You Want To Be The Stone Floor

During the Second Vatican Council, young Bishop Karol Wojtyła learned much about the Church and her role in the world. During his time in Rome working with both Blessed John XXIII and Paul VI, he also reflected on the importance of the Office of Peter (the Office he would occupy shorty thereafter). Through poetry he expressed the fruits of these reflections:

In this place our feet meet the ground, on which were raised

so many walls and colonnades…if you don’t get lost in them but

                                    go on finding

unity and sense—

it is because She is leading you. She connects not only the

spaces of a

renaissance building, but also spaces In Us, 

who go ahead so very conscious of our weakness and disaster.

It is You, Peter. You want to be the Stone Floor, so that they will

pass over you

(going ahead, not knowing where), that they should go where you

                  lead their feet,

so that they should connect into one the spaces which through

                                    sight help the

thought to be born.

You want to be Him who serves the feet—like rock the hooves of

                                    sheep:

The rock is also the stone floor of the gigantic temple. The Pasture

is the cross.

Wojtyła would soon go on to “serve the feet” as Pope for nearly twenty-seven years.

As part of our countdown to the canonization of Blessed John Paul II, the Blessed John Paul II Shrine is spending the month reflecting on the late Holy Father’s time serving as bishop in Poland. Keep following us here and on our Facebook page for more stories about his life and legacy.

Poem is entitled “Stone Floor,” translated by George Weigel, Sister Emilia Ehrlich, OSU, and Marek Skwarnicki. From Wojtyła, Poezje i dramaty, p. 63. As presented in George Weigel's Witness to Hope, p. 157.

Annus Fidei: The Year of Faith Begins

Today the Church embarks upon the Year of Faith, “a summons to an authentic and renewed conversion to the Lord, the one Savior of the world.” Pope Benedict XVI announced the Year of Faith in response to a modern crisis of faith—the very crises that sparked the present Synod for the New Evangelization. This Year of Faith begins as we celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council and the twentieth anniversary of the publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and it will end on November 24, 2013, the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Universal King.

In his Apostolic Letter Porta Fidei, Pope Benedict XVI writes that the connection between the Year of Faith, the Second Vatican Council, and the Catechism of the Catholic Church is intentional. The Holy Father echoes the words of his predecessor, Blessed John Paul II, saying that in the texts of Vatican II “we find a sure compass by which to take our bearings in the century now beginning.” And in the Catechism we find the tenets of the Faith explained in a way, which is understandable for all members of the Church.

Pope Benedict writes:

We want this Year to arouse in every believer the aspiration to profess the faith in fullness and with renewed conviction, with confidence and hope. It will also be a good opportunity to intensify the celebration of the faith in the liturgy, especially in the Eucharist, which is “the summit towards which the activity of the Church is directed; ... and also the source from which all its power flows.” At the same time, we make it our prayer that believers’ witness of life may grow in credibility. To rediscover the content of the faith that is professed, celebrated, lived and prayed and to reflect on the act of faith, is a task that every believer must make his own, especially in the course of this Year.

The Creed must take on personal and communal importance, not merely as a set of words, but as the answer to what our hearts are seeking. The Catechism of the Catholic Church must lay a new foundation for believers and form their hearts. The Church must take this opportunity to “intensify the witness of charity” and rediscover the rich history of faith in the Church. The Liturgy and the Sacraments will give the “profession of the faith efficacy,” and all must be reminded of the ultimate importance of fixing their gazes upon Jesus Christ.

The Message of the Holy Father Spreads Far and Wide

Earlier this month, the Vatican teamed up with Apple in order to develop new methods of communication, so that the works and words of Pope Benedict XVI can be spread throughout the world. Apple is working with the Vatican to produce iTunes tracks and eBooks of the Holy Father’s general audiences. The eBooks will include his messages alongside illustrations from Vatican art collections!

In other Vatican-outreach news, the Pontifical Council for Social Communications will release a new documentary film on the history of Vatican II next week. Read this article for more on this project, which includes unpublished footage and pictures taken from over 200 hours of material from the Vatican film archives.

Mary, Star of the New Evangelization, Pray for Us!

So that the world may believe that Jesus is alive

In his Sunday homily, Pope Benedict XVI called the lay faithful of the Diocese of Frascati to mission:

Even here there is need for a new evangelization, which is why I propose you intensely live the Year of Faith, which will begin in October, 50 years from the opening of the Second Vatican Council. The Council documents contain an enormous wealth for the formation of new generations of Christians, for the formation of our consciousness. So read them, read the Catechism of the Catholic Church and rediscover the beauty of being Christians, of being Church to enjoy the great "we" that Jesus has formed around him, to evangelize the world: the "we" of the Church, never closed, but always open and projected towards the proclamation of the Gospel.

Stand firm in faith, rooted in Christ through the Word and the Eucharist; be people of prayer, to always remain bound to Christ, as branches to the vine, and at the same time go out, bring His message to everyone, especially the small, to the poor, the suffering. In every community, love each other, do not be divided but live as brothers and sisters, so that the world may believe that Jesus is alive in his Church and the Kingdom of God is near.

Mary, Star of the New Evangelization, please pray that we “rediscover the beauty of being Christians,” and that we use this beauty to “evangelize the world.”

Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith documents now online

Last month the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith opened a new web domain (www.doctrinafidei.va). The site still lies within the official website of the Holy See, which grants all of the faithful access to important documents the congregation has published since Vatican II. According to a communiqué by the congregation, the documents “deal with significant questions for the life and mission of the Church and give important doctrinal responses to the challenges of our times.” The hope is that easy access to these documents will help communicate Church teachings to people throughout the world.

This initiative fits right in with the upcoming Year of Faith and the Church’s commitment to the New Evangelization.