Carl E. Olson's Blog, page 326

"Blessed are you, beloved Pope John Paul II, because you believed!"

There is a flood of stories about the beatification of Pope John Paul II, but for now here is the text of Pope Benedict XVI's homily given earlier today at the Mass during which Servant of God John Paul II was proclaimed a Blesssed. From Vatican Information Service:

VATICAN CITY, 1 MAY 2011 (VIS) - At 10:00am this morning, the Second Sunday of Easter of Divine Mercy Sunday, Benedict XVI presided over the Eucharistic celebration during which Servant of God John Paul II, Pope (1920-2005) was proclaimed a Blessed, and whose feastday will be celebrated 22 October every year from now on.

  Eighty-seven delegations from various countries, among which were 5 royal houses, 16 heads of state - including the presidents of Poland and Italy - and 7 prime ministers, attended the ceremony.

  Hundreds of thousands of people from around the world filled St. Peter's Square and the streets adjacent. The ceremony could also be followed on the various giant screens installed in Circo Massimo and various squares around the city.

  The text of the Pope's homily follows:

  "Dear Brothers and Sisters,

  Six years ago we gathered in this Square to celebrate the funeral of Pope John Paul II. Our grief at his loss was deep, but even greater was our sense of an immense grace which embraced Rome and the whole world: a grace which was in some way the fruit of my beloved predecessor's entire life, and especially of his witness in suffering. Even then we perceived the fragrance of his sanctity, and in any number of ways God's People showed their veneration for him. For this reason, with all due respect for the Church's canonical norms, I wanted his cause of beatification to move forward with reasonable haste. And now the longed-for day has come; it came quickly because this is what was pleasing to the Lord: John Paul II is blessed!

  I would like to offer a cordial greeting to all of you who on this happy occasion have come in such great numbers to Rome from all over the world - cardinals, patriarchs of the Eastern Catholic Churches, brother bishops and priests, official delegations, ambassadors and civil authorities, consecrated men and women and lay faithful, and I extend that greeting to all those who join us by radio and television.

  Today is the Second Sunday of Easter, which Blessed John Paul II entitled Divine Mercy Sunday. The date was chosen for today's celebration because, in God's providence, my predecessor died on the vigil of this feast. Today is also the first day of May, Mary's month, and the liturgical memorial of Saint Joseph the Worker. All these elements serve to enrich our prayer, they help us in our pilgrimage through time and space; but in heaven a very different celebration is taking place among the angels and saints! Even so, God is but one, and one too is Christ the Lord, who like a bridge joins earth to heaven. At this moment we feel closer than ever, sharing as it were in the liturgy of heaven.

  'Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe' (Jn 20:29). In today's Gospel Jesus proclaims this beatitude: the beatitude of faith. For us, it is particularly striking because we are gathered to celebrate a beatification, but even more so because today the one proclaimed blessed is a Pope, a Successor of Peter, one who was called to confirm his brethren in the faith. John Paul II is blessed because of his faith, a strong, generous and apostolic faith. We think at once of another beatitude: 'Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven' (Mt 16:17). What did our heavenly Father reveal to Simon? That Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Because of this faith, Simon becomes Peter, the rock on which Jesus can build his Church. The eternal beatitude of John Paul II, which today the Church rejoices to proclaim, is wholly contained in these sayings of Jesus: 'Blessed are you, Simon' and 'Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe!' It is the beatitude of faith, which John Paul II also received as a gift from God the Father for the building up of Christ's Church.

  Our thoughts turn to yet another beatitude, one which appears in the Gospel before all others. It is the beatitude of the Virgin Mary, the Mother of the Redeemer. Mary, who had just conceived Jesus, was told by Saint Elizabeth: 'Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord' (Lk 1:45). The beatitude of faith has its model in Mary, and all of us rejoice that the beatification of John Paul II takes place on this first day of the month of Mary, beneath the maternal gaze of the one who by her faith sustained the faith of the Apostles and constantly sustains the faith of their successors, especially those called to occupy the Chair of Peter. Mary does not appear in the accounts of Christ's resurrection, yet hers is, as it were, a continual, hidden presence: she is the Mother to whom Jesus entrusted each of his disciples and the entire community. In particular we can see how Saint John and Saint Luke record the powerful, maternal presence of Mary in the passages preceding those read in today's Gospel and first reading. In the account of Jesus' death, Mary appears at the foot of the Cross (Jn 19:25), and at the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles she is seen in the midst of the disciples gathered in prayer in the Upper Room (Acts 1:14).

  Today's second reading also speaks to us of faith. St. Peter himself, filled with spiritual enthusiasm, points out to the newly-baptized the reason for their hope and their joy. I like to think how in this passage, at the beginning of his First Letter, Peter does not use language of exhortation; instead, he states a fact. He writes: 'you rejoice', and he adds: 'you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls' (1 Pt 1:6, 8-9). All these verbs are in the indicative, because a new reality has come about in Christ's resurrection, a reality to which faith opens the door. 'This is the Lord's doing', says the Psalm (Ps 118:23), and 'it is marvelous in our eyes', the eyes of faith.

  Dear brothers and sisters, today our eyes behold, in the full spiritual light of the risen Christ, the beloved and revered figure of John Paul II. Today his name is added to the host of those whom he proclaimed saints and blesseds during the almost twenty-seven years of his pontificate, thereby forcefully emphasizing the universal vocation to the heights of the Christian life, to holiness, taught by the conciliar Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium. All of us, as members of the people of God - bishops, priests, deacons, laity, men and women religious - are making our pilgrim way to the heavenly homeland where the Virgin Mary has preceded us, associated as she was in a unique and perfect way to the mystery of Christ and the Church. Karol Wojtyla took part in the Second Vatican Council, first as an auxiliary Bishop and then as Archbishop of Krakow. He was fully aware that the Council's decision to devote the last chapter of its Constitution on the Church to Mary meant that the Mother of the Redeemer is held up as an image and model of holiness for every Christian and for the entire Church. This was the theological vision which Blessed John Paul II discovered as a young man and subsequently maintained and deepened throughout his life. A vision which is expressed in the scriptural image of the crucified Christ with Mary, his Mother, at his side. This icon from the Gospel of John (19:25-27) was taken up in the episcopal and later the papal coat-of-arms of Karol Wojtyla: a golden cross with the letter 'M' on the lower right and the motto 'Totus tuus', drawn from the well-known words of Saint Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort in which Karol Wojtyla found a guiding light for his life: 'Totus tuus ego sum et omnia mea tua sunt. Accipio te in mea omnia. Praebe mihi cor tuum, Maria - I belong entirely to you, and all that I have is yours. I take you for my all. O Mary, give me your heart' (Treatise on True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, 266).

  In his Testament, the new Blessed wrote: 'When, on 16 October 1978, the Conclave of Cardinals chose John Paul II, the Primate of Poland, Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski, said to me: "The task of the new Pope will be to lead the Church into the Third Millennium"'. And the Pope added: 'I would like once again to express my gratitude to the Holy Spirit for the great gift of the Second Vatican Council, to which, together with the whole Church - and especially with the whole episcopate - I feel indebted. I am convinced that it will long be granted to the new generations to draw from the treasures that this Council of the twentieth century has lavished upon us. As a Bishop who took part in the Council from the first to the last day, I desire to entrust this great patrimony to all who are and will be called in the future to put it into practice. For my part, I thank the Eternal Shepherd, who has enabled me to serve this very great cause in the course of all the years of my Pontificate'. And what is this 'cause'? It is the same one that John Paul II presented during his first solemn Mass in Saint Peter's Square in the unforgettable words: 'Do not be afraid! Open, open wide the doors to Christ!' What the newly-elected Pope asked of everyone, he was himself the first to do: society, culture, political and economic systems he opened up to Christ, turning back with the strength of a titan - a strength which came to him from God - a tide which appeared irreversible. By his witness of faith, love and apostolic courage, accompanied by great human charisma, this exemplary son of Poland helped believers throughout the world not to be afraid to be called Christian, to belong to the Church, to speak of the Gospel. In a word: he helped us not to fear the truth, because truth is the guarantee of liberty. To put it even more succinctly: he gave us the strength to believe in Christ, because Christ is Redemptor hominis, the Redeemer of man. This was the theme of his first encyclical, and the thread which runs though all the others.

  When Karol Wojtyla ascended to the throne of Peter, he brought with him a deep understanding of the difference between Marxism and Christianity, based on their respective visions of man. This was his message: man is the way of the Church, and Christ is the way of man. With this message, which is the great legacy of the Second Vatican Council and of its 'helmsman', the Servant of God Pope Paul VI, John Paul II led the People of God across the threshold of the Third Millennium, which thanks to Christ he was able to call 'the threshold of hope'. Throughout the long journey of preparation for the great Jubilee he directed Christianity once again to the future, the future of God, which transcends history while nonetheless directly affecting it. He rightly reclaimed for Christianity that impulse of hope which had in some sense faltered before Marxism and the ideology of progress. He restored to Christianity its true face as a religion of hope, to be lived in history in an 'Advent' spirit, in a personal and communitarian existence directed to Christ, the fullness of humanity and the fulfillment of all our longings for justice and peace.

  Finally, on a more personal note, I would like to thank God for the gift of having worked for many years with Blessed Pope John Paul II. I had known him earlier and had esteemed him, but for twenty-three years, beginning in 1982 after he called me to Rome to be Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, I was at his side and came to revere him all the more. My own service was sustained by his spiritual depth and by the richness of his insights. His example of prayer continually impressed and edified me: he remained deeply united to God even amid the many demands of his ministry. Then too, there was his witness in suffering: the Lord gradually stripped him of everything, yet he remained ever a 'rock', as Christ desired. His profound humility, grounded in close union with Christ, enabled him to continue to lead the Church and to give to the world a message which became all the more eloquent as his physical strength declined. In this way he lived out in an extraordinary way the vocation of every priest and bishop to become completely one with Jesus, whom he daily receives and offers in the Eucharist.

  Blessed are you, beloved Pope John Paul II, because you believed! Continue, we implore you, to sustain from heaven the faith of God's people. How many time you blessed us from this very square. Holy Father, bless us again from that window. Amen".

Evil, Forgiveness, and the Limits of Divine Mercy

The concluding section of Fr. Schall's February 25, 2011, Ignatius Insight essay, "We Are the Risk of God: Reflections On the Limits of Divine Mercy":

John Paul II argues that the limits of evil are defined by the divine Mercy. What does this mean? The implication is not that everyone is automatically saved by the divine mercy that will excuse every sin. It won't. It will forgive every sin that can be forgiven, but that is the point. Forgiveness is contingent on repentance. What was new in the world as a result of the Incarnation was precisely that sins were forgiven in principle by the sacrifice of Christ. Since he was both God and man, he alone bridged the gap of the heinousness of sin.

In the classic idea of punishment that we find in Plato and Aristotle, we see that the purpose of punishment, particularly voluntary punishment, was to restore the order that we have broken in our sins. Plato even states that we should want to be punished, that we are incomplete without it. Voluntary punishment is a sign that we recognize our part in putting disorder in the world.

Plato also held that if we commit a crime against someone, that act can only be forgiven by the one against whom the crime or sin was committed. What Christianity adds to this principle is that every sin is also an offense against God. This is why we cannot restore the order by ourselves.

Christianity combines both of these points. The sacrifice of Christ atones for the offense against God, and the public acknowledgement restores the validity of the law we voluntarily broke. Moreover, our sins can be forgiven by God, we can suffer the punishment, but the one against whom we sinned may still not forgive us. This refusal, however, is not our problem. The willingness to forgive is also included in revelation as one of our own responsibilities.

The limits of the divine mercy then are what God can forgive. He cannot forgive what is not asked or acknowledged. If he "imposed" forgiveness on us, we would cease to be free. This would negate the whole drama of our freedom and its consequences. God can respond to evil with good, as can we. Divine mercy broadens the scope of God's relation to us. But that broadening included the redemption on the Cross. God responded to the initial human disorder by driving Adam and Eve out of Paradise. They lost the way to God that was offered to them. But they were promised and finally give a second way, one that still respected their freedom and let the consequences of their acts remain in effect.

The limits of the divine mercy, then, are established by what even God cannot do. He cannot make us free and then make us un-free. What he can do is make us free and, when we abuse our freedom, offer us a way to restore the law or love we have violated. But even here, it is up to us. God can give us an example of what our sins cost. But he cannot make us see it or admit our part in it.

Would it have been better then for God not to have created us? By no means. God indeed risked something in creating free beings. He risked that some would reject his love. But he paid this price. We are redeemed in a fallen world in which justice remains alongside mercy. God preferred something rather than nothing. This is the reason we exist with the offering to us of eternal life, if we respond to his invitation. Such is the drama of the world we live in. We are the risk of God. Those who refuse the gift of grace, however many there be, are left with their choice. God cannot take that away from them. This is the limit of the divine mercy.

Read the entire essay:

The Sacrificial Depths of the Gift of Divine Mercy

A Scriptural Reflection on the Readings for May 1, 2011, Divine Mercy Sunday | Carl E. Olson

Readings:
• Acts 2:42-47
• Psa. 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24
• 1 Pet. 1:3-9
• Jn. 20:19-31

As a young boy I enjoyed playing Little League baseball. On a couple of occasions, while playing a lesser opponent, our team would be so far ahead that the "mercy rule" took effect, meaning the game would end before all nine innings were played. This was meant to spare the other team embarrassment and to ensure the game ended in a timely manner.

Ordinary mercy involves having compassion and pity on another person. It usually assumes a certain relationship between those who have power and those who are powerless. It is based on the recognition, at some level, of the dignity of those who have less and who are vulnerable.

Divine mercy goes even deeper and farther—so deep and far, in fact, that we cannot fully comprehend it. It flows from the heart of Jesus Christ, who not only has pity on us sinners but willingly allowed himself to be disgraced, beaten, mocked, and killed for our sake.

In the language of sports, the crucified Christ was a "loser" so that we might, by His gift and grace, win eternal life. I say "loser" because we know, as today's Gospel explains, that while Jesus lost his life by giving it up on the Cross, He was restored to life by the Father. Saint Gregory the Great wrote of the doubting Apostle Thomas, "It was not an accident that that particular disciple was not present," referring to Christ's first appearance to the frightened disciples in the locked room (Jn 20:19-24). "The divine mercy ordained that a doubting disciple should, by feeling in his Master the wounds of the flesh, heal in us the wounds of unbelief."

It is tempting, I think, to sometimes look down on the Apostle Thomas, as though we would have readily accepted the witness of the other apostles. Perhaps. But the other disciples, at the first appearance of the risen Lord, also needed to see the hands and side of their Lord. In other words, Thomas asked for the same verification that Christ has given the others. As Saint Gregory indicates, Thomas's doubt was used by God as a means of mercy for our sake, for the Christian faith is rooted in the historical event of the Resurrection and in the first-hand witness of those who saw, touched, and spoke with the risen Christ.

In April of 2000, Pope John Paul II officially established this second Sunday of Easter as the Sunday of Divine Mercy, recognizing the private revelations given by Jesus to Saint Faustina Kowalska. Saint Kowalska saw two rays of light shining from the heart of Christ, which, He explained to her, "represent blood and water." Reflecting on this vision and Christ's statement, John Paul II wrote, "Blood and water! We immediately think of the testimony given by the Evangelist John, who, when a solider on Calvary pierced Christ's side with his spear, sees blood and water flowing from it (cf. Jn 19: 34). Moreover, if the blood recalls the sacrifice of the Cross and the gift of the Eucharist, the water, in Johannine symbolism, represents not only Baptism but also the gift of the Holy Spirit (cf. Jn 3: 5; 4: 14; 7: 37-39).

The divine mercy, then, involves the sacrificial self-gift that God offers to us, flowing from the heart of the Father, demonstrated in the death of the Son, and given by the power of the Holy Spirit. John Paul II, in his encyclical Dives in Misericordia—"On the Mercy of God" (Nov 30, 1980)—wrote that Christ "makes incarnate and personified [mercy]. He himself, in a certain sense, is mercy."

In seeing Christ, man sees God and is able to enter into life-giving communion with Him. This beautiful truth is the focus of today's epistle, written by Saint Peter, which speaks of the great mercy given by the Father through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Life, of course, is not a game, nor is divine mercy a rule. It is a reality, a gift from the heart of Jesus Christ.

(This "Opening the Word" column originally appeared in the March 30, 2008, edition of Our Sunday Visitor newspaper.)

Beatification and Canonization, 101

A helpful, short video from "Rome Reports":

Jesus Christ, the premier tax theoretician for the welfare state?

George Neumayr, editor of Catholic World Report, mulls recent comments by MSNBC host Lawrence O'Donnell about Jesus, Rush Limbaugh, and money/taxation:

Jesus Christ told his disciples to "give to the poor." But from O'Donnell's commentary, one would have thought that Christ said, "give to government to give to the poor." Christ's injunctions to individual charity and the exacting of taxes by government are treated as one and the same in O'Donnell's analysis. 

O'Donnell casts Jesus Christ as the premier tax theoretician for the welfare state, interpreting Christ's message of "give up everything" as a call for Marxist levels of taxation.

"The New Testament does have an answer to Rush's question, 'What would Jesus take?' and it's not one Rush is going to like," said O'Donnell. "And since he obviously has no working command of the Bible, it will surely shock him because he will be hearing it now for the first time. The answer is everything, not 35 percent, not 39.6 percent. One hundred percent."

O'Donnell describes Jesus Christ here as a very eager socialist, but if that is true, Christ's pejorative references to "tax collectors" should be expunged from the Gospel and lines like "treat them [the unrepentant] as you would a tax collector" should be changed to "treat them as you would a tax cheat." O'Donnell didn't mention those needed rewrites.  

The theology underlying O'Donnell's commentary is curious to say the least. He interprets Christ's calls for sacrifice wholly in terms of the good of Caesar, not God. In O'Donnell's telling, Christ wanted his disciples to "give up everything" not for the kingdom of heaven but for the expansion of government agencies. Support for government programs is the test of sanctity for O'Donnell, which explains why he thinks its critics like Limbaugh are going to hell.

Read the entire piece on the American Spectator site.

Overview of Events for the Beatification of Pope John Paul II

From the Vatican Information Service, details about the beatification of Pope John Paul II on Sunday, May 1, 2011, Divine Mercy Sunday:

VATICAN CITY, 29 APR 2011 (VIS) - This morning in the Holy See Press Office there was a meeting with journalists to explain and clarify the events planned for the beatification of the Venerable Servant of God John Paul II.

  The speakers were Fr. Federico Lombardi S.J., director of the Holy See Press Office; Msgr. Marco Frisina, director of the Office of Liturgical Celebrations of the Vicariate of Rome; Fr. Walter Insero, director of the Office of Social Communications of the Vicariate of Rome; and Angleo Scelzo, undersecretary of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications. 

  Fr. Lombardi explained that this morning, in the Vatican Grottoes, "the tomb of John Paul II was opened and the case containing the body of the Venerable Servant of God was extracted".

  "As can be recalled, the Pope was buried in three coffins, the first of wood, which was displayed during the funeral, the second of lead, which is sealed, and the third, external one, which is also made of wood and was the one revealed this morning at the moment of the extraction from the tomb. It is in a good state of preservation, even though showing signs of the passage of time.

  After the procedures to open the tomb, which began first thing in the morning, the coffin was displayed on a dais at the gravesite until 9:00am, when Cardinal Angelo Comastri, after a brief prayer, intoned the litanies.

Besides Cardinal Angelo Comastri, Archbishop Giuseppe D'Andrea, and Bishop Vittorio Lanzani, representing the Basilica and the Chapter of St. Peter, there were also present Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Secretary of State; Cardinal Giovanni Lajolo, President of the Governorate of Vatican City State; Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, Archbishop of Krakow, Poland and former personal secretary to John Paul II; Archbishops Fernando Filoni, substitute for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State; Carlo Maria Vigano, secretary general of the Governorate of Vatican City State; Piero Marini, who was Master of Liturgical Celebrations under John Paul II and Zygmunt Zimowski, president of the Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral Care; Sr. Tobiana and the religious of the papal apartments of John Paul II; Commander Angelo Gugel; the heads of the Corps of the Gendarmerie of Vatican City State and the Swiss Guard; and other persons.

  All together there were several dozen persons including the workers of the Fabric of St. Peters who carried out their task with great devotion and a profound spiritual participation.

  While singing the litanies during the brief passage, the case was translated before the tomb of St. Peter in the Vatican Grottoes and was covered with a wide cloth embroidered in gold.

  The Cardinal Secretary of State offered a short final prayer and the assembly disbanded at 9:15am.

  The great stone of the tomb, removed and placed in another part of the grottoes, is intact and will be moved to Krakow where it will be placed in the new church dedicated to the Blessed John Paul II.

  The coffin, as already announced, will remain in the grottoes until Sunday morning when it will be translated to the Basilica, before the main altar, for the homage of the Holy Father and the faithful after the beatification. In the meantime the Vatican grottoes will be closed to the public.

  In all likelihood the permanent placement of the Blessed under the altar of the Chapel of St. Sebastian will take place in the afternoon of Monday, 2 May, when the Basilica will be closed".

  Msgr. Frisina explained that the celebration of the Vigil on 30 April (from 8:00pm to 11:30pm) at Circo Massimo - which will be open to the public beginning fom 5:30pm - will be enlivened by the Choir of the Diocese of Rome and the Orchestra of the Santa Cecilia Conservatory, which he will conduct. The choir of the Philippine community in Rome and the Gaudium Poloniae Choir will perform two traditional pieces.

  During the first part of the vigil a celebration of memory, recalling the words and gestures of John Paul II, is planned. "On stage", Msgr. Frisina said, "there will be a large reproduction of the image of Mary Salus Populi Romani, patroness of the city of Rome. Through images we will also relive the last months of the pontificate of John Paul II, which were marked by his suffering".

  Later, testimonials of some of those who worked with the pope will be given: Joaquin Navarro-Valls, Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, and the French nun Marie Simon-Pierre whose miraculous cure opened the path to his beatification. Likewise, the testimonial of some of the youth of Rome on the importance of the example and the words of the Blessed on their lives will be offered.  At the end of this second part, Totus Tuus, composed for the fiftieth anniversary of the priestly ordination of John Paul II (1996), will be sung.

  Msgr. Frisina noted that the second part of the Vigil will begin with a few words addressed by Cardinal Agostino Vallini, Vicar General of the Diocese of Rome that "will summarize the spiritual and pastoral character of the Blessed". Afterward will follow the recitation of the Mysteries of Light of the Holy Rosary, with a live link with five Marian shrines. Each of the Mysteries will be tied to a prayer intention of importance to John Paul II: at the sanctuary of Lagiewniki in Krakow, Poland the intention will be for the youth; at the sanctuary of Kawekamo, Bugando, Tanzania the intention will be for the family; at the sanctuary of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, Mexico the intention will be for hope and peace among nations; at the sanctuary of Fatima, the intention will be for the Church. At the conclusion, Benedict XVI, in a live link from the Vatican, will give the final prayer and will impart the apostolic blessing to all participating.

  Regarding the beatification Mass on 1 May, the Sunday after Easter or Divine Mercy Sunday, an hour before the service begins - that is, at 9:00am - there will be an hour of preparation during which the faithful shall pray together the Devotion of Divine Mercy, which was introduced by St. Mary Faustina Kowalska and was dear to Blessed John Paul II. The preparation will conclude with an invocation to the Mercy of God in the world, with the hymn "Jezu ufam tobie" (Jesus, I trust in you). 

  Directly following will be Holy Mass, with the readings of the Sunday after Easter. At the end of the rite of beatification, when the tapestry depicting the newly Blessed is unveiled, the Hymn of the Blessed will be sung in Latin. At the end of the Mass, a reliquary of John Paul II will be brought to the altar for the veneration of all the faithful.

  The Mass of Thanksgiving (Monday 2 May, in St. Peter's Square at 10:30am) will be presided over by Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone and will be preceded by an hour of preparation during which we will hear some of John Paul II's poetry recited by two actors, one Polish and the other Italian. The Eucharistic celebration will be enlivened by the Choir of the Diocese of Rome with the participation of the Choir of Warsaw and the Symphonic Orchestra of the Radio of Katowice, Poland. The texts will be those from the Mass of the newly Blessed.

  For his part, Fr. Watler Insero, director of the Office of Social Communications of the Vicariate of Rome, clarified a few points regarding the events connected with the beatification, among which was the "white night" of prayer that the city of Rome will hold for the first time.

  "After the Vigil in Circo Massimo, beginning at 11:30pm", he said, "it will be possible to continue praying until dawn in eight churches in the city center that are found on the journey from Circo Massimo to St. Peter's Basilica: Santa Anastasia, San Bartolomeo all'Isola, Santa Agnese in Agone (in Piazza Navona, which will be led by a group of Polish youth), San Marco al Campidoglio, Santissimo Nome di Gesu all'Argentina, Santa Maria in Vallicella, San Andrea della Valle, and San Giovanni dei Fiorentini".

  "The Roman youth, serving as hosts of this evening of faith, will greet the pilgrims, inviting them to enter the churches and join in the prayers. During the night, in keeping with the common format adopted by the churches involved, there will be an alternation of the various following moments programmed: the reading of and meditation on the Word of God; silence and Eucharistic adoration; and the reading of some texts that John Paul II addressed to the youth. There will also be testimonials from some young persons, songs performed by youth groups, and the recitation of the Rosary and Divine Mercy Devotion. In these eight churches (...) many priests will be available to hear confessions.

  Fr. Walter Insero also announced that Caritas' soup kitchen for the poor and service center at Termini Station will be dedicated to Blessed John Paul II. It is "a sign of love offered by the Diocese of Rome to recall her beloved bishop and his pastoral concern for the poorest of the poor". He also noted that the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, Vatican Radio, Vatican Television, and the Office for Social Communications of the Vicariate of Rome have realized an important project focused on social networking that is called "Digital Sentinels".

  "It is an initiative", he said, "has created groups of faithful, young and old, who bring the witness and teaching of the newly Blessed to the web, especially through Facebook and Twitter. The entire initiative is described at: http://www.pope2you.net/index.php?id?testi=61. The great event that the digital sentinels are organizing, however, will be even more innovative: through the official Twitter channel (created by the Vatican for the pope's beatification) http://twitter.com/#!/Pope2YouVatican and Vatican Radio's Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/#!/vatican.Johnpaul2) it will be possible to follow the beatification celebrations live. Moreover, at Pope2You.net it will be possible to stream the events, also through apps for iPhone and iPad. http://www.vatican.va/video will also be streaming the events". 

  "'Digital Sentinels', which was launched this 5 April", Fr. Walter Insero concluded, "has had an excellent reception and resonance in the communications world. ... Almost 1000 persons (specialized journalists, communications experts, ...) will follow our live Twitter feed and more than 3000 persons on Facebook are populating our Sentinel groups ... Also, thanks to the new Pope2You service, almost 40,000 ecards have been sent with quotes addressed by John Paul II to the youth".

• Books and Films from Ignatius Press about Pope John Paul II

"Not in my lifetime": Fr. Schall on Pope John Paul II's legacy of love

"Not in my lifetime" | Fr. James V. Schall, S.J. | Exclusive for Catholic World Report

Pope John Paul II's legacy of love

"The Pope (John Paul II) was praying and he asked God: 'Will Poland regain her freedom and independence some day?' 'Yes,' said God, 'but not in your lifetime.' Then the Pope asked: 'Lord, after I am gone will there be another Polish pope?' 'Not in my lifetime,' said God."
—Cited in André Frossard, Portrait of John Paul II (Ignatius, 1988), 46

"My priestly vocation took definitive shape at the time of the Second World War, during the Nazi occupation. Was this a mere coincidence or was there a more profound connection between what was developing within me and external historical events?"
—John Paul II, Gift and Mystery (Ignatius, 1996), 34

I.

As it watched him die, the world did not know what to do with John Paul II, or really what to do without him. Almost everyone who could make it to Rome for his funeral, from the mighty to the small, was there. Though we all die in private, he also died in public for the whole world to see. And they did see. Pope Wojtyla was the only man in public life in modern times who showed us how to live and how to die, both. He considered his illness as much a part of his papal office as preaching, appointing bishops, or the Sunday Angelus address. A pope is almost the only world figure whose office qualifications include dying as part of the job. When elected, he knows that his only escape is through death.

When I read George Weigel's two-volume account of Karol Wojtyla's life, I realized that this very prayerful man was also one of the most active men who ever lived. He was constantly thinking and often thinking ahead. He was both a man of thought and a man of action, a man of prayer and a man of amusement. The story I recounted above he enjoyed telling to others. Besides his many world trips, he visited more Roman and Italian parishes in his busy life than any Italian pope.

People just wanted to see him. Television executives loved him and hated him—loved him because he was always so remarkably personable and mysterious, hated him because he went right over their heads to say what he, not they, wanted. If he was there, he could not be overlooked. He was the most interesting figure in sight. He had a remarkable capacity—when talking to any one, from children, to young people, to the important, to the old—of shutting the rest of the world out and speaking directly to that person's soul.

I have the impression that every man who ever met John Paul II, especially if he was a man of social, intellectual, or political stature, knew that he was meeting a greater man than he. Many would not admit this fact because of the implications in their own lives and for their own prestige. Everyone knew that here was a man. Women knew it. Youth knew it. The poor knew it. Only the proud did not know it, but they could not afford to know it and remain what they were. His very presence demanded integrity and honor.

Read the entire piece at CatholicWorldReport.com...

"Overall, another fine volume from Ignatius Press."

From the "Catholic Bibles" blog, praise for the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: Book of Genesis, published in late 2010:

The information that accompanies the RSV-2CE text of Genesis is on par with what we have seen with previous editions of the ICSB. Commentary typically takes up about 1/3 of a page, with particular sections of Genesis like Genesis 1-3 and the story of Abraham, taking up anywhere from 1/2 to 3/4 of the page. As a matter of fact, the commentary on Genesis 1:1-3 takes up over 90% of the page alone. Included with the commentary is a 4 page introduction with book outline, 5 word studies, 4 maps, 2 charts, and 3 topical essays covering "The Abrahamic Covenant", "The Sacrifice of Isaac", and "Blessing and Birthrights". The study questions, which were available in the individual NT volumes, are also contained in the appendix. Like the past editions, the study material is well organized, aided by the use of icon annotations, which alert readers to information on "content and unity of the Scripture", "living tradition", and "analogy of the faith", all well known to readers of Dei Verbum or the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Overall, another fine volume from Ignatius Press. I will likely utilize this volume, as well as recommend it, to the intro class I am teaching on the OT next Fall. Again, the ICSB series is intended for the average Catholic, so it isn't "scholarly" like the Anchor Bible or JPS Torah Commentary. Yet, there is a lot of great material in these volumes which can be a benefit for most Catholics. As I have mentioned in previous reviews of the ICSB, the true usefulness of this project will only be fully realized when the one-volume study Bible is completed. In many ways, the ICSB takes serious the Catholic view of Scripture reading, as described in Dei Verbum. A completed ICSB will be a wonderful resource whenever it is finally completed. Although, with the slow pace of releases, one wonders whether we will see even the volume on Exodus in 2011?

I'm not involved with the Catholic Study Bible commentaries, so I'm not sure what the answer is to that question (but let's not forget that the Bible was written and compiled over the course of thousands of years). When information comes available, I'll post it here, of course. More about the Book of Genesis commentary, authored by Scott Hahn and Curtis Mitch, at www.ignatius.com.

David Wilkerson (1931-2011), requiescat in pace

David Wilkerson, the Protestant evangelist best known for his best-selling book, The Cross and the Switchblade (1963; 50 millions copies in print!), was killed in a car accident yesterday in Texas; he was 79. His wife, Gwen, and the driver of the tractor trailer that Wilkerson ran into have been hospitalized.

I read The Cross and the Switchblade as a kid (and watched the 1970 movie, starring Pat Boone), and it certainly made me think more deeply about what it means to be a truly committed Christian. Wilkerson also wrote and spoke quite a bit about his gloom-and-doom end-times beliefs (many based on his claimed 1973 vision about the downfall of the U.S.), and he, like Tim LaHaye and Co., believed that the Catholic Church was a key player in the coming one world church that will deceive many, etc. In this regard, he was apparently an old-school dispensationalist. Obviously, I disagree with many things that Wilkerson believed. But in looking at his blog, I was struck by this post—his very last—made yesterday just hours before he died:

To believe when all means fail is exceedingly pleasing to God and is most acceptable. Jesus said to Thomas, "You have believed because you have seen, but blessed are those that do believe and have not seen" (John 20:29).

Blessed are those who believe when there is no evidence of an answer to prayer—who trust beyond hope when all means have failed.

Someone has come to the place of hopelessness—the end of hope—the end of all means. A loved one is facing death and doctors give no hope. Death seems inevitable. Hope is gone. The miracle prayed for is not happening.

That is when Satan's hordes come to attack your mind with fear, anger, overwhelming questions: "Where is your God now? You prayed until you had no tears left. You fasted. You stood on promises. You trusted."

Blasphemous thoughts will be injected into your mind: "Prayer failed. Faith failed. Don't quit on God—just do not trust him anymore. It doesn't pay!"

Even questioning God's existence will be injected into your mind. These have been the devices of Satan for centuries. Some of the godliest men and women who ever lived were under such demonic attacks.

To those going through the valley and shadow of death, hear this word: Weeping will last through some dark, awful nights—and in that darkness you will soon hear the Father whisper, "I am with you. I cannot tell you why right now, but one day it will all make sense. You will see it was all part of my plan. It was no accident. It was no failure on your part. Hold fast. Let me embrace you in your hour of pain."

Beloved, God has never failed to act but in goodness and love. When all means fail—his love prevails. Hold fast to your faith. Stand fast in his Word. There is no other hope in this world.

Amen to that. More here. May God have mercy on the soul of David Wilkerson.

Here is the trailer for "No Greater Love..."

"...  A Unique Portrait of the Carmelite Nuns",  now available from Ignatius Press:

More about the film:

After ten years of correspondence, filmmaker Michael Whyte was given unprecedented access to the monastery of the Most Holy Trinity, in London's Notting Hill. The monastery, founded in 1878, is home to the nuns of the Discalced Order of Carmelites, who lead a cloistered life dedicated to prayer, work and contemplation, rarely leaving the monastery except to visit a doctor or dentist. Silence is maintained throughout the day with the exception of two periods of recreation.

A highly acclaimed, multiple award-winning documentary, No Greater Love follows in the wake of the great success of a similar film, Into Great Silence, as it gives a unique insight into this closed world of these nuns where the modern world's materialism is rejected; they have no television, radio or newspapers. The film interweaves a year in the life of the monastery with the daily rhythms of Divine Office and work. Centered on Holy Week, it follows a year in which a novice is professed and one of the older nuns dies. Though mainly a meditational film, there are several interviews with the nuns, which offer insights into their lives, faith, moments of doubt and their belief in the power of prayer in the heart of the community. A beautifully filmed and deeply inspiring production.

Special Features include:

Introduction by Fr. Anthony Doe
Interview with Sister Susan Marie
The Stations of the Cross
Sister Luke's party piece for the celebration of St. George's Day
Film Trailer 
Spanish subtitles

This DVD contains the following language tracks: English with English and Spanish subtitles.

This is a Region 1 DVD (playable ONLY in Bermuda, Canada, the Cayman Islands, United States and U.S. territories).

Sample images from the film: