URBI ET ORBI MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE BENEDICT XVI - EASTER 2009

Pope Benedict XVI's Easter message for 2009. Here is the transcript from Zenit News.

A few days off

I'm taking Easter weekend off from blogging this year. I am going to re-charge the mental and spiritual batteries. I may even pick up a Scrabble dictionary. Happy Easter!

Resurrecting the family newspaper

Jay Bullock has his undies in a twist because some off-off-off-Broadway play's advertisement had the misfortune of being in poor taste on Good Friday.

The "play" is really a circus geek act where the performers contort their penises for so-called comedic effect. Not exactly Shakespeare and not exactly new. Three-year-old children do the same thing when they "discover" themselves, but grow out of it quickly. I'm just surprised it doesn't have a federal grant covering the show's costs.

On Good Friday, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ran ad announcing the show's return to Milwaukee, "The Res-erection Tour." The ad had run before without objection but this time the ad's timing rankled.

Mark Belling of WISN, Patrick at Badger Blogger, and a horde of relatively sensible people pointed this out to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The newspaper, not completely insensitive to their readers, acted accordingly.

And as it turns out, all the bullying from Belling, the religious right, Patrick and others on the blogs must have done a number on that nameless "some vice president of advertising" since the paper caved and pulled the ads.

I don't know why Bullock is so surprised. After all, the play's producer and the owner of the theatre both recognized why the ad was offensive and wrote a letter to the editor of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel to apologize. Bullock has an e-mail from them explaining,

In keeping with the comedic tone of the show, return engagements such as Milwaukee, are being referred to as part of the “Res-erection” tour. It was an unfortunate coincidence that an ad featuring this language ran on Good Friday. Producer David J. Foster and William Stace, owner of the Miramar Theatre sent a letter to the editor of the Journal-Sentinel on March 25th apologizing to those who may have been offended, and explained that the same ad runs year round wherever the show is being presented, and was never intended to make light of the religious holiday.

Whether or not the ad was meant to make light of Easter, I think a reasonable person can infer that the ad was mocking the actual event, The Resurrection of Christ, and regardless if it runs Easter weekend or the Summer Solstice the ad is in poor taste.

I do think the newspaper should have run the letter to the editor, and I can imagine that the newspaper's only reason for not doing so was to spare themselves further embarassment. Hardly sufficient grounds.

The ad is now being run on Jay Bullock's blog, and I'm sure it's being run in the Crazy Shepherd. (Somebody check that for me, will you?) That's fine for Bullock and I hope he charged them full-freight. I'd encourage the show's producer to purchase an ad in every local blog that will accept their advertising.

But there is something to be said for preserving the family newspaper. Just as there are things that I write on the blog (certainly PG-13) that I would never write in my newspaper column (between G and PG), I would hope that the newspaper I read would be of the same sensibility. It's not a matter of dumbing down as it is avoiding gratuitous offense. There are certain ads that are just more appropriate for the back pages of the Crazy Shepherd than they are for the entertainment section of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and we shouldn't be shocked when the community expects the newspaper to live to a certain standard.

That being said, I think the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is very hypocritical in this regard. I hope the advertising salesman who had to explain to his superiors why he accepted the theatre's ad quickly opened to the sports page and read aloud the latest lunchtime special for Heartbreakers.

But at least the controversy gives Bullock a chance to shamelessly self-promote himself. He plays a guitar? Who knew? I also loved Bullock's tag for his post, "Legitimate Theatre." Bastard children not allowed entry? All the performers know the actual identities of their fathers?

An unintentional Easter lesson

If you couldn't remember that Jesus drove the moneychangers from the temple, or refused to endorse resisting the Roman tax collectors, then perhaps this intrusion by leftist radicals into a Catholic Mass on Easter Sunday will serve as a timely reminder on the difference between the zealots and the devout.

(ht: Dad29)

Good for Carville

No, really. I'm sick of political hacks having to apologize for everything they say when what they say isn't really all that bad. Governor Richardson held two different cabinet posts under the Clinton regime, and he endorsed Obama. James Carville called him a Judas, just in time for Easter. If Richardson doesn't like it, maybe he shouldn't have endorsed that kind of politics when he spent eight years living as its beneficiary.

Ultimate Peep show

Just naughty. (Sent to me by a friend.)

Easter Message Urbi et Orbi of His Holiness Benedict XVI

From Vatican Radio:

Resurrexi, et adhuc tecum sum. Alleluia! - I have risen, I am still with you. Alleluia! Dear brothers and sisters, Jesus, crucified and risen, repeats this joyful proclamation to us today: the Easter proclamation. Let us welcome it with deep wonder and gratitude!

Resurrexi et adhuc tecum sum – I have risen, I am still with you, for ever. These words, taken from an ancient version of Psalm 138 (v. 18b), were sung at the beginning of today’s Mass. In them, at the rising of the Easter sun, the Church recognizes the voice of Jesus himself who, on rising from death, turns to the Father filled with gladness and love, and exclaims: My Father, here I am! I have risen, I am still with you, and so I shall be for ever; your Spirit never abandoned me. In this way we can also come to a new understanding of other passages from the psalm: “If I climb the heavens, you are there; if I descend into the underworld, you are there … Even darkness is not dark for you, and the night is as clear as day; for you, darkness is like light” (Ps 138:8,12). It is true: in the solemn Easter vigil, darkness becomes light, night gives way to the day that knows no sunset. The death and resurrection of the Word of God incarnate is an event of invincible love, it is the victory of that Love which has delivered us from the slavery of sin and death. It has changed the course of history, giving to human life an indestructible and renewed meaning and value.

“I have risen and I am still with you, for ever.” These words invite us to contemplate the risen Christ, letting his voice resound in our heart. With his redeeming sacrifice, Jesus of Nazareth has made us adopted children of God, so that we too can now take our place in the mysterious dialogue between him and the Father. We are reminded of what he once said to those who were listening: “All things have been delivered to me by my Father; and no one knows the Father except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal him” (Mt 11:27). In this perspective, we note that the words addressed by the risen Jesus to the Father on this day – “I am still with you, for ever” – apply indirectly to us as well, “children of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him” (cf. Rom 8:17). Through the death and resurrection of Christ, we too rise to new life today, and uniting our voice with his, we proclaim that we wish to remain for ever with God, our infinitely good and merciful Father.

In this way we enter the depths of the Paschal mystery. The astonishing event of the resurrection of Jesus is essentially an event of love: the Father’s love in handing over his Son for the salvation of the world; the Son’s love in abandoning himself to the Father’s will for us all; the Spirit’s love in raising Jesus from the dead in his transfigured body. And there is more: the Father’s love which “newly embraces” the Son, enfolding him in glory; the Son’s love returning to the Father in the power of the Spirit, robed in our transfigured humanity. From today’s solemnity, in which we relive the absolute, once-and-for-all experience of Jesus’s resurrection, we receive an appeal to be converted to Love; we receive an invitation to live by rejecting hatred and selfishness, and to follow with docility in the footsteps of the Lamb that was slain for our salvation, to imitate the Redeemer who is “gentle and lowly in heart”, who is “rest for our souls” (cf. Mt 11:29).

Dear Christian brothers and sisters in every part of the world, dear men and women whose spirit is sincerely open to the truth, let no heart be closed to the omnipotence of this redeeming love! Jesus Christ died and rose for all; he is our hope – true hope for every human being. Today, just as he did with his disciples in Galilee before returning to the Father, the risen Jesus now sends us everywhere as witnesses of his hope, and he reassures us: I am with you always, all days, until the end of the world (cf. Mt 28:20). Fixing the gaze of our spirit on the glorious wounds of his transfigured body, we can understand the meaning and value of suffering, we can tend the many wounds that continue to disfigure humanity in our own day. In his glorious wounds we recognize the indestructible signs of the infinite mercy of the God of whom the prophet says: it is he who heals the wounds of broken hearts, who defends the weak and proclaims the freedom of slaves, who consoles all the afflicted and bestows upon them the oil of gladness instead of a mourning robe, a song of praise instead of a sorrowful heart (cf. Is 61:1,2,3). If with humble trust we draw near to him, we encounter in his gaze the response to the deepest longings of our heart: to know God and to establish with him a living relationship in an authentic communion of love, which can fill our lives, our interpersonal and social relations with that same love. For this reason, humanity needs Christ: in him, our hope, “we have been saved” (cf. Rom 8:24).

How often relations between individuals, between groups and between peoples are marked not by love but by selfishness, injustice, hatred and violence! These are the scourges of humanity, open and festering in every corner of the planet, although they are often ignored and sometimes deliberately concealed; wounds that torture the souls and bodies of countless of our brothers and sisters. They are waiting to be tended and healed by the glorious wounds of our Risen Lord (cf. 1 Pet 2:24-25) and by the solidarity of people who, following in his footsteps, perform deeds of charity in his name, make an active commitment to justice, and spread luminous signs of hope in areas bloodied by conflict and wherever the dignity of the human person continues to be scorned and trampled. It is hoped that these are precisely the places where gestures of moderation and forgiveness will increase!

Dear brothers and sisters! Let us allow the light that streams forth from this solemn day to enlighten us; let us open ourselves in sincere trust to the risen Christ, so that his victory over evil and death may also triumph in each one of us, in our families, in our cities and in our nations. Let it shine forth in every part of the world. In particular, how can we fail to remember certain African regions, such as Dafur and Somalia, the tormented Middle East, especially the Holy Land, Iraq, Lebanon, and finally Tibet, all of whom I encourage to seek solutions that will safeguard peace and the common good! Let us invoke the fullness of his Paschal gifts, through the intercession of Mary who, after sharing the sufferings of the passion and crucifixion of her innocent Son, also experienced the inexpressible joy of his resurrection. Sharing in the glory of Christ, may she be the one to protect us and guide us along the path of fraternal solidarity and peace. These are my Easter greetings, which I address to all who are present here, and to men and women of every nation and continent united with us through radio and television. Happy Easter!

The Holy Sepulchre

See highlights from the history of the Holy Sepulchre at this site.

Built by Emperor Constantine in 335 A.D. on the very site of Christ's resurrection, the Holy Sepulchre houses the Calvary or Golgotha and the tomb of Christ. The building was destroyed in successive wars, transformed in the Persian period and finally rebuilt by the Crusaders.

During restorations following the fire of 1808 and the earthquake of 1927, it was possible to determine the topography of the Golgotha and the tomb of Christ.

The Holy Sepulchre has private and communal areas. The former are given to the seven communities who share the church while the communal areas are under the authority of the Armenians, Greek Orthodox and Latin churches.

A two million dollar renovation project of the rotunda of the Holy Sepulchre was completed at the end of 1996 with inauguration ceremonies on January 2, 1997.

I was really too young and immature to appreciate it when I toured the church nearly 23 years ago. What I do remember is that the tour ended outside facing the Holy Land Souvenier Shop, and also how crowded and small parts of the church were. Perhaps when the kids are older my wife and I will go back.

The Light

From the Easter Vigil Homily of Pope Benedict XVI:

Gregory of Tours recounts a practice that in some places was preserved for a long time, of lighting the new fire for the celebration of the Easter Vigil directly from the sun, using a crystal. Light and fire, so to speak, were received anew from heaven, so that all the lights and fires of the year could be kindled from them. This is a symbol of what we are celebrating in the Easter Vigil. Through his radical love for us, in which the heart of God and the heart of man touched, Jesus Christ truly took light from heaven and brought it to the earth – the light of truth and the fire of love that transform man’s being. He brought the light, and now we know who God is and what God is like. Thus we also know what our own situation is: what we are, and for what purpose we exist. When we are baptized, the fire of this light is brought down deep within ourselves. Thus, in the early Church, Baptism was also called the Sacrament of Illumination: God’s light enters into us; thus we ourselves become children of light. We must not allow this light of truth, that shows us the path, to be extinguished. We must protect it from all the forces that seek to eliminate it so as to cast us back into darkness regarding God and ourselves. Darkness, at times, can seem comfortable. I can hide, and spend my life asleep. Yet we are not called to darkness, but to light. In our baptismal promises, we rekindle this light, so to speak, year by year. Yes, I believe that the world and my life are not the product of chance, but of eternal Reason and eternal Love, they are created by Almighty God. Yes, I believe that in Jesus Christ, in his incarnation, in his Cross and resurrection, the face of God has been revealed; that in him, God is present in our midst, he unites us and leads us towards our goal, towards eternal Love. Yes, I believe that the Holy Spirit gives us the word of truth and enlightens our hearts; I believe that in the communion of the Church we all become one Body with the Lord, and thus we encounter his resurrection and eternal life. The Lord has granted us the light of truth. This light is also fire, a powerful force coming from God, a force that does not destroy, but seeks to transform our hearts, so that we truly become men of God, and so that his peace can become active in this world.

Perhaps little peace symbols at each station

The Episcopal Church apparently still has too many adherents and are actively looking for ways to shrink their membership. Christianity Today has an article how the Episcopalians view the Stations of the Cross as passé compared to the United Nations plan to wipe out poverty, so they're substituting "the Stations of the Millennium Development Goals."

The church's Episcopal Relief and Development agency created a liturgy based on the United Nations plan to eliminate extreme poverty and other global ills, and sent e-mail to church leaders encouraging its use "in lieu of the traditional Stations of the Cross service."

Mike Angell of the denomination's Office of Young Adult and Higher Education Ministries designed the stations for a September 2007 young adult conference. While the traditional Stations of the Cross meditation has 14 stations (though this has varied through church history), the Episcopalian Stations of the Millennium Development Goals liturgy has only eight stations, one for each goal.

My question would be, when did the Episcopalians become the Lions Club? The whole point of Christianity is the Death and Resurrection of Christ. The Stations of the Cross is the central story of Christianity. To trivialize it and to make the meaning of Good Friday and Easter nothing more than another social work conference is to rob the faithful of the real meaning of Christ's Sacrifice on the Cross. He was Sacrificed for our sins, not a meals-on-wheels program.

Each station includes "activities and worship experiences for the liturgy." For station four, the church's document suggests, "Provide black and white drawings or outlines of children's faces. Have pilgrims color the faces. While the group is coloring, ring a bell every fifteen seconds to recognize that another child died from a preventable water-borne illness."

At the end of each station, the group is to pray a modified version of the Eastern Orthodox prayer known as Trisagion in which "Have mercy on us" is changed to "Transform us / That we might transform the world."

"There has been a little controversy about the Stations of the MDGs," said Luke Fodor, network coordinator for the church's relief arm. "At Episcopal Relief and Development, we're here to just take care of problems. We're not interested in theological discussions or politics in the church. We're to take care of the least of these, and that's our mandate. We [at ERD] didn't create this; we produced it for churches to use as they see fit."

Not interested in theology? Then why are you a church organization? Or is the religion merely a way of passing the collection plate for your causes?

What profits a religion that it would take on the cares of the world if it stops saving souls?

(ht: Kevin Fischer)