Just the Seventh?

FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares
03/16/2008
Odd that the Metro Manila bishops, led by Guadencio Cardinal Rosales, issued a pastoral letter to be read today but released a day before youth-led Interfaith rally in Manila. Was it meant to dampen the passion of the anti-Gloria rallyists? In a similar take earlier, just before the massive Interfaith rally in Makati City last Feb. 29, the bishops held a special meeting to issue a pastoral letter, which hardly said anything new, save to say, in a gist, that people power was not what they meant by communal action. But like the first pastoral letter, the Manila bishops statement was also largely ignored by the rallyists. Predictably, the Metro Manila bishops were out to largely protect Gloria Arroyo, but could not quite do so openly because they would be excoriated by the people again. And so they blasted away at both the accused and the accuser, bringing up the Seventh Commandment, which states that “Thou shalt not steal.” Naturally, they also came up to state that whatever money is stolen must be returned, and if the owner of the money can no longer be found that money must go to the poor. Hmm. Does this mean that money returned (which is not likely to happen as this has already been laundered) is to go to the church again, as even the cardinal has openly stated that there is nothing wrong in the case of bishops receiving money from government coffers, not to mention getting dirty money in form of donations from jueteng lords and perhaps even drug lords. But even as they slam corruption and admonish the accused with the warning of the Seventh Commandment, the same body of Manila bishops also warned against bringing down the accused though street power and violence. Do they expect then the accused to return the money when she is even tapped to lead the fight against corruption? More to the point, even as they must know, unless they are brain dead, that while the national coffers run dry as money flows from there to her and her kin’s private pockets, these bishops are not averse to being the recipients of government generated money from gambling officials, as they insist that the money anyway goes to the poor. It should stand to reason then that it should also be alright for government officials to steal money from the public coffers to ensure one’s electoral victory — through fraud naturally — and distribute this money for the poor, as this would be justified. But isn’t stealing, stealing? And isn’t cheating, small or big time, still cheating? The bishops slammed corruption, along with the accused and the accuser, quite a change from the year 2000 and 2001, when they, as a body, embraced the liar and a cheat of a whistle-blower and threw all scorn at the accused while hailing the accuser as a hero, despite being an admitted crook. Then, they waxed poetic and even invoked the name of God, in bringing about people power. Didn’t they make Edsa hallowed ground, as “Divine Providence” once again brought forth their God-ordained Gloria Arroyo to rule over a graft-free country? The bishops appear to have forgotten the First Commandment: Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain — something which these bishops have been doing too many times and in the name of politics. But Malacañang came up with its own Commandment reminder, saying: “Thou shalt not bear false witnesses” obviously referring to the accusers, yet conveniently hiding the fact that Malacañang itself brought forth pressure unto one to bear false witness before the Senate, and done with the help, reportedly of a niece of the cardinal, one Medy Poblador. And these bishops want change from within, to bring about moral restoration? But not even the bishops who seek change in values and morals, are prepared to change themselves. In 2004, they certainly knew Gloria had cheated her way to Malacañang. The evidence was there for them to see. Yet they protected a cheat and a liar and yes, a thief. There is again evidence that she and her cabal of evil have stolen big time — through kickbacks, overpricing and everything else that was in the coffers, yet these same bishops have rejected the call of the people for her to resign and be held accountable. They had even rejected the process of impeachment, but claim to be support the search for truth. As for the evidence presented, the bishops, echoing the Palace, also says there is no evidence. Yet even as the truth is slowly surfacing, the bishops appear to want the accusers to shut up, as they denounce the accusers as well. Moses, it was reported recently, was supposed to have been high on some kind of drug when he went up to Mt. Sinai and got hold of the 10 Commandments. For all one knows, he left out one more Commandment — the 11th, which would have been directed at these bishops who have taken the role of the Sanhedrins: Thou shalt not protect the Evil who showers you with largess.

Bishop and priests in need of security guards

ACN News, Wednesday, 12th March 2008 – Philippines

Philippines: Bishop and priests in need of security guards.

Bishop Angelito Lampon, the Apostolic Vicar of Jolo in the Philippines, told the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) how he and the other priests and religious in Jolo are now under military protection, following the spate of murders and kidnappings against Church personnel over recent years. He himself had to build a guard house at the front gate of his episcopal residence. He calls on all his Catholic brothers and sisters around the world to pray for the Church in Jolo that she may have "the strength and courage to continue her path, regardless of the external circumstances."

According to the bishop, the future looks grim. The political leaders have "no interest for the common good in their hearts" he told ACN. A handful of people of goodwill have been unable to break through the entrenched attitudes which are very individualistic and clannish with little regard for the common good.

But despite all the difficulties confronting the Catholic Church in Jolo, she will continue her work there. Christians have been commanded "to forgive seventy times seven times" and to reach out to others with "a hand of friendship and reconciliation" said Bishop Lampon but noted that attacks continue to occur repeatedly. Although at times the acts of violence are quite serious it is the day to day hostilities that make life in Jolo very difficult according to the bishop. For example, a Muslim mother sweeps her yard but she dumps the rubbish in front of the door of her Christian neighbour. The bishop himself has also been abused and spat in the street, when he was dressed and recognized as a priest.

Among the Muslims, who make up 97% of the population in this region, there are also some who sympathize with the Christians. This is mainly due to the numerous projects the Catholic Church has initiated in Sulu and Tawi-tawi over the years, that have benefited the majority Muslim population. The Church is very active in the field of education, housing for the poor, healthcare and in providing micro-finance programs for the poor. On the Island of Jolo alone, through the initiative of the Church, over 3,000 low-cost housing units had been erected for the poor, the majority of the beneficiaries are Muslims, the bishop told ACN.

But the reason why the Church is determined to hold out in Jolo lies above all in her faith in Jesus Christ. It is good that the Church provides humanitarian aid, but this is not enough to justify her continued presence here, the Bishop stressed. He pointed out that he and his fellow priests are in a sense "standing on the shoulders of the missionaries who opted to work in Cotabato and Sulu." The Church in Jolo was simply continuing the work that these missionaries began., he said. Jesus had called the Church to serve, even when her work was often "no more than a ministry of presence in a particular place." But it was also important to contribute to the "broadening of people's horizon" Bishop Lampon added, for much of the misunderstanding often comes from lack of knowledge.

The bishop went on to explain that the Catholics in Jolo pray for peace and reconciliation at every Mass after Holy Communion. They draw hope above all from their belief that "evil will not have the last word".

In addition to this the Catholics also pray that Bishop Lampon's predecessor, Bishop Ben de Jesus (OMI), who was murdered on February 4, 1997 in front of his Cathedral, may "through the noble sacrifice of his life and death inspire the political leaders, the people of Sulu and Tawu-tawi and the entire nation to fight, to work and to pray for peace." Bishop Ben de Jesus had died "so that we could live in peace," said Bishop Lampon, adding that in their prayers the Catholics offer up everything they have for the healing of the divisions between members of the various different religions, cultures and tribes, and for the promotion of unity.

As recently as January 15, 2008, another Filipino priest, Fr. Rey Roda, OMI was shot dead in Tabawan, Tawi-tawi by Muslim armed men. Bishop Lampon, the murdered Bishop Ben de Jesus and Fr. Benije Inocencio, another priest killed on 28th December 2000, all belong to the Missionary Congregation of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI).

The Vicariate of Jolo covers the two Provinces of Sulu and Tawi-tawi in the southern Philippines with more than 450 islands. Catholics in this region make up about 3% of the total population of the overwhelmingly Muslim population. The islands of Jolo and Basilan are regarded as the stronghold of the Abu Sayaff Group (ASG) guerrillas, who themselves are an Islamic jihadist movement and are considered by the international community and the Filipino people as terrorists.

Jesus is .....

Jesus is Pontius Pilate to You

Beaten and weary, You are brought before a judge whose power is given to him only by You. The crowd is asked to choose and, even as You desire otherwise -- yearning for the love of Your people -- You know they will choose the creature over their Creator. "Barabbas" rings out and, with sad heart, You prepare for the grueling way of Calvary that started before Your birth. Innocent, you are condemned to death, betrayed by those who claim to love You and those who claim to be upholding Your truth even as they pass judgment. The crowd clamors for Your blood, not realizing that it is only through Your blood that they will live. It is a great irony. We think that by ridding ourselves of You, we will be free. And You give us what we wish -- freedom -- using even our evil to raise us up to You, if we will only see and accept. How different is the choice for man or God. In choosing man we choose death. In choosing You, you use our death to lift us to life in You. Pilate washes his hands of guilt, and, in doing so, washes his hands of you. Evading the truth of his guilt means rejecting you. We cannot be Yours if we do not admit what we are, sinners in need of mercy.

Our Lord daily offers you the choice of innocence or guilt, God's will or the selfish will. You can choose your creator, or you can exalt yourself. Which will it be? You have ample evidence that sin is destructive. Won't you remind yourself in the face of the most alluring of temptations that heaven is better? That our Lord created you for Himself?

Jesus is the Cross to You

You accept the cross, knowing fully the agony to come. You take upon battered and bleeding shoulders the weight of all our sins. From dead wood You will bring the fruit of everlasting life. In Eden it was the living tree that brought death. Now, You turn our world upside down, as You show us the true way to life, through the dead wood, the suffering of the cross. In rejecting the temporary life, which seems so alluring and gratifying, we will know the bountiful joy of the life of heaven, in union with You. In dying through the cross we will live forever. You will shoulder all our pains with us as You walk the way of Calvary. All the way of Calvary, the way of the cross, will be blessed by Your blood. United in You, through the heritage You share with us by Your incarnation, and through the blood You shed for us on this way, we hope despite pain, despite all hardship. In taking up the cross You show us to trust in the Father, to fall into His arms in faith, no matter the obstacles before us.

Our Lord said His yoke is easy, His burden light, but following Him can sometimes seem unbearable. You might cry out in anguish, begging Him to reveal His expectations of you, asking for relief from the trials of your life. Yet He may seem only to provide more pain. It is difficult to remember that from the crucible of suffering comes the greatest good if we are aligned with Him.

Jesus is Your First Fall

Soon after taking up the cross You fall. So early in the way You are on the ground; God, face down in the dust. The knowledge of the burden of carrying our weight becomes clearer. The nearly overwhelming impact of the hideous crush of sin, the evil pressing down, makes You stumble. All the while the crowd mocks and derides You, clinging to sins, even as You are lifting them away. We treat You as a beast to be our scapegoat, heaping pain and ridicule and indifference upon You as You seek to save us. We put our God face down in the dust so we do not have to bear Your gaze upon our evil.

Our Lord often appears as a stumbling block to inward eyes. If it weren't for His harsh commandments, we would be free - the noble savages of Jean Jacques Rousseau, able to pursue a natural world of goodness. But we are called not to nature, but to ultimately transcend the natural and become like God. Even though you stumble and are foolish to the scions of this world, you will triumph. As you fall in Christ, collapsing within His grace, the greatest freedom will be yours.

Jesus is Your Mother

You meet Your Mother on the way. Seeing her brings relief and regret. For a mother to see her Son so wretched wrenches Your heart. What a pain to You to know her grief. She is helpless to save You, but is granted the power to relieve Your suffering merely by her presence. She supports You in Your way of the cross and shares in Your anguish. She is there in the intimacy of a meeting in which you are kept physically apart but are united in the Father's mission. You yearn for her consolation, even as You seek to comfort her in her sorrow. She stands by in love and constant prayer, never yielding to hatred for those who are turning away from You. She understands the need for love and its redemptive power especially when faced with the cruelest and most vindictive evil.

Truly, although our Lord provided a most blessed Mother to you in His most beautiful of handmaids, He Himself is always and everywhere all that is good to you. He nurtures you and feeds you with His own Body. He sends His peace and each breath that you sigh. He dries your sorrowful tears and takes you to His heart. He, in the great Triune mystery of God, is your family. In Him are you born. In Him are you sheltered. In Jesus, your Lord, your God, your All.

Jesus is Your Simon of Cyrene

You allow Simon to assist You in carrying the cross and he is reluctant, initially refusing. How foolish of him and us to reject Your invitation to share in Your redemptive plan! Do we not know what a gift You are giving in the cross? In the cross lies our salvation and our unity. In the cross we are never alone. In the cross we are our brother's keeper, helping each other and making reparation for the wrongs we have inflicted. In the cross we give You to each other and lift the barriers of sin. In the cross we are Your Body, sharing in Your passion and in the ultimate triumph of eternal life, freed from all the ungodly restraints and allure of the world. In the carrying of the cross lie our atonement and our joy.

With each drop of blood, whether actual or figurative, on your own walk of Calvary, our Lord is there to help you persevere. He carries your most onerous scourges on this walk of life, blessing each grunt and every step taken to Him. No burden is too heavy for His merciful care, and no weight too little. Never apologize for seeking His aid.

Jesus is Veronica to You

Veronica sees Your need and offers her consolation. In such a little and tender way she reflects Your kindness and Your courage. Stepping out from the crowd, she risks jeers and public contempt and thereby obtains the only approval that counts. In wiping Your face she serves a simple need, clearing Your sight from the dripping blood and dirt as the flies gather. From this small act comes the greatest blessing. She is given Your image because she reflects You in her kindness. In helping you to see, she is given the perfect vision, the beatific image of the face of God. Touched by Your grace, and in union with You, her humanity is made holy. She becomes a tiny mirror of You.

Jesus is always your advocate. He cares not what the crowd thinks of you. He is not persuaded by public opinion. He will wipe your soul and keep you clean while the mud is slung in persecution of your faithfulness to Him. In the end, His judgment is the only one that counts. Do you believe this? Do you act accordingly? Will you accept the tender ministration of a Lord who loves You?

Jesus is Your Second Fall

Now all assistance is exhausted. There will be no more help for You, no further kindnesses to encounter on the way. You are bereft of consolations. From now on, until the triumph over the tomb, there is only the misery of loneliness. You fall in this loneliness, again overcome by the weight of evil, the physical and emotional wounds so insistently inflicted, even as you trudge with Your heavy burden. The crowd still roars in contempt. There is no pity for a God face down in the dust a second time. The crowd is at the peak of its lust for blood, its determination for revenge for crimes never committed. The crime of innocence in the face of our guilt is enough for us to want to impose dehumanizing injury, to rid ourselves of the evidence of goodness and purity before us. We cry all the louder for You to be punished. The mockery continues. We say You are not God enough for us, and then treat You as we should not treat a man.

He permits your fall because it can lead you to Him. O happy fault that leads to so great a Redeemer! As you lie in the dust of your sins, Jesus offers the grace of humility to become like Him, the servant of all, superior to none. The taste of dust is not pleasant, but it tames the insistent demands for the best, the highest regard, the nicest position, the most convenient course, the gourmet scents of hell.

Jesus Mourns for You

The women weep for You, whether in sincerity or in show. They do not realize that their own guilt and that of their children is more deserving of tears. It is they who are more grievously hurt than the innocent victim. While Your Body is wracked and deformed by pain, their piteous cries hide the deadly ugliness of sin-stained souls. It is this sin that kills You. We kill because we want to be God. But that is what You are offering us through Your Incarnation - a share in Your divinity! You show us the royal irony of our rebellion. In rebellion we reject the very thing we want, Your divinity. But we cannot have it unto ourselves. We and our children have it only through You. In You we have the light of eternity. We weep because we think a man is dying to this life. We are so attached to this world. But You tell us to weep for those who lose eternal life by separating themselves from You. The women weep copiously but they do not assist you. Is this why You rebuke them? Do they fail to offer true charity, in union with You, while standing on the sidelines wailing about the misery before them?

How often do you break His heart? How often do you make your own heart sacred and ignore His? With every sin, every substitution of your own will for His, He mourns because it means you are leaving Him. We humans have far more than fifty ways to leave our Lover. Each way hurts more than the last. Even wounded He waits for you, so that He can kiss you and heal your wounds and seal you in His embrace forever. He calls you Beloved!

Jesus is Your Third Fall

Stamina utterly depleted, You fall a third time. Taunted mercilessly by temptations to turn away from Your mission, and weakened by the fatigue of constant pain, You once again stumble into the rocky dirt. Pathetic and broken, You bear the sneers and raucous insults and profanities of a blaspheming crowd that wants a worldly leader to confirm them in their own power. God in the dust? Ha! They yell. We do not see the nobility of redemptive suffering, the majesty of meekness. We seek comfort and worldly prosperity and acclaim while You, our God and Creator, lie prostrate before us, humbling Yourself like a snake on the ground, crawling in dirt for us. How much more can we expect from a God we accuse of not caring, of lacking in love for us? And still You persevere amidst hatred, pride, and ridicule and the great satanic temptation to dismiss us as unworthy of Your love

Jesus is your dead end. When you are most desolate, most dejected, most bereft, you have no other place to go but the Lord if you want love. You are deluding yourself if you believe anyone could care more. It is only our Lord who knows you better than you know yourself. He is the wall you meet when you are at your wit's end. In this confrontation with Him you can see truly who you are and what your life must be - a glorification of Him.

Jesus Strips You

Men mock You in Your nakedness, thinking they are revealing how pitiful this God is. In fact, they are showing how God has exalted man by becoming man - bare in his manhood. By seeking to reveal You as mere man, we fail to realize that in Your very manhood lies our divinization. In Your incarnation You have raised us to Yourself. The soldiers seek to leave You nothing, but You are God and cannot be made nothing. They want You to be shamed in Your nakedness, as Adam and Eve were shamed. But You are God and are not shamed. They think to reveal guilt but show only innocence. You consent to be naked in Your innocence, transcending the stain that Adam and Eve brought in guilt. We try to hide our sin, our flaws, by clothing themselves. You, in innocence, are naked and You see all. Your robe is sought like a carnival prize, a souvenir of execution. Is that what we want, just a token of You?

Jesus is the kindest gardener. He snips and prunes and sometimes seems to tear into you like a machete. You might cringe, but remember that while some flowers shrink from the sun, they cannot grow without its light. What you think of as misfortune, injustice, mistreatment, may only be the best fertilizer you can receive. Sometimes fertilizer stings, but your merciful Lord brings good out of pain and wants you to grow in beauty. What He strips from you is dross hiding your beauty.

Jesus Nails You

Wounded, mangled, made to bleed, You consent to the violent attack of the hammer. Patient in Your agony, You allow the cruel penetration of Your Body to make us one with You. You give Bread of life to fill us as You receive our nails. From Your love You bleed. For love of us, for love of the Father, the Child bleeds for the children. Brother bleeds for the brother who is killing Him. You become one with the cross, absorbing completely the burden of sin, allowing it to permeate You - all the rage and loneliness and anxiety and despair and hatred and lust and greed and incessant lies of all mankind through all the ages, sinking into You, filling You up. You are bombarded with poison and still You love.

You play games. You hide from Him, make desperate or half-hearted bargains with Him. You hope He doesn't catch you, but He nails you every time. His vision penetrates the depths of your soul. He knows your most anguished fear, your most pervasive frailty. Constantly exposed to Him in all your pettiness, all your infidelity to Him, all your pridefulness, He loves you and considers you precious. He delights in you, and you are His pearl of great price.

Jesus is Your Death

You hang on a cross with but a few faithful at Your feet. Your Mother is there as her Son drips to death for His human creatures. You ask for a small compassion and are given gall. Even captured on a cross and expiring from the torture, there is no mercy for You, yet You plead for mercy for us. You even give us the Mother You chose for Yourself, impressing upon us our relatedness. Still Your family torments You. And in Your passion, without solace, alone in the midst of the crowd, cut off even from Your Mother and the beloved disciple, You are man utterly alone. Defiled even as You die, cursed and ignored with no possibility of human comfort, You cry from the cross Your agony. At this moment, filled with all the despair of every human heart, You tear any vestigial veil between man and God and plunge into the total hell of sin to purge it for us. It is the final acceptance of death. And then You die in trust that the Father will receive You.

Jesus is the gate of death through which you move into eternal life. Jesus has neutralized all the terrors attached to death and removed its finality in your nightmares. In Him even death cannot conquer joy. Through death He says to you: "Come, you blessed of my Father, and possess the kingdom which was prepared for you from the beginning!"

Jesus is Your Removal from the Cross

Your Body is given to Your Mother. In her womb You were welcomed into human life. Now You go to her in death. Your Mother is entrusted with the Body of Christ. She cleans it in love and wipes away the signs of the evil inflicted upon it. So it is with us. Your Mother welcomes us into her arms and heals and soothes through Your grace. She is the Mother of the Church, the Mother who accepts the mangled, the bereft, the brokenhearted, even as condemnation is heaped upon her. She takes into her embrace a Body that is accused of irreverence, of presumption, even criminality, and protects it with maternal care.

Jesus takes you from all the agony of the world and raises you to His heart. He releases you from anger, bitterness, the desire for more and more acquisitions, the pain of discouragement, the wrenching knowledge of your own inadequacy. Once a prisoner, you are now free! You will know the endless joy of love without bounds, extricated from your self-imposed tethers.

Jesus is Your Tomb

Your Body is laid in a tomb, presumed vanquished, but You cannot be contained. You allow Yourself to be placed in a tomb by us. We voluntarily seek the tomb by turning away from You. To be separated from You is to consign ourselves to death. But we see it differently. We think we can place You far away, outside ourselves, in a tomb, while we live. But the only life is in You. In casting You away we give ourselves to death. We seal our hearts against You and make of ourselves the tomb. How often we do this in receiving the Eucharist, taking You into a tomb we do not open to You and treating You as dead? How often do we put the Body of Christ into a tomb, saying it serves no purpose for us, that we can live without it? We turn away from Your Church, but she will prevail in Your Resurrection. She emerges from every apparent tomb. And in our death to self the Body of Your Church is continually renewed.

One definition of tomb is "last resting place." Jesus is this for you if you dare accept the gift of everlasting love and peace within the heart of the Almighty. To be forever in Him, never separated from Him, always sharing in His majesty is His offer. He made you to be as He is - radiant, pure, crystalline in brilliance. Do you accept His invitation to bask in His divinity? He wants, with greatest fervor, to crown you with His glory. Do you say Amen?

Faith and reason are the two wings with which eagles fly. You can't have one and not the other. Pope JP II

IN HEALING MAN JESUS ACHIEVES A NEW CREATION

VATICAN CITY, 2 MAR 2008 (VIS) - At midday today, Benedict XVI appeared at the window of his study to pray the Angelus with pilgrims in St. Peter's Square.

The Sunday liturgies of Lent, the Pope remarked "take us on a true Baptismal journey". If last Sunday Jesus promised the Samaritan woman the gift of "living water", today with the healing of the blind man He shows Himself as "light of the world" and next Sunday, with the raising of Lazarus, as "the resurrection and the life".

He continued: "Water, light and life are symbols of Baptism, the Sacrament that 'immerses' believers in the mystery of the death and resurrection of Christ, freeing them from the slavery of sin and giving them eternal life".

The Pope noted how in today's Gospel reading the disciples, in keeping with the mentality of the time, believe the man is blind as a consequence of his sins or those of his parents, but "Jesus rejects this prejudice" and His words enable us to hear "the living voice of God, which is wise and providential Love".

The Holy Father explained: "Faced with a man debilitated by his limitations and his suffering, Jesus does not think of any possible sins but of the will of God Who created the man for life. ... He enters into immediate action: mixing dust with His own saliva to make mud which He spreads over the blind man's eyes. This gesture alludes to the creation of man, which the Bible recounts with the symbol of dust moulded and animated with the breath of God".

"In healing man, Jesus achieves a new creation. But that episode of healing gives rise to animated discussion because Jesus performs it on the Sabbath and thus, according to the Pharisees, breaks the precept of the feast day. Thus, at the end of the narrative, Jesus and the blind man both find themselves 'driven out' by the Pharisees: the One because He violated the law, the other because, despite the cure, he was still branded as a sinner since birth".

"To the blind man Jesus reveals that He has come into the world for judgement, to separate the curable blind from those who will not let themselves be healed because they believe they are healthy. Indeed, in man there is a strong temptation to build a system of ideological security, even religion itself can become an element of this system, as can atheism or laicism, but by doing so he remains blinded by his own selfishness".

The Holy Father concluded his remarks: "Let us allow ourselves to be healed by Jesus Who can and wants to give us the light of God! Let us confess our blindness, our short-sightedness and, especially, what the Bible calls the 'great sin': pride".
ANG/LENT BAPTISM/...VIS 080303 (480)

Gardener and the Grapevine

A grapevine says, in the early spring, "How glad I am to get through the winter! I shall have no more trouble now! Summer weather will come, and the garden will be very beautiful!"

But the gardener comes, and cuts the vine here and there with his knife. The twigs begin to fall, and the grapevine calls out, "Murder! What are you cutting me for?"

"Ah," says the gardener, "I do not mean to kill you. If I did not do this, you would be the laughingstock of all the other vines before the season is over."

Months go on and one day the gardener comes under the trellis, where the great clusters of grapes hang, and the grapevine says, "Thank you, sire, you could not have done anything so kind as to cut me with that knife."

Thus it is with the Cross we are called to carry.

No pruning, no grapes; no grinding mill, no flour; no battle, no victory; no cross, no crown.

Holy See Rejects Feminist "Baptism"

VATICAN CITY, February. 29, 2008—The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith clarified that two formulae for baptism that remove the masculine names for God are invalid and undermine faith in the Trinity.

The congregation's statement, made public today, responded to two questions concerning the validity of baptism conferred without referring to God the Father and Son.

The first question is: "Is a baptism valid if conferred with the words 'I baptize you in the name of the Creator, and of the Redeemer, and of the Sanctifier,' or 'I baptize you in the name of the Creator, and of the Liberator, and of the Sustainer'?"

The second question is: "Must people baptized with those formulae be baptized 'in forma absoluta'?"

The responses are: "To the first question, negative; to the second question, affirmative."

Benedict XVI, during a recent audience with Cardinal William Levada, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, approved these responses, which were adopted at the ordinary session of the congregation. The Pope ordered their publication.

The text of the responses bears the signatures of Cardinal Levada and of Archbishop Angelo Amato, secretary of the dicastery.

An attached note, signed by Monsignor Antonio Miralles, professor of dogmatic theology at the Pontifical Holy Cross University, explained that the responses "concern the validity of baptism conferred with two English-language formulae within the ambit of the Catholic Church. [...] Clearly, the question does not concern English but the formula itself, which could also be expressed in another language."

"Baptism conferred in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit," the note continued, "obeys Jesus' command as it appears at the end of the Gospel of St. Matthew. [...] The baptismal formula must be an adequate expression of Trinitarian faith, approximate formulae are unacceptable."

"Variations to the baptismal formula -- using non-biblical designations of the Divine Persons -- as considered in this reply, arise from so-called feminist theology," being an attempt "to avoid using the words Father and Son which are held to be chauvinistic, substituting them with other names," the note clarified. "Such variants, however, undermine faith in the Trinity."

In a commentary on the responses, Cardinal Urbano Navarrete, former rector of the Pontifical Gregorian University, clarified: "The response of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith constitutes an authentic doctrinal declaration, which has wide-ranging canonical and pastoral effects. Indeed, the reply implicitly affirms that people who have been baptized, or who will in the future be baptized, with the formulae in question have, in reality, not been baptized.

"Hence, they must them be treated for all canonical and pastoral purposes with the same juridical criteria as people whom the Code of Canon Law places in the general category of 'non-baptized.'"

This implies that if they have received other sacraments, they are invalid as well and should be re-administered. (Zenit)

Government exists for the common good, says Bishop

MANILA, March 1, 2008―A ranking Church prelate said government should work for a stable society and look after the common good of the people.
Tagbilaran Bishop Leonardo Medroso said that “within the concepts of our constitution which is for the common good of the people, the framework should be for a stable and just society which extends services and goods to our people.”
Interviewed over Catholic-run Veritas 846 Saturday morning, Medroso explained that the bishops have their own network and they know the situation in their diocese “from top to bottom because we have our priests down there.”
The Basic Ecclesial Communities also provide them feedback, he added.
“So when we said it (corruption) was from top to bottom, that is serious,” the prelate further said.
Asked if there was division among pro- and anti-administration bishops, Medroso said “I don’t think you can divide the bishops according to pro- and anti-administration.”
He said the bishops who took part in the formulation of the latest CBCP Pastoral Statement entitled “Seeking the Truth, Restoring Integrity,” were very serious and “they were open to the inputs from other bishops, [and in] listening to them.”
They took time to “listen to one another about the political and economic situation in the country” he added. (Melo Acuna)