The Feast of Blessed John Paul II!

I thank God for his life spent in love for Christ and for others, which has enriched the lives of all humanity through the grace of the Holy Spirit, in an attitude of brotherhood and peace.

-Pope Benedict XVI

Today is a very special day for the Church, and it is especially important here at the Blessed John Paul II Shrine. This great man lived and breathed the Gospel, and the radiance of the Lord shone brightly through every ounce of his being. Blessed John Paul II was certainly a gift to the Church, and we know he is smiling down upon us now as we embark on this Year of Faith and participate in this Synod on the New Evangelization.   

This year is pivotal for the Blessed John Paul II Shrine as we finish planning and begin building a home for the veneration of our beloved Holy Father. The whole world should know of his profound message of Hope, and that is what we want to communicate as things progress here.

Please pray with us today, on this most special of feasts:

The Saints Teach Us to Evangelize

In an address earlier this week, Cardinal Angelo Amato, head of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, called the Saints “indispensable protagonists” of the New Evangelization.

“The saints evangelize by their virtuous lives,” he said. “They incarnate the evangelical beatitudes. They are the mirror to fidelity to Christ.”

The Saints teach us to evangelize through their commitments to live holiness, to accept the grace given through the Son’s sacrifice on the Cross. And each lived a saintly life in his or her own way. Just look at the seven martyrs and confessors of the faith who will be canonized today:

Jacques Berthieu (1838-1896) A Jesuit priest and missionary martyred in Madagascar

Peter Calungsod (1654-1672) A lay catechist martyred in the Philippines

Giovanni Battista Piamarta (1841-1913) A priest who gave witness to the faith in the education of the youth and founded the Congregation of the Holy Family of Nazareth and the Congregation of the Humble Sister Servants of the Lord

Mother Marianne (Barbara) Cope (1838-1918) A professed religious of the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis in Syracuse who gave witness to the faith in caring for those with leprosy in Molokai

Maria (Maria Carmen Sallés y Barangueras) del Monte Carmelo (1848-1911) The foundress of the Conceptionist Missionary Sisters of Teaching in Spain

Kateri Tekakwitha (1656-1680) A Native American laywoman who converted to the Catholic faith

Anna Schäffer (1882-1925) A Bavarian laywoman who gave witness to the love of Christ from the bed of suffering

These seven Saints, half of whom were beatified by Blessed John Paul II, came from all over the world. They differed in age, in wealth, in ethnicity, and in talent. Yet they all lived for one thing: the greater glory of God.

The Third Joyful Mystery: The Birth of Our Lord

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled. This was the first enrolment, when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be enrolled, each to his own city.

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to be delivered. And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn (Lk 2:1-7).

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, "Jesus was born in a humble stable, into a poor family. Simple shepherds were the first witnesses to this event. In this poverty heaven's glory was made manifest" (CCC, 525). The Savior, Son of Man was born to a Virgin, and all of creation rejoiced!

While meditating on the Nativity, say one Our Father, 10 Hail Mary’s, and a Glory Be.

The Harvest is Abundant but the Laborers are Few

Today is the feast of St. Luke the Evangelist, so it is quite appropriate that we read from the Gospel of Luke at Mass today. As you meditate on the reading below, reflect on how God is calling you, personally, to be a missionary.

The Lord Jesus appointed seventy-two disciples
whom he sent ahead of him in pairs
to every town and place he intended to visit.
He said to them,
"The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;
so ask the master of the harvest
to send out laborers for his harvest.
Go on your way;
behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves.
Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals;
and greet no one along the way.
Into whatever house you enter,
first say, 'Peace to this household.'
If a peaceful person lives there,
your peace will rest on him;
but if not, it will return to you.
Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you,
for the laborer deserves payment.
Do not move about from one house to another.
Whatever town you enter and they welcome you,
eat what is set before you,
cure the sick in it and say to them,
'The Kingdom of God is at hand for you.'"(Lk 10:1-9)

What exactly is a Synod?

At lunch last Saturday, Pope Benedict XVI told Synodal Fathers that the Synod on the New Evangelization reminds him of the Road to Emmaus. He said:

Synodus means “shared walk”, “walking together”, and so the word synodus makes me think of the famous walk of the Lord with the two disciples who were going to Emmaus, who are to an extent an image of the agnostic world of today. Jesus, their hope, had died: the world was empty; it seemed that either God did not exist or had no interest in us. With this despair in their hearts, but still with a little flame of faith, they walk on. The Lord walks mysteriously beside them and helps them to better understand the mystery of God, His presence in history, His silent walking with us. In the end, at supper, when the words of the Lord and their listening have already lit up their hearts and illuminated their minds, they recognize Him at the meal and finally their hearts start to see. Thus in the Synod we are walking together with our contemporaries. We pray to the Lord that He may illuminate us, that He may light up our hearts so they may become prophetic, that He may illuminate our minds; and we pray that at supper, in the Eucharistic communion, we can really be open, see Him and thus also light up the world and give His light to this world of ours.

For more on the definition of “synod,” check out this site.  

St. Theresa of Avila, Model for the New Evangelization

We talk about the New Evangelization quite a bit here on Open Wide the Doors, because it was something near and dear to Blessed John Paul II’s heart. Fortunately, the New Evangelization isn’t just some concept we read about, that we have to figure out on our own. We can look to models, like Blessed John Paul II and Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati.

St. Teresa of Avila, whose memorial we celebrate today, is another model for the New Evangelization. This summer, Pope Benedict XVI wrote:

The ultimate goal of Teresa’s reform and the creation of new monasteries in a world lacking spiritual values was to protect apostolic work with prayer…Today too, as in the sixteenth century, in the midst of rapid transformation, it is important that trusting prayer be the heart of the apostolate, so that the redeeming message of Jesus Christ may sound out clearly and dynamically.

St. Teresa of Avila, “evangelized unhesitatingly, showing tireless ardor, employing methods free from inertia and using expressions bathed in light.” Today let us ask her to pray for us as participators in the New Evangelization!

The Second Joyful Mystery: The Visitation

In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and she exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!’ (Lk 1:39-42).

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, "Mary's visitation to Elizabeth thus became a visit from God to his people" (CCC, 717). Our Mother was affirmed in her Blessedness, and the Word was recognized as Jesus, the Son of God.

While meditating on the Visitation, say one Our Father, 10 Hail Mary’s, and a Glory Be.