« With the Pope | Main | Meditations from Carmel »
June 04, 2006
Vigil
Today was the massive gathering of representatives of the "new movements," for a Vigil of Pentecost at St. Peter's with the Pope.
There were an estimated 350,000 gathered (35-45,000 has been the normal number for the Wednesday audeinces for Benedict, just by way of comparison), and the crowd stretched all the way down to the Tiber, apparently.
What a great photo. He apparently entered and swung down the crowd as it gathered outside the Piazza - usually he comes in from the front and drives around there a little bit. Incidentally, the headlines writer at AP is mis-reporting this a bit as a gathering of "youths." (If you go to that link, do read the nice sidebar about the 80-year old head of the papal bodyguard crew finally retiring)
Teresa Benedetta has translated at the Papa Ratzinger Forum (scroll down)
It is typically beautiful and rich - a meditation on Creation, the Spirit, and true freedom:
Dear friends, I ask you to be – even more, so much more – than collaborators in the universal apostolic ministry of the Pope, opening the doors to Christ. This is the best service that the Church can do for men and especially so for the poor, so that a person’s life, a more just order in society, and peaceful coexistence among nations may find in Christ the keystone on which to construct an authentic civilization, the civilization of love.
The Holy Spirit grants to believers a higher vision of the world, of life, of history, and makes them guardians of the hope that never disappoints.
Let us therefore pray to God the Father, through our Lord Jesus Christ, in the grace of the Holy Spirit, that the celebration of Pentecost be like an ardent flame and and a raging wind for Christian life and for the mission of the whole Church.
Posted by Amy Welborn | Permalink
Comments
Let's all say it together: "New Springtime!"
Posted by: Fr. Dan Andrews at Jun 4, 2006 8:23:46 AM
The hope that will always disappoint is the hope that fallen man will not make an unimaginable mess out of...Buddy, you name it.
As long as we exist within time, within the realm of mutablility, with all our drastic limitations of intellect and will, with our inclination to self-exhaltation, before the Second Coming, before the New Jerusalem, both justice and peace will be ephemeral. Mighty damned ephemeral.
The Incarnation, the first coming, made possible the rescue of our immortal souls. The reason the New Testament ends with the words, "Come quickly Lord Jesus" isn't because we'd like Him to see what a pleasant society of virtue, the "Civilization of Love", we have created in His absence. It is because we cannot create such a society, but His arrival, the Second Coming, will herald it.
We will all be hanging on the cross of ourselves until then not gamboling in the New Springtime.
It is irritating hearing such nonsense. I am doing my best in this fallen world to appreciate its blessings and wonders, to overlook the nails driven into me, to enjoy the occasional bird call, passing cloud formation, surprising scent, funny joke (remembered or shared with the next crucified sonofagun). I am cherishing valuable insights and pondering wisdom. Because they were fun and I loved them, I am looking forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. The sacraments bring foretastes of that world.
How Catholic priests, who spend their lives administering those sacraments, including hearing mankind's confessions, can get wrapped up in delusions of fallen creatures building a civilization of love... Geesh, it just goes to show how fallen we are, how blind, how forgetful.
We aren't builders. We are building blocks, not to say blockheads.
It is a miracle we manage to get our crosses to stay upright.
The reason the Good News is so good is that the Bad News is so bad--that is the Good News about our rescue and the bad news about our plight, our condition.
That is what we should be going and teaching all nations not a thing about building a civilization of love. Getting people to ask for forgiveness and to forgive-- Christ doesn't seemed to have much more ambition for people than that. Continuing injustice towards one another, not just minor but mind blowing, seems to be His presuppostion.
We'll break their hearts telling them to create a civilization of love. They'll wind up despairing and hating themselves when they fail, and then when they hate themselves they'll hurt somebody else.
Posted by: George Lee at Jun 4, 2006 10:39:22 AM
I watched this on EWTN and the leader of one of these new movements really gave me the creeps when he stood up to speak.
Posted by: dymphna at Jun 4, 2006 11:16:18 PM
