthday and was surprised to see a banner hanging from the facade of the town hall: "Congratulations Isaac!

"They are very welcoming people." -he assures us, "and from the first moment they have made me feel like one of their families, opening the doors of their homes wide open to me.". It is not in vain that houses are the place par excellence where a good part of the priestly work is carried out in the villages. They are places of encounter, of meeting. Many times, to attend to the sick, who always appreciate the visit of a young and smiling priest; other times, to listen to those who need it; most of the time, for be.

During the pandemic

In fact, the current pandemic has forced everyone, even in the villages, to remain confined to their own homes. And pastoral work has necessarily had to adapt to the circumstances. As Isaac himself confesses, it is now time to devote time to phone calls. Many of the parishioners are elderly; and in addition to their children's concern that they not move from home, there is also the lack of internet access, in many cases. And, therefore, hearing a friendly voice greeting you on the other end of the telephone line, "it is something that fills them with great joy."he says.

But there are also many who have learned to use the telephone for more than just calling and receiving messages: many of the subscribers who have their YouTubeof the followers of your profile on Instagram and quite a few of his friends from his personal profile on Facebook are, undoubtedly, those who used to attend the parish regularly. Now they have to make do with these means, to follow any of the acts of piety that are transmitted through them or the formative talks given by Isaac. But all of them follow him gladly, as long as they can attend at least virtually to your parish, with your cure. It is a great help, especially for those who live alone.

However, the exceptional situation we are living in these months cannot overshadow the enormous work that is being carried out in this archpriesthood of Burgos in the Sierra. In spite of the distances, there is an atmosphere conducive to working in community. Life in the villages ends up being very routine: that is why the bakery, the bar, the store and the bank end up being regular meeting points. And many times, the activities programmed by the parish help people to get out of their routine and meet people from other villages.

Groups and pastoral care

For example, there are groups of Caritas and prayer, as well as Communion and Confirmation catechesis. A reflection group has also been set up on the occasion of the diocesan assembly that is currently taking place in Burgos. Also noteworthy is the archpriestly excursion that is organized once a year, bringing together more than two hundred people from the different towns in the area. In these excursions we always visit an emblematic place (Medinaceli, Sigüenza, Tarazona or any corner of the province of Burgos), since it is about sharing life and faith. During Lent and Advent, many people go on retreat to cultivate the spiritual dimension, taking advantage of the proximity of the Monastery of Santo Domingo de Silos. Pilgrimages to the Holy Land or Fatima have also been organized.

Of all his work, Isaac highlights "the charm of being a village priest, of knowing the people, their problems, their joys... It is a richness that is difficult to achieve in the big cities.". Even for those who do not share the faith or do not attend Mass, the parish priest remains a reference point. And his initiatives sometimes end up having an impact on them as well.

Besides, the ministry of the rural priest cannot be understood if it is not in communion with the surrounding priests. There is a good relationship among them and the people know it. Besides meeting to pray together and take walks in the area (there are wonderful pine forests), every Sunday they meet for dinner together; and there arises the possibility of exchange, of dialogue, in short, of unburdening. It is important to feel supported in order to be able to take initiatives that help people.

This is how, for example, the archpriestly youth group that has been created around the well-known dynamic of LifeTeen. There are several young priests in the archpriesthood who have been committed to this initiative from the beginning, and Isaac is one of its main promoters. These catecheses for young people and adolescents are given every two weeks, with the collaboration of Victor, the seminarian in pastoral stage, a group of university students and three other priests: Juan, Jose and Javier. As Isaac tells us, in short, it is a question of "to lead young people to an encounter with the Lord, from their own personal experience.". It also assures: "You are pleasantly surprised at the times of worship you have with them.".

He also knows many of them as students, since Isaac is the religion teacher at IES Alfoz de Lara, located in Salas de los Infantes. There he also has contact with many other children who do not normally attend the parish. For all of them, undoubtedly, it is the priestin and out of the classroom. And there are many who come to him for advice, closeness and even friendship. Proof of this are the gifts he received on the occasion of his ordination to the priesthood, as well as the presence of some of them at the ceremony.

Many and varied initiatives, which ultimately deal with something as simple - and at the same time as complex - as bringing Christ closer to souls and souls closer to Christ.

The authorCarlos Azcona

Parochial Vicar, parish of the Good Shepherd, Miranda de Ebro.

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Every hand adds up: a service-learning project

One of the positive novelties of the LOMLOE is the development of the Service-Learning projects (ApS). A modality of work in which Religion teachers are pioneers, both for the contents with which we work and for the experience of so many years.

Javier Segura-January 31, 2021-Reading time: 2 minutes
RelatedRelated NewsHow does the Religion class look like in the LOMLOE?

What is Service-Learning?

A simple answer to this question is that the ApS implain learning by doing a service to the community. It goes beyond mere solidarity. It entails a learning process, and a training process in the students themselves, who acquire basic competencies of service to the community. In service-learning, students identify a situation in their immediate environment that they are committed to improving, developing a solidarity project that brings into play knowledge, skills, attitudes and values.

Planting a tree where it is needed is an act of solidarity. Researching the causes of forest degradation is a learning activity. Committing to its reforestation by applying what has been studied is service-learning.

I believe that Religion teachers have been working in these areas for many years.Perhaps without realizing that we were using this ApS methodology. We simply knew that we were educating. We knew that solidarity, empathy, commitment to our society were essential dimensions of our being Christians, based on the deep sense of brotherhood that comes from knowing that we are children of the same Father. And being in school, we understood that everything we do in that 'field must necessarily be educational, not just a simple action of solidarity.

This Christmas of the COVID-19 year has brought us a service-learning project launched by teachers of Religion, and to which many teachers of other subjects have joined. This is the project Every hand adds up.

The purpose was to launch a campaign to collect food in the form of 'Christmas baskets' for those families most in need precisely because of the pandemic. A project carried out by the association VEN Y VERÁS EDUCACIÓN in collaboration with diocesan Caritas.

As we were saying, beyond the solidarity action, there is an important educational work. First of all, the analysis of reality. The situation generated by the pandemic, its impact on our immediate environment, the specific needs of a family... were topics of previous dialogue in the classrooms. From there, the collaborative work of everyone began. Of course we had to bring the food, but we also had to design a good drawing for the solidarity boxes or write messages that would be attached to each of the Christmas baskets.

Another important point was the fact that former Religion students, who have promoted an association of students called 'Two or more,' were the driving force behind this initiative. This reference of seeing young people who have acquired these values that are taught in the classroom and have assumed them in their lives has undoubtedly been of great educational value. An educational line of peer-to-peer mentoring that is worth pursuing further.

In the end, more than two thousand solidarity baskets were collected with the participation of more than sixty schools. Something that for a first edition of this project has been, undoubtedly, a great achievement.

There is no doubt that in the application of this dimension of the LOMLOE, which is the service-learning projects, Religion teachers have much to contribute.

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The Vatican

Pope institutes the first World Day of the Elderly

A greater dedication to the elderly: July 25 will be the first World Day dedicated to grandparents and the elderly. 

Giovanni Tridente-January 31, 2021-Reading time: 2 minutes

Not to forget "the richness of preserving the roots and transmitting"Pope Francis has decided to establish the World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly for the whole Church, to give young people the experience of life and faith that only grandparents and the elderly can give.

It will take place on the fourth Sunday of JulyThe "Saints Joachim and Anne," the ".grandparents"of Jesus. This year it will fall on July 25, and will form part of the initiatives of the Year of the Family Amoris laetitiacoordinated by the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life.

The Pope announced it at the end of this Sunday's Angelus, anticipating the upcoming feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple, on February 2, "when Simon and Anna, both of them elders, enlightened by the Holy Spirit, recognized in Jesus the Messiah". A feast that celebrates - according to Pope Francis - precisely ".grandparents meeting grandchildren".

Beautiful voice

The voice of the elderly is precious - the Holy Father explained - because the Holy Spirit continues to arouse in them".thoughts and words of wisdom"which allow them to guard "the roots of the people".

Old age -Francis reiterated- "is a gift"and grandparents "are the link between generations". So "it is important for grandparents to know grandchildren and for grandchildren to know grandparents"to make "prophecies"in future generations.

It is not the first time that Pope Francis has referred to the importance of "do not rule out"He has also suggested that the young people get together and listen to them so as not to lose their roots. We have heard this idea from him on numerous occasions during the eight years of his pontificate.

Eight years since the first claim

It seems, however, that the first occasion on which he made a detailed reflection on this "intergenerational emergency" dates back to a few months after his election, when on July 25, 2013 - and this is a very interesting coincidence - he met with young Argentines in the Cathedral of San Sebastian at World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro.

Make a mess

On that occasion, he asked the elders not to let "to be the cultural reserve of our people that transmits justice, that transmits history, that transmits values, that transmits the memory of the people.". And to the young people not to oppose their elders, but to ".let them speak, listen to them, and carry them forward.". We also find the famous "Make a mess; take care of the extremes of the people, which are the old and the young; do not let yourselves be excluded, and do not exclude the elderly".

Cardinal Farrell, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life, commented on the Holy Father's decision stating that ".the pastoral care of the elderly is a priority that cannot be postponed for every Christian community.". And he invited parishes and dioceses around the world to find ways to celebrate the Day at the local level in a way that suits their own pastoral context.

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Spain

Online forum "Towards a new Catholic Religion curriculum".

The entry into force of the LOMLOE makes it necessary to restructure the subject of Religion, for which the Spanish Episcopal Conference has promoted a forum for debate and dialogue in the coming weeks. 

Maria José Atienza-January 31, 2021-Reading time: 2 minutes
RelatedRelated NewsHow does the Religion class look like in the LOMLOE?Related News"Participation in the Eucharist is essential."Related News"We ask for an educational itinerary on the person that includes religion."

– Supernatural Spanish Episcopal Conference promotes this space for dialogue and debate with the aim of considering the issues to be taken into account in the revision of the Catholic Religion curriculum and its development in the new Organic Law for the Modification of the LOE (LOMLOE).

The so-called 'Celaá Law' has been rejected by the majority of the private education community. In spite of this, and ignoring any consensus initiative, it was approved on December 23, 20202 and came into force a week later with its publication in the Official Gazette of the Ministry of Education. BOE.

With the entry into force of the LOMLOE, it will be necessary to update the Catholic Religion curriculum in the area of Religion, from Pre-school to High School.

A renewal that, from the EEC, they want to take advantage of to "to embrace what is happening in local and global contexts, in the field of education, with an international perspective and in our ecclesial community.".

Methodology and development

The starting point will be the open call of four virtual forums that, within the current framework of ecclesial and civil educational reflection, will make possible a review of the sources of the curriculum -sociological, epistemological, psychological, pedagogical-. The forums will be held on February 23, March 2, 9 and 26. The last one will be conducted and moderated by the collaborator of OmnesJavier Segura.

At each of the sessions the necessary challenges for the new Catholic Religion curriculum will be analyzed.After each session, an online space for participation will be opened so that all those involved in the teaching of religion can contribute to this debate.

All of this will be accessible on the link The report will be presented to the Board of Directors and will culminate with the presentation of a report that synthesizes the fruit of the participation and constitutes a basis for the renewal of the Catholic Religion curriculum.

Participation of all stakeholders

This space for dialogue and debate has been created to encourage the participation of the diocesan delegations of education, educational centers, titular entities, teachers' associations, parents' associations, groups and social agents involved, teaching schools and faculties of education, faculties of theology and higher institutes of religious sciences and, especially, all teachers of religion.

All the information from the forum:

"Towards a New Catholic Religion Curriculum."Download
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Documents

Message for the World Communications Day

David Fernández Alonso-January 31, 2021-Reading time: 7 minutes

"Come and see" (Jn 1,46). Communicate by meeting people where they are and as they are.

Dear brothers and sisters:

The invitation to "go and see" that accompanies Jesus' first exciting encounters with his disciples is also the method of all authentic human communication. In order to be able to relate the truth of life that becomes history (cf. Message for the 54th World Communications DayWe need to get out of the comfortable presumption of "as is already known" and get going, go and see, be with people, listen to them, pick up the suggestions of reality, which will always surprise us in every aspect. "Open your eyes wide to what you see and let the bowl of your hands be filled with wisdom and freshness, so that others can touch the miracle of pulsating life when they read you," Blessed Manuel Lozano Garrido advised his fellow journalists. I wish, therefore, to dedicate this year's Message to the call to "come and see", as a suggestion for every communicative expression that wants to be limpid and honest: in the editorial office of a newspaper as in the world of the web, in the ordinary preaching of the Church as in political or social communication. "Come and see" is the way in which the Christian faith has been communicated, starting from the first encounters on the banks of the Jordan River and the Lake of Galilee.

Wearing out the soles of shoes

Let's think about the great issue of information. Attentive opinions have long lamented the risk of a flattening of "photocopy newspapers" or radio and television newscasts and web pages that are substantially the same, where the genre of investigation and reporting lose space and quality to the benefit of pre-packaged information, "palace", self-referential, which is less and less capable of intercepting the truth of things and the concrete life of people, and no longer knows how to pick up neither the most serious social phenomena nor the positive energies emanating from the grassroots of society. The crisis of the publishing sector can lead to information built in the editorial offices, in front of the computer, on agency terminals, on social networks, without ever going out into the street, without "wearing out the soles of our shoes", without meeting people to look for stories or to verify by sight certain situations. If we do not open ourselves to the encounter, we will remain external spectators, despite the technological innovations that have the ability to put us in front of an augmented reality in which we seem to be immersed. Every tool is useful and valuable only if it pushes us to go and see the reality that we would otherwise not know, if it networks knowledge that would otherwise not circulate, if it allows encounters that would otherwise not occur.

These chronicle details in the Gospel

To the first disciples who wanted to know him, after the baptism in the Jordan River, Jesus replied, "Come and see" (Jn 1:39), inviting them to live their relationship with him. More than half a century later, when John, a very old man, writes his Gospel, he recalls some "chronicle" details that reveal his presence there and the impact that experience had on his life: "It was about the tenth hour," he notes, that is, four o'clock in the afternoon (cf. v. 39). The day after," John recounts again, "Philip tells Nathanael of his encounter with the Messiah. His friend is skeptical: "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?". Philip does not try to convince him with reasoning: "Come and see," he tells him (cf. vv. 45-46). Nathanael goes and sees, and from that moment his life changes. Christian faith begins in this way. And it is communicated in this way: as a direct knowledge, born of experience, not hearsay. "We no longer believe because of what you told us, but because we ourselves have heard it," the people say to the Samaritan woman, after Jesus stopped in her village (cf. Jn 4,39-42). The "come and see" is the simplest method to know a reality. It is the most honest verification of any announcement, because in order to know it is necessary to meet, to allow the one in front of me to speak to me, to let his testimony reach me.

Thanks to the courage of so many journalists

Journalism, too, as an account of reality, requires the ability to go where no one else goes: a movement and a desire to see. A curiosity, an openness, a passion. Thanks to the courage and commitment of so many professionals - journalists, cameramen, cameramen, editors, directors who often work at great risk - today we know, for example, the difficult conditions of persecuted minorities in various parts of the world; the countless abuses and injustices against the poor and against creation that have been denounced; the many forgotten wars that have been told. It would be a loss not only for information, but for society as a whole and for democracy if these voices were to disappear: an impoverishment for our humanity.

Numerous realities of the planet, even more so in this time of pandemic, invite the world of communication to "go and see". There is a risk of recounting the pandemic, and each crisis, only through the eyes of the richest world, of "double counting". Let us think of the question of vaccines, as of medical care in general, of the risk of exclusion of the most destitute populations; who will tell us about the wait for a cure in the poorest peoples of Asia, Latin America and Africa? Thus, social and economic differences at the planetary level are likely to determine the order of distribution of COVID vaccines. With the poor always last and the right to health for all, affirmed as a principle, emptied of its real value. But also in the world of the most fortunate, the social drama of families who have quickly fallen into poverty is largely hidden: the people who, overcoming their shame, queue up in front of Caritas centers to receive a food parcel are hurt and do not make the news.

Opportunities and insidiousness on the web

The web, with its countless social expressions, can multiply the capacity to tell and share: so many eyes open on the world, a continuous flow of images and testimonies. Digital technology gives us the possibility of first-hand and timely information, sometimes very useful: think of certain emergencies in which the first news and even the first communications of service to the populations travel precisely on the web. It is a formidable tool that makes us all responsible as users and consumers. We can all potentially become witnesses of events that would otherwise be overlooked by the traditional media, make our civil contribution, make more stories emerge, even positive ones. Thanks to the network we have the possibility to tell what we see, what happens in front of our eyes, to share testimonies. 

But the risks of uncontrolled social communication have become evident to everyone. We have long since discovered how news and images are easy to manipulate, for a myriad of reasons, sometimes just for banal narcissism. This critical awareness does not lead us to demonize the instrument, but to a greater capacity for discernment and a more mature sense of responsibility, both when disseminating and receiving content. We are all responsible for the communication we do, for the information we provide, for the control we can exercise together over false news, unmasking it. We are all called to be witnesses of the truth: to go, to see and to share.

Nothing replaces seeing in person

In communication, nothing can completely replace seeing in person. Some things can be learned only through experience. One does not communicate, in fact, only with words, but with the eyes, with the tone of the voice, with gestures. The strong attraction that Jesus exercised on those who met him depended on the truth of his preaching, but the effectiveness of what he said was inseparable from his look, his attitudes and also his silences. The disciples did not only listen to his words, they watched him speak. In fact, in him - the Logos incarnate - the Word became a Face, the invisible God allowed himself to be seen, heard and touched, as John himself writes (cf. 1 Jn 1,1-3). The word is effective only if it is "seen", only if it involves you in an experience, in a dialogue. For this reason the "come and see" was and is essential. 

Let us think of how much empty eloquence also abounds in our time, in every sphere of public life, in commerce as well as in politics. "He knows how to talk endlessly and say nothing. His reasons are two grains of wheat in two bushels of straw. One must search all day long to find them, and when they are found, they are not worth the search." The biting words of the English playwright also apply to our Christian communicators. The good news of the Gospel spread throughout the world thanks to person-to-person, heart-to-heart encounters. Men and women who accepted the same invitation: "Come and see", and were impressed by the "plus" of humanity that was transparent in their gaze, in the words and gestures of people who bore witness to Jesus Christ. All the instruments are important and that great communicator called Paul of Tarsus would have used e-mail and social network messages; but it was his faith, his hope and his charity that impressed the contemporaries who listened to him preach and had the good fortune to spend time with him, to see him during an assembly or in a one-to-one talk. They verified, seeing him in action in the places where he was, how true and fruitful for life was the proclamation of salvation of which he was the bearer by the grace of God. And also wherever this collaborator of God could not be found in person, his way of living in Christ was witnessed by the disciples he sent (cf. 1 Co 4,17).

"In our hands are books, in our eyes are deeds," said St. Augustine, exhorting us to find in reality the fulfillment of the prophecies present in the Sacred Scriptures. Thus, the Gospel is repeated today every time we receive the limpid testimony of people whose lives have been changed by their encounter with Jesus. For more than two thousand years, a chain of encounters has been communicating the fascination of the Christian adventure. The challenge that awaits us, therefore, is to communicate by meeting people where they are and as they are.

Lord, teach us to go out of ourselves, 
and to set us on the road to the search for truth.

Teach us to go and see,
teach us to listen,
not to cultivate prejudices,
not to jump to conclusions.

Teach us to go where no one wants to go,
to take the time to understand,
to pay attention to the essentials,
not to let ourselves be distracted by the superfluous,
to distinguish the deceptive appearance from the truth.

Give us the grace to recognize your dwelling places in the world. 
and the honesty to tell what we have seen.

Rome, St. John Lateran, January 23, 2021, Vigil of the Memory of St. Francis de Sales.

Francisco

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Message for World Mission Day

David Fernández Alonso-January 31, 2021-Reading time: 7 minutes

"We cannot stop talking about what we have seen and heard" (Ac 4,20)

Dear brothers and sisters:

When we experience the power of God's love, when we recognize his Fatherly presence in our personal and community life, we cannot help but proclaim and share what we have experienced in our lives. we have seen and heard. Jesus' relationship with his disciples, his humanity revealed to us in the mystery of the incarnation, in his Gospel and in his Passover, show us the extent to which God loves our humanity and makes our joys and sufferings, our desires and our anxieties his own (cf. Vat. II, Past. Gaudium et spes, 22). Everything in Christ reminds us that the world in which we live and its need for redemption is not alien to him, and he also summons us to feel an active part of this mission: "Go out to the crossroads and invite all whom you meet" (Mt 22,9). No one is a stranger, no one can feel strange or distant to this love of compassion.

The experience of the apostles

The history of evangelization begins with a passionate search for the Lord who calls and wants to enter into a dialogue of friendship with each person, wherever he finds himself (cf. Jn 15,12-17). The apostles are the first to give an account of this, even remembering the day and hour in which they were found: "It was about four o'clock in the afternoon" (Jn 1,39). Friendship with the Lord, seeing him heal the sick, eat with sinners, feed the hungry, approach the excluded, touch the impure, identify with the needy, invite the beatitudes, teach in a new and authoritative way, leaves an indelible mark, capable of arousing amazement, and an expansive and gratuitous joy that cannot be contained. As the prophet Jeremiah said, this experience is the burning fire of his active presence in our hearts that impels us to mission, even if it sometimes entails sacrifices and misunderstandings (cf. 20:7-9). Love is always on the move and sets us in motion to share the most beautiful and hopeful proclamation: "We have found the Messiah" (Jn 1,41).

With Jesus we have seen, heard and felt that things can be different. He inaugurated, already for today, the times to come by reminding us of an essential characteristic of our being human, so often forgotten: "We have been made for the fullness that can only be attained in love" (Encyclical Letter, p. 24). Fratelli tutti, 68). New times that give rise to a faith capable of fostering initiatives and forging communities based on men and women who learn to take charge of their own fragility and that of others, promoting fraternity and social friendship (cf. ibid., 67). The ecclesial community shows its beauty every time it gratefully remembers that the Lord first loved us (cf. 1 Jn 4,19). This "loving predilection of the Lord surprises us, and the amazement - by its very nature - cannot be possessed by ourselves or imposed on us. [Only in this way can the miracle of gratuitousness, the free gift of self, flourish. Nor can missionary fervor be obtained as a consequence of reasoning or calculation. To put oneself in a "state of mission" is an effect of gratitude" (Message to the Pontifical Mission Societies, 21 May 2020).

However, times were not easy; the first Christians began their life of faith in a hostile and complicated environment. Stories of procrastination and confinement met with internal and external resistance that seemed to contradict and even deny what they had seen and heard; but this, far from being a difficulty or obstacle that led them to withdraw or become self-absorbed, impelled them to transform all inconveniences, contradictions and difficulties into an opportunity for the mission. The limits and impediments also became a privileged place to anoint everything and everyone with the Spirit of the Lord. Nothing and no one could be left out of this liberating proclamation.

We have the living testimony of all this in the Acts of the ApostlesThe book is the bedside book of the missionary disciples. It is the book that shows how the perfume of the Gospel permeated their way and aroused the joy that only the Spirit can give us. The book of the Acts of the Apostles teaches us to live through trials by embracing Christ, to mature the "conviction that God can act in every circumstance, even in the midst of apparent failures" and the certainty that "those who offer and give themselves to God out of love will surely be fruitful" (Apostolic Exhortation, Apostolic Exhortation, p. 4). Evangelii gaudium, 279). 

The current moment in our history is not an easy one either. The pandemic situation highlighted and amplified the pain, loneliness, poverty and injustices that so many were already suffering and exposed our false securities and the fragmentations and polarizations that silently lacerate us. The most fragile and vulnerable experienced even more their vulnerability and fragility. We have experienced discouragement, disenchantment, weariness, and even conformist and hopeless bitterness could take hold of our gazes. But we "do not proclaim ourselves, but Jesus as Christ and Lord, for we are but your servants for Jesus' sake" (2 Co 4,5). That is why we feel the Word of life resounding in our communities and homes, echoing in our hearts and telling us: "He is not here: he is risen!" (Lc 24:6); a Word of hope that breaks all determinism and, for those who allow themselves to be touched, gives the freedom and audacity necessary to stand up and creatively seek all possible ways of living compassion, that "sacramental" of God's closeness to us who abandons no one on the roadside. In this time of pandemic, in the face of the temptation to mask and justify indifference and apathy in the name of healthy social distancing, it is urgent to the mission of compassion able to make the necessary distance a place of encounter, care and promotion. "What we have seen and heard" (Ac 4,20), the mercy with which we have been treated becomes the point of reference and credibility that allows us to recover the shared passion to create "a community of belonging and solidarity, to which we can dedicate time, effort and goods" (Encyclical Letter, p. 4,20). Fratelli tutti, 36). It is his Word that daily redeems us and saves us from the excuses that lead us to lock ourselves in the vilest of skepticism: "it's all the same, nothing will change". And when faced with the question: "Why am I going to deprive myself of my securities, comforts and pleasures if I am not going to see any important results?", the answer always remains the same: "Jesus Christ has triumphed over sin and death and is full of power. Jesus Christ truly lives" (Exhort. ap. Evangelii gaudium275) and also wants us to be alive, fraternal and capable of hosting and sharing this hope. In the present context, missionaries of hope are urgently needed who, anointed by the Lord, are capable of prophetically reminding us that no one is saved on his own. 

Like the apostles and the early Christians, we too say with all our might: "We cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard" (1).Ac 4,20). All that we have received, all that the Lord has given us, he has given us so that we can put it into play and give it freely to others. Like the apostles who have seen, heard and touched the salvation of Jesus (cf. 1 Jn 1:1-4), so we today can touch the suffering and glorious flesh of Christ in everyday history and be encouraged to share with everyone a destiny of hope, that indisputable note that is born of knowing that we are accompanied by the Lord. We Christians cannot keep the Lord to ourselves: the Church's evangelizing mission expresses her total and public involvement in the transformation of the world and in the care of creation.

An invitation to each of us

The theme of this year's World Mission Day, "We cannot stop talking about what we have seen and heard" (Ac4:20), is an invitation to each one of us to "take charge" and make known what is in our hearts. This mission is and has always been the identity of the Church: "She exists in order to evangelize" (St. Paul VI, Apostolic Exhortation, Apostolic Exhortation, p. 4,20). Evangelii nuntiandi, 14). Our life of faith weakens, loses prophecy and capacity for wonder and gratitude in personal isolation or by enclosing ourselves in small groups; by its very dynamic it demands a growing openness capable of reaching out to and embracing everyone. The first Christians, far from being seduced into seclusion in an elite, were attracted by the Lord and by the new life he offered to go among the people and bear witness to what they had seen and heard: the Kingdom of God is near. They did so with the generosity, gratitude and nobility proper to those who sow knowing that others will eat the fruit of their dedication and sacrifice. That is why I like to think that "even the weakest, most limited and wounded can be missionaries in their own way, because the good must always be allowed to be communicated, even if it lives with many weaknesses" (Apostolic Exhortation Post-Synod. Christus vivit, 239).

On World Mission Sunday, which is celebrated every year on the penultimate Sunday of October, we gratefully remember all those people who, with their life witness, help us to renew our baptismal commitment to be generous and joyful apostles of the Gospel. We especially remember those who were able to set out on the road, leaving their land and their homes so that the Gospel could reach without delay and without fear those corners of towns and cities where so many lives are thirsting for blessing.

Contemplating their missionary witness encourages us to be courageous and to insistently ask "the master to send out workers for his harvest" (Lc 10:2), because we are aware that the vocation to mission is not something of the past or a romantic memory of other times. Today, Jesus needs hearts that are capable of living their vocation as a true love story, that makes them go out to the peripheries of the world and become messengers and instruments of compassion. And it is a call that He makes to all of us, although not in the same way. Let us remember that there are peripheries that are close to us, in the center of a city, or in our own family. There is also an aspect of the universal openness of love that is not geographical but existential. Always, but especially in these times of pandemic, it is important to expand our daily capacity to widen our circles, to reach out to those whom we would not spontaneously feel part of "my world of interests," even if they are close to us (cf. Encyclical Letter, "The World of Love"). Fratelli tutti, 97). To live the mission is to venture to develop the same sentiments of Jesus Christ and to believe with Him that whoever is at my side is also my brother and sister. May his compassionate love also awaken our hearts and make us all missionary disciples.

May Mary, the first missionary disciple, increase in all the baptized the desire to be salt and light in our lands (cf. Mt5,13-14).

Rome, St. John Lateran, January 6, 2021, Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord.

Francisco

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Apostolic Letter Patris corde

The Holy Father convokes a year dedicated to St. Joseph on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the declaration of the holy Patriarch as Patron of the universal Church. 

David Fernández Alonso-January 31, 2021-Reading time: 19 minutes

With a father's heart: this is how Joseph loved Jesus, who is called in the four Gospels "the son of Joseph".

The two evangelists, Matthew and Luke, who made his figure evident, refer little, but enough to understand what kind of father he was and the mission that Providence entrusted to him. 

We know that he was a humble carpenter (cf. Mt 13:55), betrothed to Mary (cf. Mt 1,18; Lc 1.27); a "just man" (Mt 1:19), always ready to do the will of God as manifested in his law (cf. Lc 2:22,27,39) and through the four dreams he had (cf. Mt 1,20; 2,13.19.22). After a long and hard journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem, he saw the birth of the Messiah in a manger, because elsewhere "there was no place for them" (Lc 2,7). He witnessed the worship of the shepherds (cf. Lc 2:8-20) and of the Magi (cf. Mt2:1-12), representing respectively the people of Israel and the pagan peoples. 

He had the courage to assume the legal paternity of Jesus, to whom he gave the name revealed to him by the angel: "You shall name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins" (Mt 1,21). As we know, among ancient peoples, giving a name to a person or thing meant acquiring ownership, as Adam did in the Genesis account (cf. 2:19-20). 

In the temple, forty days after the birth, Joseph, together with the mother, presented the Child to the Lord and listened in amazement to the prophecy that Simeon pronounced about Jesus and Mary (cf. Lc 2,22-35). To protect Jesus from Herod, he remained in Egypt as a foreigner (cf. Mt 2,13-18). Back in his homeland, he lived in a hidden way in the small and unknown village of Nazareth, in Galilee - from where, it was said: "No prophet comes out" and "nothing good can come out" (cf. Jn 7:52; 1:46) - far from Bethlehem, his hometown, and from Jerusalem, where the temple was located. When, during a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, they lost Jesus, who was twelve years old, he and Mary searched for him in anguish and found him in the temple while he was arguing with the doctors of the law (cf. Lc 2,41-50).

After Mary, Mother of God, no saint occupies as much space in the papal Magisterium as Joseph, her spouse. My predecessors have deepened the message contained in the little data transmitted by the Gospels in order to highlight his central role in the history of salvation: Blessed Joseph, Mother of God, is the first saint to occupy so much space in the Pontifical Magisterium. Pius IX declared him "Patron Saint of the Catholic Church", the venerable Pío XII presented him as the "Patron Saint of Workers" and Saint John Paul II as "Custodian of the Redeemer". The people invoke him as "Patron of the good death".

For this reason, on the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of Blessed Pius IX, on December 8, 1870, declaring him to be Patron of the Catholic ChurchI would like - as Jesus says - that "the mouth should speak of what the heart is full of" (cf. Mt 12:34), to share with you some personal reflections on this extraordinary figure, so close to our human condition. This desire has grown during these months of pandemic, in which we can experience, in the midst of the crisis that is hitting us, that "our lives are woven and sustained by ordinary people - usually forgotten - who do not appear on the covers of newspapers and magazines, nor on the great catwalks of the latest show but they are undoubtedly writing today the decisive events of our history: doctors, nurses, supermarket stockers, cleaners, caregivers, transporters, security forces, volunteers, priests, nuns and many, many others who have understood that no one is saved alone. [How many people every day show patience and instill hope, taking care not to sow panic but co-responsibility. How many fathers, mothers, grandfathers and grandmothers, teachers show our children, with small and daily gestures, how to face and go through a crisis, readapting routines, raising their eyes and encouraging prayer. How many people pray, offer and intercede for the good of all". Everyone can find in St. Joseph - the man who goes unnoticed, the man of daily, discreet and hidden presence - an intercessor, a support and a guide in times of difficulty. St. Joseph reminds us that all those who are apparently hidden or in the "second line" have an unparalleled protagonism in the history of salvation. A word of recognition and gratitude is addressed to all of them.

1. Beloved Father

The greatness of St. Joseph consists in the fact that he was the spouse of Mary and the father of Jesus. As such, he "entered into the service of the whole economy of the incarnation," as St. John Chrysostom says.

St. Paul VI observes that his paternity was concretely manifested "in having made of his life a service, a sacrifice to the mystery of the Incarnation and to the redemptive mission that is united to it; in having used the legal authority, which corresponded to him in the Holy Family, to make of it a total gift of himself, of his life, of his work; in having converted his human vocation of domestic love into the superhuman oblation of himself, of his heart and of every capacity in the love placed at the service of the Messiah born in his house".

Because of his role in the history of salvation, St. Joseph is a father who has always been loved by the Christian people, as evidenced by the fact that numerous churches throughout the world have been dedicated to him; that many religious institutes, brotherhoods and ecclesial groups are inspired by his spirituality and bear his name; and that for centuries various sacred representations have been celebrated in his honor. Many saints had a great devotion to him, among them Teresa of Avila, who took him as her advocate and intercessor, entrusting herself to him and receiving all the graces she asked for. Encouraged by her experience, the saint persuaded others to be devoted to him.

In every prayer book there is a prayer to St. Joseph. Particular invocations are addressed to him every Wednesday and especially during the month of March, traditionally dedicated to him. 

The confidence of the people in St. Joseph is summed up in the expression ".Ite ad Ioseph"which refers to the time of famine in Egypt, when the people asked Pharaoh for bread and he replied, "Go to Joseph and do as he tells you" (Gn 41,55). It was about Joseph the son of Jacob, whom his brothers sold out of envy (cf. Gn 37:11-28) and who - following the biblical account - subsequently became viceroy of Egypt (cf. Gn 41,41-44).

As a descendant of David (cf. Mt 1:16,20), from whose root Jesus was to spring forth according to the promise made to David by the prophet Nathan (cf. 2 Sam 7), and as the husband of Mary of Nazareth, St. Joseph is the piece that unites the Old and New Testaments. 

2. Father in tenderness

Joseph saw Jesus progress day by day "in wisdom, and in stature, and in favor with God and man" (Lc 2,52). As the Lord did with Israel, so he "taught him to walk, and took him in his arms: he was to him as a father who lifts up a child to his cheeks, and stoops down to feed him" (cf. Os 11,3-4). 

Jesus saw God's tenderness in Joseph: "As a father feels tenderness for his children, so the Lord feels tenderness for those who fear him" (Salt 103,13).

In the synagogue, during the prayer of the Psalms, Joseph will certainly have heard the echo that the God of Israel is a God of tenderness, that he is good to all and "his tenderness reaches out to all creatures" (Salt 145,9).

Salvation history is fulfilled by believing "against all hope" (Rm 4:18) through our weaknesses. We often think that God relies only on the good and conquering part of us, when in reality most of his designs are realized through and in spite of our weakness. This is what makes St. Paul say: "Lest I be grieved, I have a thorn in my flesh, an emissary of Satan who strikes me so that I may not be grieved. Three times I have asked the Lord to take it away from me, and he has said to me: 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is fully manifested in weakness'" (2 Co 12,7-9).

If this is the perspective of the economy of salvation, we must learn to accept our weakness with intense tenderness.

The Evil One makes us look at our fragility with a negative judgment, while the Spirit brings it to light with tenderness. Tenderness is the best way to touch what is fragile in us. The finger pointing and the judgment we make of others are often a sign of our inability to accept our own weakness, our own fragility. Only tenderness will save us from the work of the Accuser (cf. Ap 12,10). For this reason it is important to encounter the Mercy of God, especially in the sacrament of Reconciliation, having an experience of truth and tenderness. Paradoxically, even the Evil One can tell us the truth, but, if he does, it is to condemn us. We know, however, that the Truth that comes from God does not condemn us, but welcomes us, embraces us, sustains us, forgives us. Truth always presents itself to us as the merciful Father of the parable (cf. Lc 15:11-32): he comes to meet us, restores our dignity, puts us back on our feet, celebrates with us, because "my son was dead and is alive again, he was lost and is found" (v. 24).

Even through Joseph's anguish, God's will, his story, his plan, passes through. Thus Joseph teaches us that having faith in God also includes believing that He can act even through our fears, our frailties, our weaknesses. And he teaches us that, in the midst of the storms of life, we should not be afraid to hand over the helm of our boat to God. Sometimes we would like to have everything under control, but He always has a wider view.

3. Father in obedience

Just as God did with Mary when He revealed His plan of salvation, He also revealed His designs to Joseph and He did it through dreams, which in the Bible, as in all ancient peoples, were considered one of the means by which God manifested His will.

Joseph was very distressed by Mary's incomprehensible pregnancy; he did not want to "denounce her publicly", but decided to "break off their engagement in secret" (Mt 1,19). In the first dream the angel helped him to resolve his grave dilemma: "Do not be afraid to accept Mary your wife, for that which is begotten in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins" (Mt 1,20-21). His response was immediate: "When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him" (Mt 1,24). Through obedience he overcame his drama and saved Mary.

In the second dream the angel commanded Joseph, "Arise, take the child and his mother with you, and flee to Egypt; stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to seek the child to kill him" (Mt 2,13). Joseph did not hesitate to obey, without questioning the difficulties he might encounter: "He got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod" (Mt 2,14-15).

In Egypt, Joseph waited with confidence and patience for the angel's promised warning to return to his country. And when in a third dream the divine messenger, after having informed him that those who were trying to kill the child were dead, commanded him to arise, to take the child and his mother with him, and to return to the land of Israel (cf. Mt 2:19-20), he once again obeyed without hesitation: "He arose, took the child and his mother, and entered the land of Israel" (Mt 2,21).

But during the return journey, "when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there and, warned in a dream - and this is the fourth time this has happened - he withdrew to the region of Galilee and went to live in a town called Nazareth" (Mt 2,22-23).

The evangelist Luke, for his part, recounted that Joseph faced the long and uncomfortable journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem, according to the census law of Emperor Caesar Augustus, in order to be registered in his hometown. And it was precisely in this circumstance that Jesus was born and registered in the census of the Empire, like all the other children (cf. Lc 2,1-7).

St. Luke, in particular, took care to emphasize that the parents of Jesus observed all the prescriptions of the law: the rites of the circumcision of Jesus, of the purification of Mary after childbirth, of the presentation of the firstborn to God (cf. 2:21-24).

In every circumstance of his life, Joseph knew how to pronounce his "I am a man".fiat"Like Mary at the Annunciation and Jesus in Gethsemane.

Joseph, in his role as head of the family, taught Jesus to be submissive to his parents, according to God's commandment (cf. Ex 20,12). 

In the hidden life of Nazareth, under the guidance of Joseph, Jesus learned to do the will of the Father. That will became his daily nourishment (cf. Jn 4,34). Even in the most difficult moment of his life, which was in Gethsemane, he preferred to do the Father's will and not his own and became "obedient unto death [...] on the cross" (Flp 2,8). Therefore, the author of the Letter to the Hebrews concludes that Jesus "learned obedience by suffering" (5:8).

All these events show that Joseph "has been called by God to serve directly the person and mission of Jesus through the exercise of his fatherhood; in this way he cooperates in the fullness of time in the great mystery of redemption and is truly a 'minister of salvation'".

4. Father in the welcome

Joseph welcomed Mary without preconditions. He trusted the words of the angel. "The nobility of his heart made him subordinate to charity what he learned by law; and today, in this world where psychological, verbal and physical violence against women is patent, Joseph presents himself as a respectful, delicate man who, even though he did not have all the information, decided for Mary's fame, dignity and life. And, in his doubt of how to do the best, God helped him to choose by enlightening his judgment".

Many times events occur in our lives whose meaning we do not understand. Our first reaction is often one of disappointment and rebellion. Joseph puts aside his reasoning to make way for what happens and, however mysterious it may seem to him, he accepts it, takes responsibility and reconciles himself with his own history. If we do not reconcile ourselves with our history, we will not even be able to take the next step, because we will always be prisoners of our expectations and the resulting disappointments. 

Joseph's spiritual life does not show us a way that explainsbut a way that welcomes. It is only from this acceptance, from this reconciliation, that we can also intuit a greater story, a deeper meaning. The fiery words of Job seem to echo, who, when faced with his wife's invitation to rebel against all the evil that befell him, replied, "If we accept good things from God, shall we not accept evil things?" (Jb 2,10). 

Joseph is not a man who resigns himself passively. He is a courageous and strong protagonist. Welcoming is a way in which the gift of strength that comes to us from the Holy Spirit is manifested in our lives. Only the Lord can give us the strength to accept life as it is, to make room even for that contradictory, unexpected and disappointing part of existence.

The coming of Jesus in our midst is a gift from the Father, so that each of us can be reconciled with the flesh of our own history, even if we do not fully understand it. 

As God said to our saint: "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid" (Mt 1:20), seems to repeat to us too: "Do not be afraid!". We have to put aside our anger and disappointment, and make room - without any worldly resignation and with a fortitude full of hope - for what we have not chosen, but is there. Welcoming life in this way introduces us to a hidden meaning. The life of each of us can miraculously begin again, if we find the courage to live it according to what the Gospel tells us. And it does not matter if everything now seems to have taken a wrong turn and if some issues are irreversible. God can make flowers bloom among the rocks. Even when our conscience reproaches us for something, He "is greater than our conscience and knows everything" (1 Jn 3,20).

Christian realism, which rejects nothing that exists, returns once again. Reality, in its mysterious irreducibility and complexity, is the bearer of a sense of existence with its lights and shadows. This makes the apostle Paul affirm: "We know that all things work together for good to those who love God" (Rm 8,28). And St. Augustine adds: "Even that which we call evil (etiam illud quod malum dicitur)". In this general perspective, faith gives meaning to every happy or sad event.

So, far be it from us to think that believing means finding easy solutions that console. The faith that Christ taught us is, instead, what we see in St. Joseph, who did not look for shortcuts, but faced "with open eyes" what was happening to him, taking responsibility in the first person. 

Joseph's welcome invites us to welcome others, without exclusion, just as they are, with preference for the weak, because God chooses what is weak (cf. 1 Co 1:27), is "father of the fatherless and defender of widows" (Salt 68:6) and commands us to love the stranger. I would like to imagine that Jesus took from Joseph's attitudes the example for the parable of the prodigal son and the merciful father (cf. Lc 15,11-32). 

5. Father of creative courage

If the first stage of all true inner healing is to embrace one's own history, that is, to make space within ourselves even for what we have not chosen in our life, we need to add another important characteristic: creative courage. This arises especially when we encounter difficulties. In fact, when we are faced with a problem we can either stop and give up, or we can figure it out in some way. Sometimes difficulties are precisely those that bring out resources in each of us that we did not even think we had.

Many times, reading the "infancy Gospels", we wonder why God did not intervene directly and clearly. But God acts through events and persons. Joseph was the man through whom God dealt with the beginnings of redemptive history. He was the real "miracle" by which God saved the Child and his mother. Heaven intervened by trusting in the creative courage of this man, who, when he arrived in Bethlehem and found no place where Mary could give birth, settled in a stable and arranged it until it became as welcoming a place as possible for the Son of God who was coming into the world (cf. Lc 2,6-7). Faced with the imminent danger of Herod, who wanted to kill the Child, Joseph was once again alerted in a dream to protect him, and in the middle of the night he organized the flight to Egypt (cf. Mt 2,13-14). 

A superficial reading of these stories always gives the impression that the world is at the mercy of the strong and powerful, but the "good news" of the Gospel is to show how, despite the arrogance and violence of earthly rulers, God always finds a way to fulfill his plan of salvation. Even our life sometimes seems to be in the hands of superior forces, but the Gospel tells us that God always succeeds in saving what is important, provided that we have the same creative courage as the carpenter of Nazareth, who knew how to transform a problem into an opportunity, always putting our trust in Providence first. 

If at times it seems that God does not help us, it does not mean that he has abandoned us, but that he trusts in us, in what we can plan, invent, find.

It is the same creative courage shown by the friends of the paralytic who, in order to present him to Jesus, lowered him from the roof (cf. Lc5,17-26). The difficulty did not stop the audacity and obstinacy of these friends. They were convinced that Jesus could heal the sick man and "when they could not bring him in because of the crowd, they went up to the top of the house and lowered him down on the stretcher through the tiles, and placed him in the midst of the crowd in front of Jesus. Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the paralytic, 'Man, your sins are forgiven'" (vv. 19-20). Jesus recognized the creative faith with which these men tried to bring their sick friend to him.

The Gospel does not give any information about the time that Mary, Joseph and the Child remained in Egypt. What is certain, however, is that they must have needed to eat, to find a house, a job. It does not take much imagination to fill the silence of the Gospel in this regard. The Holy Family had to face concrete problems like all other families, like many of our migrant brothers and sisters who even today risk their lives, forced by adversity and hunger. In this regard, I believe that St. Joseph is truly a special patron saint for all those who have to leave their homeland because of war, hatred, persecution and misery.

At the end of every story in which Joseph is the protagonist, the Gospel notes that he arose, took the Child and his mother and did what God had commanded him (cf. Mt 1,24; 2,14.21). In fact, Jesus and Mary, his mother, are the most precious treasure of our faith.

In the plan of salvation, the Son cannot be separated from the Mother, the one who "advanced in the pilgrimage of faith and faithfully maintained her union with her Son until the cross".

We must always ask ourselves if we are protecting with all our strength Jesus and Mary, who are mysteriously entrusted to our responsibility, to our care, to our custody. The Son of the Almighty comes into the world assuming a condition of great weakness. He needs Joseph to be defended, protected, cared for, raised. God trusts in this man, as does Mary, who finds in Joseph not only the one who wants to save her life, but the one who will always watch over her and the Child. In this sense, St. Joseph cannot fail to be the Custodian of the Church, because the Church is the extension of the Body of Christ in history, and at the same time in the motherhood of the Church is manifested the motherhood of Mary. Joseph, while continuing to protect the Church, continues to protect the Church, and at the same time to be the mother of Mary. to the Child and his motherand we too, loving the Church, continue to love the Church, and we too, loving the Church, continue to love to the Child and his mother. 

This Child is the one who will say: "I assure you that whenever you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me" (1).Mt 25,40). Thus, every needy person, every poor person, every suffering person, every dying person, every foreigner, every prisoner, every sick person are "the Child" that Joseph continues to guard. That is why St. Joseph is invoked as protector of the destitute, the needy, the exiled, the afflicted, the poor, the dying. And it is for the same reason that the Church cannot fail to love the least of these, because Jesus has placed his preference in them, he identifies himself personally with them. From Joseph we must learn the same care and responsibility: to love the Child and his mother; to love the sacraments and charity; to love the Church and the poor. In each of these realities is always the Child and his mother.

6. Working parent

One aspect that characterizes St. Joseph and that has been emphasized since the time of the first social encyclical, the Rerum novarum of Leo XIII, is his relationship with work. St. Joseph was a carpenter who worked honestly to ensure the livelihood of his family. From him, Jesus learned the value, dignity and joy of what it means to eat the bread that is the fruit of one's own labor.

In our present age, in which work seems to have once again become an urgent social issue and unemployment sometimes reaches impressive levels, even in those nations that for decades have experienced a certain well-being, it is necessary, with a renewed awareness, to understand the meaning of work that gives dignity and of which our saint is an exemplary patron. 

Work becomes a participation in the very work of salvation, an opportunity to hasten the coming of the Kingdom, to develop one's own potential and qualities, placing them at the service of society and communion. Work becomes an occasion of fulfillment not only for oneself, but above all for that original nucleus of society which is the family. A family without work is more exposed to difficulties, tensions, fractures and even to the desperate and despairing temptation of dissolution. How can we speak of human dignity without committing ourselves to ensuring that each and every person has the possibility of a dignified livelihood?

The person who works, whatever his or her task, collaborates with God himself, becomes a bit of a creator of the world around us. The crisis of our time, which is an economic, social, cultural and spiritual crisis, can represent for everyone a call to rediscover the meaning, importance and necessity of work in order to give rise to a new "normality" in which no one is excluded. The work of St. Joseph reminds us that God made man himself did not disdain work. The loss of work that affects so many brothers and sisters, and which has increased in recent times due to the Covid-19 pandemic, should be a call to review our priorities. Let us implore St. Joseph the Worker to find ways that will lead us to say: No young person, no person, no family without work!

7. Father in the shadow

Polish writer Jan Dobraczyński, in his book. The shadow of the Fatherwrote a novel about the life of St. Joseph. With the evocative image of the shadow, he defines the figure of Joseph, who for Jesus is the shadow of the heavenly Father on earth: he helps him, protects him, never leaves his side to follow in his footsteps. Let us think of what Moses reminds Israel: "In the wilderness, where you saw how the Lord your God watched over you as a father watches over his son all the way" (Dt 1,31). Thus Joseph exercised fatherhood throughout his life.

No one is born a father, but becomes one. And one does not become one just by bringing a child into the world, but by taking care of it responsibly. Whenever someone assumes responsibility for the life of another, in a certain sense he exercises paternity with respect to him.

In today's society, children often seem to be fatherless. The Church today also needs fathers. The admonition addressed by St. Paul to the Corinthians is always timely: "You may have ten thousand instructors, but you do not have many fathers" (1 Co 4:15); and every priest or bishop should be able to say like the Apostle: "It was I who begot you for Christ by proclaiming the Gospel to you" (ibid.). And to the Galatians he says: "My children, for whom I am again in travail until Christ is formed in you" (4:19).

To be a parent means to introduce the child into the experience of life, into reality. Not to hold him, not to imprison him, not to possess him, but to make him capable of choosing, of being free, of going out. Perhaps for this reason the tradition has also given Joseph, together with the appellative of father, the appellative of "castísimo". It is not a merely affective indication, but the synthesis of an attitude that expresses the opposite of possessing. Chastity is in being free from the desire to possess in all areas of life. Only when a love is chaste is it a true love. Love that wants to possess, in the end, always becomes dangerous, imprisons, suffocates, makes unhappy. God himself loved man with chaste love, leaving him free even to make mistakes and to turn against himself. The logic of love is always a logic of freedom, and Joseph was able to love in an extraordinarily free way. He never put himself at the center. He knew how to decenter himself, to put Mary and Jesus at the center of his life.

Joseph's happiness is not in the logic of self-sacrifice, but in the gift of self. Frustration is never perceived in this man, but only trust. His persistent silence does not contemplate complaints, but concrete gestures of trust. The world needs fathers; it rejects masters, that is: it rejects those who want to use the possession of others to fill their own emptiness; it rejects those who confuse authority with authoritarianism, service with servility, confrontation with oppression, charity with assistance, force with destruction. Every true vocation is born of the gift of self, which is the maturation of simple sacrifice. This kind of maturity is also required in the priesthood and consecrated life. When a vocation, whether in married, celibate or virginal life, does not reach the maturity of self-giving, stopping only at the logic of sacrifice, then instead of becoming a sign of the beauty and joy of love, it runs the risk of expressing unhappiness, sadness and frustration. 

Fatherhood that refuses the temptation to live the life of the children is always open to new spaces. Each child always carries with him a mystery, something unknown that can only be revealed with the help of a father who respects his freedom. A father who is aware that he completes his educational action and fully lives his fatherhood only when he has become "useless", when he sees that the child has become autonomous and walks alone on the paths of life, when he puts himself in the situation of Joseph, who always knew that the Child was not his own, but had simply been entrusted to his care. After all, that is what Jesus suggests when he says: "Do not call any of you on earth 'father,' for there is only one Father, the Father in heaven" (Mt 23,9). 

Whenever we find ourselves in the condition of exercising paternity, we must remember that it is never an exercise of possession, but a "sign" that evokes a superior paternity. In a certain sense, we all find ourselves in the condition of Joseph: shadow of the one heavenly Father, who "makes the sun rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the just and the unjust" (Mt 5,45); and shadow that follows the Son.

* * *

"Arise, take with you the child and its mother" (Mt 2:13), God said to St. Joseph.

The purpose of this Apostolic Letter is to grow in love for this great saint, so that we may be moved to implore his intercession and imitate his virtues, as well as his resolve.

In fact, the specific mission of the saints is not only to grant miracles and graces, but also to intercede for us before God, as did Abraham and Moses, as does Jesus, "the only mediator" (1 Tm 2:5), who is our "advocate" before God the Father (1 Jn 2:1), "since he lives forever to make intercession for us" (Hb 7:25; cf. Rm 8,34).

The saints help all the faithful "to the fullness of the Christian life and to the perfection of charity". Their life is a concrete proof that it is possible to live the Gospel. 

Jesus said: "Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart" (Mt 11:29), and they in turn are examples of life to imitate. St. Paul explicitly exhorted: "Live as imitators of me" (1 Co 4,16). St. Joseph said it through his eloquent silence.

Before the example of so many saints, St. Augustine asked himself: "Can you not do what these men and women did? And so he arrived at his definitive conversion, exclaiming: "So late have I loved you, beauty so ancient and so new!

All that remains is to implore St. Joseph for the grace of graces: our conversion.

To him let us direct our prayer:

Hail, guardian of the Redeemer
and husband of the Virgin Mary.
To you God entrusted his Son,
Mary placed her trust in you, 
with you Christ was forged as a man.

O blessed Joseph, 
show yourself a father to us too
and guide us on the path of life.
Grant us grace, mercy and courage,
and defend us from all evil. Amen.

Rome, at St. John Lateran, December 8, Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in the year 2020, the eighth of my Pontificate.

Francisco

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Message for World Mission Day

Pope Francis has signed the Message for World Mission Sunday, recalling the responsibility we all have to evangelize in these most difficult moments of our history.

David Fernández Alonso-January 31, 2021-Reading time: 4 minutes
RelatedRelated NewsWhich priests do we need? To form missionary pastorsRelated NewsDOMUND 2020: different campaign, same objective

"When we experience the power of God's love, when we recognize his Fatherly presence in our personal and community life, we cannot help but proclaim and share what we have seen and heard.". With these words begins the the Holy Father's message for World Mission DayThe event, which is celebrated every year on the penultimate Sunday of October, was signed on January 6, the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, in St. John Lateran.

Francis recalls that "Jesus' relationship with his disciples, his humanity revealed to us in the mystery of the incarnation, in his Gospel and in his Passover, show us to what extent God loves our humanity and makes our joys and sufferings, our desires and our anxieties his own.". He adds:

"Everything in Christ reminds us that the world in which we live and its need for redemption is not alien to him and also summons us to feel an active part of this mission: 'Go out to the crossroads of the roads and invite all whom you meet.' No one is a stranger, no one can feel strange or distant to this love of compassion".

A passionate search for the Lord

Francis recalls that "the history of evangelization begins with a passionate search for the Lord who calls and wants to enter into a dialogue of friendship with each person, wherever he finds himself."and that "love is always on the move and sets us on the move to share the most beautiful and hopeful announcement".

We have been created for fullness

The Holy Father writes that "with Jesus we have seen, heard and felt that things can be different". He adds that "He inaugurated, already for today, the times to come, reminding us of an essential characteristic of our being human, so often forgotten: 'We were made for the fullness that can only be attained in love'. New times that give rise to a faith capable of promoting initiatives and forging communities based on men and women who learn to take charge of their own fragility and that of others, promoting fraternity and social friendship.".

"The ecclesial community shows its beauty every time it gratefully remembers that the Lord first loved us. That 'loving predilection of the Lord surprises us, and wonder - by its very nature - we can neither possess it for ourselves nor impose it. Only in this way can the miracle of gratuitousness, the gratuitous gift of self, flourish."

After alluding to the difficult times that the early Christians went through when they began their life of faith in a hostile and complicated environment, the Holy Father recalls that ".limits and impediments also became a privileged place to anoint everything and everyone with the Spirit of the Lord.".

"Nothing and no one could be left out of this liberating announcement."

The Pope refers to the Acts of the Apostles and writes that ".teaches us to live through trials by embracing Christ, to mature in the conviction that God can act in any circumstance, even in the midst of apparent failures.".

A difficult moment in our history

"And so do we - continues the Pope in his message - Nor is the current moment in our history an easy one. The pandemic situation highlighted and amplified the pain, loneliness, poverty and injustices that so many were already suffering and exposed our false securities and the fragmentations and polarizations that silently lacerate us.".

"The most fragile and vulnerable experienced even more their vulnerability and fragility. We experienced discouragement, disenchantment, weariness, and even conformist and hopeless bitterness could take hold of our gazes."

And to the question: "Why should I deprive myself of my securities, comforts and pleasures if I am not going to see any significant results?"The answer - Francis writes - remains the same:

"Jesus Christ has triumphed over sin and death and is full of power. Jesus Christ is truly alive and wants us to be alive, fraternal and capable of hosting and sharing this hope. In today's context, missionaries of hope are urgently needed who, anointed by the Lord, are capable of prophetically reminding us that no one is saved on his own".

Get involved in the transformation of the world

He also writes that "Christians cannot keep the Lord to themselves: the Church's evangelizing mission expresses her total and public involvement in the transformation of the world and in the care of creation.".

Acknowledgment and invitation

The Pope, recalling the theme of this year's World Mission Day, ".We cannot stop talking about what we have seen and heard.", affirms that "is an invitation to each of us to 'take charge' and make known what we have in our heart". And he affirms that "On World Mission Day, which is celebrated every year on the penultimate Sunday of October, we gratefully remember all those people who, with their life witness, help us to renew our baptismal commitment to be generous and joyful apostles of the Gospel.".

"We especially remember those who were able to set out on the road, to leave their land and their homes so that the Gospel could reach without delay and without fear those corners of towns and cities where so many lives are thirsting for blessing."

"To live the mission is to venture to develop the same feelings of Jesus Christ and to believe with Him that whoever is at my side is also my brother and sister.". "May your love of compassion - writes the Pope at the end of his message - also awaken our hearts and make us all missionary disciples.".

The Pope concludes his message by invoking the Mother of God to make this desire grow in us:

"May Mary, the first missionary disciple, make grow in all the baptized the desire to be salt and light in our lands."

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"We Christians in Pakistan have hope for a better future."

Abid Saleem, Pakistani, is one of the beneficiaries of the scholarships that Centro Academico Romano foundation manages to promote the formation of priests from all over the world.

Maria José Atienza-January 31, 2021-Reading time: < 1 minute

Abid SaleemThe Oblate Missionary of Mary Immaculate is a 41-year-old Pakistani priest who is studying at the Oblate Missionary of Mary Immaculate. Pontifical University of the Holy Crossin Rome.

Since he was a child he wanted to become a priest and, in college, an event marked his life: "I met an Oblate novice who explained to me the charism of the congregation. I signed up for a vocation program. I loved the Oblate spirituality and their motto: "Evangelizing the poor."he says. 

Ordained in 2009, his bishop sent him to different parishes, first as assistant and then as pastor. There he worked with young people and was part of the Catechetical Commission of his diocese. 

Your country needs well-trained Catholic priests. Muslims are 95% of the population and Christians represent 2%, half Catholic and half Protestant. 

"Christians in Pakistan are, for the most part, very poor. Even so, they have made significant contributions to the social development of the country, especially in the establishment of schools and health centers." However, they also suffer discrimination and persecution: targeted violence, kidnappings, forced conversion, and vandalism of homes and churches.. In spite of everything, Christians in Pakistan are hopeful for a better future," he said.r" he says. 

"Now, thanks to the benefactors of CARFMy superior has sent me to Rome for further studies in Liturgy. I would like to be a good missionary".he concludes. 

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One is your Master and all of you are brothers and sisters

Message of the Holy Father Francis for the XXIX World Day of the Sick

Pope Francis-January 31, 2021-Reading time: 5 minutes

Dear brothers and sisters:

The celebration of the 29th World Day of the Sick, which will take place on 11 February 2021, the memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lourdes, is a propitious moment to give special attention to the sick and to those who care for them, both in the places where they are cared for and within families and communities. I am thinking in particular of those throughout the world who are suffering from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. To all, especially the poorest and most marginalized, I express my spiritual closeness, while assuring them of the Church's solicitude and affection.

1. The theme of this Day is inspired by the Gospel passage in which Jesus criticizes the hypocrisy of those who say but do not do (cf. Mt 23:1-12). When faith is limited to sterile verbal exercises, without involvement in the history and needs of our neighbor, the coherence between the professed creed and real life is weakened. The risk is serious; for this reason, Jesus uses strong expressions, to warn us of the danger of falling into idolatry of ourselves, and affirms: "One is your teacher and you are all brothers" (v. 8).

The criticism that Jesus directs at those who "say, but do not do" (v. 3) is beneficial, always and for everyone, because no one is immune to the evil of hypocrisy, a very serious evil, whose effect is to prevent us from flourishing as children of the one Father, called to live a universal fraternity.

Faced with the needy condition of a brother or sister, Jesus shows us a model of behavior totally opposed to hypocrisy. He proposes to stop, to listen, to establish a direct and personal relationship with the other, to feel empathy and emotion for him or her, to allow oneself to be involved in his or her suffering to the point of taking care of him or her through service (cf. Lk 10:30-35).

2. The experience of illness makes us feel our own vulnerability and, at the same time, the innate need of the other. Our condition as creatures becomes even clearer and we experience in an evident way our dependence on God. Indeed, when we are sick, uncertainty, fear and sometimes consternation take hold of our mind and heart; we find ourselves in a situation of helplessness, because our health does not depend on our abilities or on our being "anxious" (cf. Mt 6:27).

Illness imposes a question of meaning, which in faith is addressed to God; a question that seeks a new meaning and a new direction for existence, and which sometimes may not find an immediate answer. Our own friends and relatives cannot always help us in this laborious search.

In this respect, the biblical figure of Job is emblematic. His wife and friends are not able to accompany him in his misfortune, indeed, they accuse him, increasing his loneliness and bewilderment. Job falls into a state of abandonment and incomprehension. But precisely through this extreme fragility, rejecting all hypocrisy and choosing the path of sincerity with God and with others, he makes his insistent cry reach God, who finally responds, opening a new horizon for him. It confirms to him that his suffering is not a condemnation or a punishment, nor is it a state of distance from God or a sign of his indifference. Thus, from the wounded and healed heart of Job, flows that moving declaration to the Lord, which resounds with energy: "I knew you only by hearsay, but now my eyes have seen you" (42:5).

3. Illness always has a face, even more than one: it has the face of every sick person, including those who feel ignored, excluded, victims of social injustices that deny their fundamental rights (cf. Encyclical Letter, p. 4). Fratelli tutti, 22). The current pandemic has brought to light numerous inadequacies in health systems and shortcomings in the care of the sick. The elderly, the weakest and most vulnerable are not always guaranteed access to treatment, and not always in an equitable manner. This depends on political decisions, the way resources are managed and the commitment of those in positions of responsibility. Investing resources in the care and attention of sick people is a priority linked to a principle: health is a primary common good. At the same time, the pandemic has also highlighted the dedication and generosity of health workers, volunteers, workers, priests, men and women religious who, with professionalism, selflessness, a sense of responsibility and love of neighbor, have helped, cared for, comforted and served so many sick people and their families. A silent multitude of men and women who have decided to look at those faces, taking care of the wounds of the patients, who felt they were neighbors because they belonged to the same human family.

Closeness, in fact, is a very precious balm that offers support and comfort to those who suffer in sickness. As Christians, we live projimity as an expression of the love of Jesus Christ, the Good Samaritan, who with compassion has made himself close to every human being, wounded by sin. United to him by the action of the Holy Spirit, we are called to be merciful like the Father and to love, in particular, our sick, weak and suffering brothers and sisters (cf. Jn 13:34-35). And we live this closeness not only in a personal way, but also in a communitarian way: in fact, fraternal love in Christ generates a community capable of healing, which abandons no one, which includes and welcomes especially the most fragile.

In this regard, I wish to recall the importance of fraternal solidarity, which is expressed concretely in service and which can take on very different forms, all aimed at supporting our neighbor. "To serve means to care for the fragile in our families, in our society, in our people" (Homily in Havana20 September 2015). In this commitment, each one is capable of "putting aside his searches, worries, desires of omnipotence before the concrete gaze of the most fragile. [...] Service always looks at the face of the brother, touches his flesh, feels his projimity and even in some cases "suffers" it and seeks the promotion of the brother. For this reason, service is never ideological, since it does not serve ideas, but rather serves persons" (ibid.).

4. For a good therapy, the relational aspect is decisive, through which a holistic approach to the sick person can be adopted. Giving value to this aspect also helps doctors, nurses, professionals and volunteers to take charge of those who suffer in order to accompany them on a path of healing, thanks to an interpersonal relationship of trust (cf. New Charter for Health Care Workers [2016], 4). It is therefore a matter of establishing a pact between those in need of care and those who care for them; a pact based on mutual trust and respect, on sincerity, on availability, to overcome every defensive barrier, to place the dignity of the sick person at the center, to safeguard the professionalism of health care workers and to maintain a good relationship with the patients' families.

It is precisely this relationship with the sick person that finds an inexhaustible source of motivation and strength in the charity of Christ, as demonstrated by the witness of thousands of men and women who have sanctified themselves by serving the sick. Indeed, from the mystery of Christ's death and resurrection flows the love that can give full meaning both to the patient's condition and to that of the caregiver. The Gospel testifies to this many times, showing that the healings that Jesus performed are never magical gestures, but are always the fruit of an encounter, of an interpersonal relationship, in which the gift of God that Jesus offers is matched by the faith of the one who receives it, as summarized by the words that Jesus often repeats: "Your faith has saved you".

5. Dear brothers and sisters, the commandment of love, which Jesus left to his disciples, also finds a concrete realization in our relationship with the sick. A society is all the more human the more it knows how to care for its fragile and suffering members, and it knows how to do so efficiently, animated by fraternal love. Let us strive towards this goal, ensuring that no one is left alone, that no one feels excluded or abandoned.

I entrust to Mary, Mother of Mercy and Health of the Sick, all those who are ill, health care workers and all those who work with those who suffer. May she, from the Grotto of Lourdes and from the countless shrines dedicated to her throughout the world, sustain our faith and our hope, and help us to care for one another with fraternal love. To each and every one of you I impart my heartfelt blessing.

Rome, St. John Lateran, December 20, 2020, Fourth Sunday of Advent.

The authorPope Francis

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Francis to Italian catechists: "Renew the spirit of proclamation".

Pope Francis granted an audience to the heads of the Catechetical Office of the Italian Bishops' Conference, on the 60th anniversary of the beginning of its activity.

David Fernández Alonso-January 31, 2021-Reading time: 4 minutes
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On the 60th anniversary of the beginning of the activity of the Catechetical Office of the Italian Episcopal Conference (CEI), Pope Francis granted an audience to its heads. This organism is destined to help the Italian Church in the field of catechesis after the Second Vatican Council.

An anniversary that, not only serves as a reminder, but is also an opportunity to "celebrate the anniversary".renewing the spirit of the announcement"The Pope told them in his speech, which is why he expressed to them his intention to "share three points that I hope will help you in your work over the next few years".

Jesus Christ at the center of catechesis

The first point es: catechesis and kerygma. "Catechesis is the echo of God's Word"Through Sacred Scripture, each person becomes part of the "the same salvation story"and with its own uniqueness".finds its own rhythm".

He also emphasized that the heart of the mystery of salvation is the kerygmaand that the kerygma is a person: Jesus Christ. Catechesis, therefore, must be "to bring about a personal encounter with Him"and, therefore, it cannot be done without personal relationships.

"There is no true catechesis without the witness of men and women of flesh and blood. Who among us does not remember at least one of his catechists? I do. I remember the nun who prepared me for my first communion and who did me so much good. The first protagonists of catechesis are the catechists, messengers of the Gospel, often lay people, who generously put themselves on the line to share the beauty of having encountered Jesus. Who is the catechist? He is the one who keeps and nourishes the memory of God; he keeps it in himself - he is a reminder of the history of salvation - and knows how to awaken this memory in others. He is a Christian who puts this memory at the service of proclamation; not to be seen, not to speak of himself, but to speak of God, of his love, of his fidelity."

The proclamation is the love of God in the language of the heart.

The Pope then indicated some characteristics that the proclamation should possess today. May he know how to reveal the love of GodIt should not be imposed, but should take freedom into account; it should be a witness to joy and vitality. To this end, the evangelizer must express "closeness, openness to dialogue, patience, a cordial welcome that does not condemn".

And speaking of the catechist, Francis added that ".faith must be transmitted in dialect", explaining that he was referring to the "dialect of proximity"The dialect understood by the people you are addressing:

"I am so moved by that passage in Maccabees, about the Seven Brothers. Two or three times they said that their mother supported them by speaking to them in dialect. It is important: the true faith must be transmitted in dialect. Catechists must learn to transmit it in dialect, that is, that language that comes from the heart, that is born, that is the most familiar, the closest to everyone. If there is no dialect, the faith is neither fully nor well transmitted."

Looking with gratitude to the Council

The second point Pope Francis indicated was catechesis and the future. Recalling the 50th anniversary of the document "Renewal of catechesis"In his address, with which the Italian Bishops' Conference acknowledged the indications of the Council, held last year, Francis quoted some words of Pope Paul VI. In these words invited the Italian Church to look to the Council with gratitudeof which he said "will be the great catechism of the new times."and observed that the constant task of catechesis is to "to understand these problems that arise from the heart of man, in order to redirect them to their hidden source: the gift of love that creates and saves."

For this reason, Francis reiterated that the catechesis inspired by the Council must be "always with an attentive ear, always attentive to renewal". And on the theme of the Council he added a broad reflection:

"The Council is the Magisterium of the Church. Either you are with the Church and therefore you follow the Council, and if you do not follow the Council or you interpret it in your own way, at your will, you are not with the Church. We must be demanding and strict on this point. No, the Council should not be negotiated to have more than these... No, the Council is like this. And this problem that we are experiencing, of selectivity of the Council, has been repeated throughout history with other Councils.

It makes me think so much of a group of bishops who after Vatican I left, a group of lay people, groups there, to continue the "true doctrine" which was not that of Vatican I. "We are the true Catholics"... Today they ordain women. The strictest attitude of guarding the faith without the Magisterium of the Church, leads you to ruin. Please, no concessions to those who try to present a catechesis that is not in accord with the Magisterium of the Church."

Speaking today's language

The Pope also said that catechesis, taking up the reading of the speech he had prepared, must be renewed in order to influence all areas of pastoral work. And he recommended:

"We must not be afraid to speak the language of the women and men of today. Yes, to speak the language outside the Church: of this, we must not be afraid. We must not be afraid to speak the language of the people. We must not be afraid to listen to their questions, whatever they may be, their unresolved questions, to listen to their frailties and their uncertainties: of this we are not afraid. We must not be afraid to develop new instruments".

Rediscovering the meaning of community

Catechesis and community represent the third pointThis is particularly relevant at a time when, due to the pandemic, isolation and feelings of loneliness are on the rise.

"The virus has undermined the living fabric of our territories, especially the existential ones, feeding fears, suspicions, distrust and uncertainty. It has undermined established practices and habits and thus made us rethink our community being. It has also made us realize that only together can we move forward, taking care of each other. We must rediscover the sense of community".

An advertisementor to look to the future

The Pope recalled what he said at the Ecclesial Congress in Florence, reiterating his desire for a Church "... that is, a Church that is not only a Church, but a Church that is not only a Church...".increasingly close to the abandoned, to the forgotten, to the imperfect"a joyful Church that "understand, accompany and caress." And this, he continued, "also applies to catechesis". And he urged creativity for an advertisement focused on the kerygma, "that looks to the future of our communities, so that they may be more and more rooted in the Gospel, fraternal and inclusive.".

The beginning of a synodal journey

In conclusion, the Holy Father invited, five years after the Florence Congress, the Church in Italy to initiate a synodal process at the national levelcommunity by community, diocese by diocese. In the Florence Congress is precisely the intuition of the path to follow in this Synod. "Now, take it back: it is time. And start walking".

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Spain

"It has not been God's will to leave him with us any longer."

Archbishop Omella presided at the funeral Mass for the soul of Archbishop Juan del Río, Archbishop of Castrense and President of the Episcopal Commission for Social Communications, who died of Covid19.

Maria José Atienza-January 30, 2021-Reading time: 3 minutes
RelatedRelated NewsArchbishop Juan del Rio, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires, diesRelated NewsDeath is not the endRelated NewsHeaven's friendsRelated NewsA communication full of hope

The Cardinal Archbishop of Barcelona and president of the Spanish Episcopal Conference, Archbishop Juan José Omella, presided at the funeral Mass for Archbishop Juan del Río.

The celebration, which took place in the Cathedral Church of the Armed Forces in Madrid at 12:00 noon, took place in great intimacy, both family and institutional, due to the current circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Among the bishops who were able to accompany Bishop Del Rio in this farewell were Cardinal Carlos Osoro, Archbishop of Madrid, Cardinal Ricardo Blázquez, Archbishop of Valladolid, and the Apostolic Nuncio to Spain, Bishop Bernardito Auza. Ricardo Blázquez, Archbishop of Valladolid, and the Apostolic Nuncio to Spain, Bishop Bernardito Auza.

The coffin, draped with the national flag, has been covered, at the beginning of the ceremony, with the chasuble and the episcopal insignia: miter and crosier, as well as the Gospel, was in the center of the transept of this church.

Death is a mystery

Cardinal Omella wanted to emphasize in his homily that "It was not God's will to leave him with us any longer and we accept it, even if it costs us, because God knows what is best for each one of us". Likewise, the president of the EEC stressed that "this virus does not differentiate between people, it has united us in fragility, it has reminded us all of our vulnerable condition". "Death is a mystery."Omella continued, "we ask ourselves questions like this: why do we have to die? To these questions, the Lord answers 'I am the Resurrection and the life'.".

He also pointed out: "We are masters of almost nothing, neither of life nor of death, neither of pastoral work nor of evangelization. Everything is in God's hands and he knows how to draw strength from weakness, he only asks us to abandon ourselves to him.".

Bishop Omella asked especially that God grant "consolation and peace" to all those who knew and appreciated Bishop Juan del Río and the Archdiocese of the Spanish Military Archdiocese. Recalling the motto of Bishop del Río, "Opus, iustitiae pax", has pointed out that don Juan "He worked side by side with the Armed Forces and state security forces in that beautiful humanitarian work of bringing peace and solidarity to all parts of the world and society. He was happy and proud to see that the Armed Forces and the security forces of the state collaborated so much in helping to overcome the pandemic and to alleviate suffering through the military Caritas that he created in his years of shepherding in this archbishopric".

Especially emotional was the moment when, after the Consecration, the Spanish hymn was played, continuing with the rite of the funeral Mass in the usual way.

The Apostolic Nuncio was in charge of reading the condolences and blessing sent by Pope Francis and the message from the King and Queen of Spain.

The painful goodbye

Finally, the Vicar General of the Military Archbishopric, Father Carlos Jesús Montes Herrero, thanked all those who, since Bishop Del Río's admission to the hospital, have shown their concern and closeness for the condition of the Military Archbishop and read a text from Bishop Juan del Río, "....The painful goodbye", collected in his reflections "Diary of a Pastor before COVID 19".

The military archbishop and president of the Episcopal Commission for Social Communications had been admitted on January 21 to the Central Defense Hospital "Gomez Ulla", affected by COVID-19. The complications of the disease led to his death a week later. He is the first active bishop to die of the pandemic in our country.

RelatedRelated NewsArchbishop Juan del Rio, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires, diesRelated NewsDeath is not the endRelated NewsHeaven's friendsRelated NewsA communication full of hope
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  • Worship music. Music and its beauty as a channel to bring us closer to God.
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Worship music. Music and its beauty as a channel to bring us closer to God.

The transcendent dimension of music is well known to many of us. Its truth and beauty are channels of encounter that help us to raise our souls to God, in a gaze that constantly seeks to enter into the profound and yearning "mystery" of the Love of Jesus.

The Beloved produces love-January 29, 2021-Reading time: 5 minutes

Pope Benedict XVI told us: "Art is capable of expressing and making visible man's need to go beyond what is seen, it manifests the thirst and the search for the infinite". The Holy Father pointed out that"there are artistic expressionsistics that help us to grow in our relationship with God, in prayer. These are works that are born of faith and express faith." (general audience, 31-VIII- 2011). 

Taking his words as a reference, expressing that mystery of search and faith with chords is a task in which thousands of Christian musicians around the world and Catholics in particular, also in Spain, are involved. It entails surrendering one's heart and talent to the feet of Jesus, and this literally means "placing oneself in the background". This is the arduous task of the Spanish Catholic musician; since the artist, on certain occasions, appropriates the place that corresponds to God. There is no need to be scandalized or frightened. It is normal and usual to see it, if there is no deep pastoral accompaniment to live a process of transfiguration of the musician towards the worshipper. The Grace of the Holy Spirit and the adoration of Jesus are needed.

Worship music or "worship"

Within the category of contemporary Christian music, we find worship music. Throughout the last decades, we have seen it develop in different styles, from classical to pop, soul, ballad, folk, rock, jazz, metal, harcdcore, or linked to other rhythms, bachata, salsa, rap, hip hop, reggae... It is mainly worship and praise music with a Christian theme. Not in vain, its origins in the 70's come from many street musicians who converted to Christianity and continued playing their music after their conversion, but with lyrics of faith. Gradually this became more popular. 

Their essence resides in the fact that they are songs interpreted by a whole praying community. The artist and the musicians are placed in the background and become a channel of the Holy Spirit, where the whole community can hear the true lung that guides worship and praise. 

In Spain, and specifically in contemporary Catholic Christian worship music, we are living a similar process. For many years, some Catholics with a strong experience of God in their lives, or communities that let themselves be inspired by the Holy Spirit, began to walk in that direction. There were many spearheads that opened the way. We also discovered some resistance, since the faithful in Spain are used to music as "accompaniment", but not so much to music in its prayerful dimension. It has been an arduous task and at times very arid. In the following lines we present some of the trends in worship music in Spain. 

Some current examples

Linked to religious congregations, we find as a referent the group Ain Karen, related to the Carmelite Sisters of Charity Vedruna, a religious congregation of active life. 

Ain Karen was born in 2000 with the objective of announcing the Good News of Jesus to the youngest. The hallmark of this project has been and continues to be "singing the word" and being a mediation for prayer. Its first CD, called Barefoot followed by eight more. 

United to the spiritual family of the Institute of the Disciples of Jesus, founded by Blessed Pedro Ruiz de los Paños, the following were born Mariola Alcocer and D' colores Band, a group of committed lay people from the south of Alicante who love the Lord. It all came about as a result of recording the song Proof of lovewhich speaks of their founder. This event brought them closer to the charism. Their work For you are songs of various styles, soul, blues, rock. It is common to see them in the adorations of the evangelization group. Nightfever.

We enter into another rhythm, and from the youth area and we find Hakuna. They are defined as "We are Christians who together follow Christ, sharing a way of life that we learn kneeling before Christ the Host. We usually express ourselves with music. Our story begins on a trip to WYD in Rio de Janeiro, in July 2013, from there the seed of what is today was planted. Hakuna Group Music". In addition to the Holy Hours in Madrid and other cities there are a variety of spiritual proposals.

In another order, from the movements, we highlight the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, to which the preacher and worshipper Marcelo Olima is linked. The CCR has been defined as a current of grace. Marcelo, of Argentinean origin, works as a Religion teacher. He is inserted with his family in his parish in Berja, Almeria, where he serves the Lord wherever He leads them. He has been preaching and worshiping Jesus all over the world for 25 years. He has published several praise albums.

Contemplative line

From the contemplative sphere, we will meet several people. Maite López, from Navarre, tells us. "My great passion and the center of my life has been faith. I live my commitment in the Church by exercising my profession as a communicator with articles, reviews, courses and workshops.". Maite is linked to the Slaves of the Sacred Heart. Her music is very appropriate for worship, and she has several albums behind her.

Specializing in Spanish contemporary Catholic music, he lives his faith through the group Holy Rosary of his parish in Alpedrete, Madrid, Enrique Mejías, musicologist, guitarist and composer who delivers his music in the field of worship. His songs are born in prayerful intimacy, inspired by the Word of God and the saints. I surrender all to You is his classic CD.

In a contemplative line but linked to the priesthood, we find a minister of God from the Mercedarian spirituality. Fray Nacho presents himself as follows: "I can tell you that I am a priest, a Mercedarian friar, who works in the prison of Lleida as chaplain and in the parish of Sant Pau as parish priest. I have been singing for as long as I have been conscious. One day I discovered that God gave me the ability to make music, so I started to do it". His songs are full of poetry, sensitivity, and faith. He has several CDs to his credit.

Going deeper into the music of contemplative, almost mystical adoration, we find a woman with a broad itinerary of conversion as a result of her travels in India and Nepal. The meeting with the director of the Apostleship of Prayer, in the forest where she lived in retirement, will be the bridge to the Franciscan spirituality, from where she undertakes "the journey home". In the monastery of the Virgen del Espino, in Vivar del Cid, the sisters (O.S.C.) will accompany her on this journey. She is Beatriz Elamado, with several CD's, among which stands out Go, Francisco, repair, a flash drive in the shape of a San Damiano cross and the mission of Mary's Candle spiritually accompanied by a hermit.

We do not want to forget to mention some relevant producers of this type of music. This is the case of the young Venezuelan living in Spain, Gerson Perez, linked to the RCCE and in charge of the musical arrangements of some singers since his arrival (Mariana Valongo). In his work as a producer, one can perceive that he drank from the sources of the evangelical brothers, but had a deep conversion to Catholicism. From Zaragoza, another producer stands out in the national panorama, the young Pablo Solans. We share his feelings: "Jesus has given me everything. He is everything to me. He gave me the voice and two hands for His glory. I can do nothing but give him back everything he has given me, caress his heart, make him smile.".

The authorThe Beloved produces love

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Books

Spiritual lessons from an old English gardener.

Lucas Buch recommends reading Memories of an English Gardener (Old Herbaceous).

Lucas Buch-January 29, 2021-Reading time: 3 minutes
RelatedRelated NewsChristian marriage: a great hope

The title of the book in Spanish is slightly misleading. This is not a memoir (even a fictional one), but a narrative, written in the third person. The story begins when Viejo Hierbas (that's what the local kids call the protagonist of the book) is already an old man. Memories and reflections are interspersed, in a tone at once tender, almost naive, and loaded with a subtle irony, as English as the gardener.

Book

TitleMemories of an English gardener
AuthorReginald Arkell
Editorial: Peripheral
Pages: 224

Although it may seem a light work, in reality it delves into some very deep fields. In the first place, it shows a profession that, as Higinio Marín says, we would do even if we had to pay for it. In reality, Old Herb seemed doomed to be a peasant, like all the young men of his village. However, he soon felt the attraction of gardening. As a child, the farmer with whom he was to work sent him to help his wife with the house garden. Everything had to be watered manually... "After hauling buckets of water until he was barely standing, he asked if he could come back the next afternoon. 

-Bless you," said the farmer's wife, "of course you can come back tomorrow.

And when he blessed the boy for the second time in one afternoon, he meant it. He offered him the customary penny, but the little gardener refused. 

-But why? -asked the astonished woman.

-Because I like to come," he replied.

According to his philosophy, working meant doing something you didn't want to do, and the only thing you got paid for was working." (pp. 49-50). Similarly, when he enters Mrs. Charteris's garden (to which he will devote his entire life), he encounters a problem. When he tries to continue his work at the end of the day, she prevents him from doing so: "-I can't have you working day and night. What would people say? They'd call me exploitative. You should be having fun.....

Apparently, they were after him again. Why didn't they care? Why didn't they leave him alone? He wasn't hurting anyone. Why did you have to stop doing something you like because it's called work, and start doing something you don't like because it's called fun?" (p. 80).

The book is, therefore, an approach to the "gustoso work" of which Juan Ramón Jiménez wrote beautifully. It is not only for money that men work. Gardening, like so many other vocational professions, requires a good dose of initiative and creativity, "appeals to the mind and heart rather than the pocketbook." (p. 90). On the other hand, it is a profession that allows for inhabit the world in the noblest sense of the term, making it one's own: "As long as he was responsible for the garden he contemplated, he never felt like a worker being paid a salary. He felt it was his, and in a way it was." (p. 11).

In addition to the subjective dimension of work, the life of the Old Herb uncovers small treasures of domestic wisdom (common sense), which in the hurried world in which we live is sometimes a little more difficult to learn. Like the need to adapt to the rhythms of reality, which are not always our own. With fine irony, Arkell writes: "Right out of the gate, he had to learn the lesson that every gardener learns: the flowers never come out all at the same time. Either you're too late or you're too early. The flowers you grow today are never as beautiful as the ones you grew yesterday and will grow again tomorrow. The gardener is a frustrated being for whom flowers never sprout at the right time. In everything around him he sees change and decay. It's all very sad, and how gardeners manage to get by in the face of such adversity is one of those things that no one will ever understand."(p. 37). A drama that is balanced with so many satisfactions, because "gardening may be the most exasperating occupation in the world, but it gives as much as it demands, no more and no less." (p. 65).

Finally, the novel is interesting for the era - for the change of time - that it describes. Old Herb's life spans the passage from the 19th to the 20th century, and he is an old man after World War II. He lives, thus, the radical transformation of a world. From the Victorian era, where tradition ruled everything and novelty was almost forbidden, to a time when the authority of the elders is worthless. And he always seems to get the worst of it, for he is young at a time when the elders ruled everything ("that was the way things were in those days: the old men held on to their lucrative jobs until the young men were almost retirement age." p.97); and he is old when it is the opinion of the elders that does not matter... How to stop being the one who rules a garden and yet not lose an iota of dignity or authority? How to pass on the baton joyfully, without feeling humiliated? How the author solves this little dilemma is best left to the readers who might be interested in the book. To avoid the spoiler.

The authorLucas Buch

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Parish renewal: How many "somebodies"...?

The author reflects on the evangelizing meaning of parish communities. 

Juan Luis Rascón Ors-January 29, 2021-Reading time: 2 minutes

- How many children make their first communion in your parish? 

This is usually one of the first questions a priest is asked when asked to talk about his parish. It seems that the answer will give us the measure of the pastoral health of the parish.

- ¡300!

- Wow, what a great parish!

- 5 o 6.

- Wow... and do you have a lot of weddings? How many families come to Caritas? Are the people in the neighborhood very old?

What is the true measure of a parish's health? What are the right questions to ask? Do we dare to ask them?

The simple number of first communions, baptisms, confirmations or weddings is hardly enough to fill in the data of the Pontifical Yearbook. It reflects the level of activity, but not the vitality or health of a parish; sometimes it can also serve as an anesthetic so as not to perceive the decline while we are busy.

Of course it is good to have 300 children in first communion, and 1000 would be better. The point is that what gives us the true measure of the strength of the Church is not the number of attendees or beneficiaries. 

The other day I was talking to a priest friend of mine, and I was telling him that in my parish, of the 80 children in catechesis, only 3 or 4 regularly attend mass with their families. Most of the parents, in spite of the invitations we make to them, after the catechesis, instead of going to mass, they pick up their children and go... to skate, to go for a walk, to ride a bike, to some activity organized by the city council... This priest friend, who works in a school, told me: "I have to tell you that the children are not going to go to mass:

- That's the way it is, but at least they will have been with us for a few years and will remember that the priest was a stand-up guy and very nice...that's the impact we will leave in their lives. 

I was a little mean:

- Yes, but the Lord did not tell us: "Go into the whole world, be nice, be liked by everyone and be remembered with affection...", but He said: "Go into the whole world and make disciples...".

Make disciples. This is the key. All of us who have given our lives to Christ forever, lay and clerical, married and celibate, all of us who follow Christ and are his witnesses have been and are disciples. Our following and commitment are not based on someone we liked; of course nice people help, but what made us disciples was that someone led us to Christ, someone led us to meet him face to face and taught us to listen to him; someone whose face and name we remembered, someone we trusted and who was our mentor, our teacher, our father in the faith; someone we counted on at any hour of the day; someone who sustained us with his prayer and taught us to pray; someone who was a priest, a layman, a man, a woman; someone who was a Christian aware that because he was baptized he had a mission; someone for whom the Lord was the center of his life and all areas of his life, someone....

Perhaps the right question to ask to measure the health of a parish is not how many children it has in first communion, but...: how many of those "someones" are there in the parish?

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  • Ascension.0: An Art Perspective on Spirituality
Culture

Ascension.0: An Art Perspective on Spirituality

The O_Lumen space will host from January 15, 2021 the exhibition of the work of the sculptor Pablo Redondo Díez - Odnoder with a personal, different and stylized look of art towards spirituality.

Maria José Atienza-January 29, 2021-Reading time: < 1 minute
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The exhibition, created by the sculptor Pablo Redondo which can be visited until February 28 at the space located at 141 Claudio Coello Street in Madrid, is based on the Ascension as a metaphor for the representation of the spiritual and earthly planes of the human being, and transferred to the mystical dimension of art.

Ascension.0 brings together pieces that reflect the romantic concept of the sublime, and that by combining spiritual energy and artistic narrative manage to produce in the viewer the sensation of infinity, eternity and mystery before contemplation.

A project that reflects this return of the spiritual in today's art sphere, of a profound process of resacralization of the aesthetic experience, which is in line with the objectives that the Dominicans have with this initiative.

The O_Lumen project

O_Lumen is an initiative launched by the Dominicans through which they offer activities that favor the encounter of the arts with the Christian faith and its cultural proposals. Through art, they aim to promote the social and humanizing dimension of the arts that promotes human rights, as well as to collaborate with emerging artists and promote artistic expressions linked to the Christian and Dominican tradition.

All this focused on the O_LUMEN space. An art room resulting from the integral rehabilitation of the church of Santo Domingo El Real, the work of the Dominican Francisco Coello de Portugal and in which some of the elements that give the place its personality as an area of expression for the Christian faith have been respected. 

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  • The Holy See to the Davos Forum: "We must defend the dignity of the human person".
The Vatican

The Holy See to the Davos Forum: "We must defend the dignity of the human person".

Cardinal Turkson addressed the World Economic Forum in Davos, which this year held its first virtual meeting. 

David Fernández Alonso-January 29, 2021-Reading time: 2 minutes
RelatedRelated News"I dream of a Europe where the person is a value in itself."Related NewsPaul R. Gallagher: "Europe needs a mechanism to distribute the reception of migrants".

Cardinal Peter K. Turkson, Prefect of the Dicastery for Human Development, spoke at the first virtual meeting of the World Economic Forum, traditionally held in Davos, Switzerland. Turkson.

The most prestigious economic forum

The Davos Forum is an event where political, business and financial leaders from around the world discuss global problems and trends and make proposals to address them. The prestigious meeting is convened by the World Economic Forum foundation, founded by German economist and businessman Klaus Schwabis also adapted to the circumstances of the pandemic. The annual meeting will be held this year in Singapore from May 25 to 28, and this week has had a virtual prelude in which it also Cardinal Turkson participated. Turkson.

The Forum has been approached in an unusual way, practically taking for granted that 2020 has been a lost year for the world economy. The title Rebuilding the world after the pandemic The assembly will follow a common thread.

Two worlds

Card. Turkson addressed the 2018 Davos Forum in person.

In this context, the Cardinal Prefect of the Dicastery for Human Development has assured that ".There is a world that can have its groceries delivered to its home, avoiding the danger of crowds, and another that, if it wants to eat, must procure food in person at markets where there are no predefined distances. More simply, there is a world that has a house in which to keep the family safe and another world that does not have this security. because he does not have, or no longer has, a home worthy of the name and a job to pay for it.".

Turkson has called for "access for allThe "vaccine and anti-viral drugs, especially for the poorest countries, as Pope Francis has already called for. "We are seeing how governments focus only on their own people and then on others.", noted the cardinal, who responded to a series of questions.

Exploring alternative therapies

"Several countries also have the capacity to produce drugs and if intellectual property were to be relaxed they could bring production to the local level"reducing the impact of contagion. Faced with new strains of the virus, the cardinal points out that, if we could "explore some alternative therapies, this could help manage the emergency and reduce mortality rates.".

Finally, Card. Turkson has insisted on the idea that Francis has been preaching since before the pandemic: "When we talk about the dignity of the human person, we cannot compromise and must defend it.". "At a certain point"concludes the cardinal, "we are trying to create a platform with social economic policies"capable of "care for each other, because the human family is a single interconnected family.". And the practice of solidarity, of "care"creates and disseminates the "human fraternity".

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