Hope and Love – Finding Meaning in Suffering

Is there any meaning in suffering? Or is it all pointless and an occasion for nothing but anguish and despair?

One of the readings for Good Friday is from Isaiah ch. 52-53 about the "Suffering Servant," and there is this line "the Lord was pleased to crush him in infirmity." The Suffering Servant is one of the Old Testament messianic passages that foreshadow Jesus Christ, who by and through love took suffering upon Himself and, as we find on Easter Sunday, by that love transformed death to life.

On Good Friday a few years ago, the day of the Passion of Jesus, I spent much of the day at the hospital watching R as she slept, and I could not help but think -- Can anyone seriously deny that she has shared in the Passion of Jesus? More than merely "carrying a cross" of everyday hardship, she had been a suffering servant, crushed in infirmity.

She had, over the years, multiple broken bones merely from something as common as walking or getting up; knee replacements, hip replacements; kidney failure, poisoned by painkillers, necessitating a kidney transplant; a perforated bowel during a routine procedure; nausea and pain, pneumonia; an vicious attack of MSRA which ravaged her lungs; congestive heart failure; and on and on.  Too many hospitalizations to count; an entire drug store of medications to take every day.

All this suffering, anxiety and agony in the garden – although innocent of wrongdoing and undeserving of such suffering, being dragged before the (medical) authorities for examination, the scourging of her body, being made to carry a cross, stumbling and falling because of the heavy weight, now having her hands pierced with needles as if nails, her body fixed in the bed as if a cross, hanging there suffering and laboring to breathe, and then having her side pierced. Meanwhile, we who love her could do little but watch as she proceeded down her Via Dolorosa, and stand there at the foot of her cross.

This is not to suggest that R is Jesus, but it is abundantly clear that, in all these things, R shared in the Passion of Jesus. God had not abandoned her, even though, like Jesus, she had asked if He had, because she was where He is. And it was in her sharing in His passion, in His suffering, that she also shares in the love of His Redemption.

Perhaps there can be meaning in such awful, horrible, enormously unwanted suffering. Perhaps it need not be meaningless and pointless and emptiness. Perhaps it need not be despair and hopelessness. Perhaps we can find here the meaning of redemptive suffering, of accompanying Jesus, of going beyond even Simon the Cyrenian who was pressed into the service of carrying the Cross.

St. Paul said, "In my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ" (Col. 1:24). Again, can it be denied that this too speaks of R? In this redemptive suffering, in heroically enduring all of this with remarkable grace – all this pain, all these afflictions one after another after another after another – participating in the work of salvation by sharing in the undeserved suffering of Jesus, she was joined to Him far more that we are joined to Him by prayer.

True, it is not a "blessing" that anyone would really seek out, and is one that we would all rather God had taken away, we would all rather that she never have gone through that "hell" in the first place. But as difficult as it was to endure, and it was extremely difficult, being joined to Him nevertheless provided a measure of hope, rather than despair.  Suffering is inevitable in this world, but it need not be pointless and emptiness. We can find meaning, positive meaning -- the meaning of hope.

R survived that trial by fire, the latest in too many.  She should have died.  She very, very nearly did.  She should have been dead many times over by then.  She very nearly was.  But she survived.  Through much anguish, she endured.  She persevered.

Her lungs began to heal, new tissue grew.  She got out of that bed.  She walked.  She smiled, she laughed.  She rejoiced.  She was happy.

What saved her, what gave her the hope to go on was love.  Not the fairy-tale love of sunshine and happily-ever-after feelings, which come and go, but authentic love in all its manifestations, all of its ups and downs, all of its trials and tribulations.  As she demonstrated with her life, it is love which sustains us, love which heals us, love which saves us, love which gives us life.

It is only love and through love that we can have life, real life, the fullness of life.  By R’s faith, she understood that it is by the creative power of love that the universe was made.  And it was in the transformative power of love that fear was overcome and hope was found in the midst of hardship and suffering.  That is what sustained and healed her.

First, her own love, which among other things gave her a fierce determination to persevere, to keep on going through the worst hell imaginable, time and again.  The MSRA which savaged much of her lung tissue really did try to kick her ass, but she hung in there because her ass is mighty tough.  She is one tough mama.  This tiny little nearly 70-year-old woman is without a doubt the strongest person I know.  And she has given me one of the greatest life lessons I’ll ever learn.

Much of that strength was from her own loving spirit and stubborn will, but not all of it. She also had help to endure and fight.  Her body and doctors had help in healing that body, in comforting that mind.  And here is proof of the power of grace.  Grace, which is just another word for the healing power of love from the One who is Love, and also the power of prayer.

God’s love and our love.  Now, through her younger years, before the experience of Job fell upon her, R was not particularly super-religious, at least I did not think so.  But during the times of her afflictions, many times she would speak of feeling our prayers for her, gaining strength from them.  God, who is Love, would receive the love that we would each express in our prayers and in our actions, and He would multiply our love by His own, completely and perfectly, to give it all to her by His grace.

It doesn’t take a lot, just a spark, just an ember of love is enough.  Because of transformative and healing love, beyond the Passion, beyond our compassion of suffering with her rather than running away from it, there is new life.

Love passes through eternity, and it is love which gave her and gives us hope. It is love which sustains us, love which heals us, love which saves us, love which gives us life.

September 11 - Twenty Years Ago

Life as you know it can change in an instant. The world can change in an instant. A prime example is September 11. We woke up on that day in one world and we went to bed that night in another. The plans that we had made and the path that we had expected to follow, both as a nation and individually, came to an abrupt end that day, and we were thrown onto a different course.

 

The Lord has warned that such could happen, that such will likely happen to us in our lives. We often will not know the time or the hour of life-changing events or, most especially, life-ending events. And so, we must always be ready, always be prepared, and part of that preparation for the possibility of catastrophic change is not merely stocking up on those things that might be changed or lost in an instant, but by building our lives on rock, on things that last, the eternal things, that is, the Eternal One, rather than building on lives on sand, which are then washed away when the inevitable storm comes, such as the sands of temporal worldly things, worldly wealth, possessions, jobs, health, all of which will one day crumble and turn to dust.

 

With the Lord, in hope, we are already saved. With Him, all things are possible, including perseverance in the face of hardship, peace of heart and mind, love, and even the ability to forgive, rather than retaliate in self-corrosive hate, when that hardship and life-changing event are brought about by evil and wrongs against you.

Eternal and Merciful God, at times of tragedy our intellects seek understanding, our hearts seek healing, and our souls turn to You: our source of hope and solace. Heal our troubled nation as our nation turns its eyes to You and comfort those whose lives are changed forever: those who have perished, those who have lost family, friends or loved ones, and those who now live in the aftermath of these acts of terror. May God bless our national leadership, may God bless our servicemen and women, and may God bless America. Amen.

Almighty God, our heavenly Father, let thy protection be upon all those who are in the service of our country; guard them from all harm and danger of body and soul; sustain and comfort those at home, especially in their hours of loneliness, anxiety, and sorrow; prepare the dying for death and the living for your service; give success to our arms on land and sea and in the air; and grant unto us and all nations a speedy, just and lasting peace. Amen.

September 11, 2001. Many of us remember it as if it were yesterday. But also, for many, we experience our own personal September 11 in our personal lives when they are radically ended and our path forever changed by, for example, death of loved ones, illness and/or injury, job loss and inability to obtain other employment, or even the adverse consequences of our own sin and folly. But whether you are an entirely innocent victim or a sinner, the Lord is ready to protect us.

 

Written on Saturday, September 15, 2001: 

 

I drove by the Pentagon today. I decided to go by a condo I saw advertised that is nearby. Luckily, the damage appears to be quite localized to the crash site. I drove down the parkway along the river and then onto the highway that runs past the Pentagon.

 

As I approached, I saw the building, standing as firm and imposing as always. I curved around and the next side of the five-sided building was perfectly fine, but there in the parking lot were countless trucks and trailers. I could see some smoke and smelled food being cooked for the rescuers. There was a McDonald's sign atop one tent.

 

Then, I came around the bend and saw the unmistakable black markings along the exterior from the fire and smoke. Now I could see the crash site, the middle of the building that was rubble.

 

I turned off onto my exit and got on Arlington Ridge Road, on the heights above D.C. On the far east end, there is a hairpin turn and at that end there is a park, what used to be Fort Albany -- a place on the heights where cannon and other guns were placed to protect the city from attack in the Civil War. Here were many people, looking across the highway to the damaged side of the Pentagon. None of them said much of anything. Everyone just staring grimly at the collapsed middle. A few taking pictures.

 

As I said, thankfully, the damage was fairly localized, so I gazed around the city. Being on the heights, I could see a few miles to the spires of the National Cathedral. I could see about six miles in another direction to the dome of the National Shrine at my school Catholic University. The Washington Monument of course loomed over everything.

 

It was a beautiful day and a beautiful city. The one thing I could not see, try though I might, was the White House. Only two stories high, nestled in the trees, perhaps its lack of visibility saved it from being the place of destruction.

 

I had thought about going to a funeral mass for one of the victims this morning at St. Thomas More Cathedral here in Arlington, but my sleep was kind of restless last night and I woke up late. For the first time in the 12 years (so many!) that I've been here, I experienced a bit of personal apprehension for my safety.

 

I've always realized in the abstract that if we ever suffer a missile attack, all I'll ever know of it is a momentary bright flash and that's the last you'll hear of me, but it's never really concerned me. Never once during the Gulf War was I concerned. But late last night, as I was on the computer, I heard this very loud BANG! and then all the power went out. It was a very unusual sound, but last week I would have simply figured someone crashed into a electrical pole or a transformer blew, but this isn't last week. It was a sound I hadn't heard before and, although there is nothing in this neighborhood worth attacking, I was a little jumpy after that. Just to be safe, I reported it to the police. Just in case.

 

So, we all have to be a little more vigilant now that we are at war. A buddy of mine from high school is in the reserves and I expect he'll be one of those called to active duty. Over in the District, the national guard has been deployed. Many street corners have humvees sitting there with soldiers on the sidewalks. I'm glad to see them. Not for my benefit, because except for being startled last night, I'm not too concerned about me getting it, but I do expect further attacks on us.

 

This is war, not merely for some in uniform going to southeast Asia, but for all of us. We all have our part to do and sacrifices to make. It’s entirely possible that we will not be able to all be together this Thanksgiving. I expect we will have positioned our troops and have launched our campaign by then. If so, expect the airports to be shut down again. Even if we have not launched our attack by then, expect the planes to be grounded. Our enemy is perfectly aware that Thanksgiving is the busiest time of the year for air travel and would like nothing more than to kill some more of us.

 

If the planes are flying, as passengers, we'll need to stay alert during the flights and prevent that from happening. If hijacked, we need to emulate the heroes of the plane in Pennsylvania and retake the plane, no matter the cost. As for me, if I'm hijacked and we cannot regain control -- shoot us down. I'll not allow them to make a low-tech missile out of me.

 

At the same time, pray for true peace. Pray for my buddy as he gets activated and sent into battle. Pray for our enemy, that God grant them grace and wisdom to choose peace. Pray for us, that, as we destroy that enemy, that God grant us grace and strength to not hate those He commands us to love, that we kill not for vengeance, but to end the violence and the capacity and will of the enemy to make war on us, until the day we again may live in peace with these children of God.

_____________________ 

 

Added September 11, 2010: 

 

The morning of September 11, 2001, I was at the Arlington Courthouse, waiting for cases to be called in both circuit court and general district court. During a break, I popped down to the clerk's office for something and, while I was there, the phone rang and the clerk answered it. After a moment or two, he told us that a plane had just crashed into the Pentagon, which is about two miles or so to the south.

 

We thought that that was odd, to say the least. National Airport is almost right next to the Pentagon, but still, how could a plane crash into it?

 

I next went up to circuit court, where there was still a break, but the judge was on the bench talking to the clerks and bailiffs, saying that "this is war." Still not comprehending (not knowing anything about New York), I went down to general district court to see if my case down there could be called.

 

A few moments after I entered the courtroom, I saw sheriff's deputies running up to the bench, saying something to the judge. The judge then announced that all the cases were being cancelled and that an evacuation of the building had been ordered for safety reasons. (Apparently this was when there was a plane approaching D.C. (Flight 93). The deputies and police were also needed for mass mobilization to the Pentagon and throughout the area.)

 

Once outside, I talked to one of the prosecutors who said that he had seen a very low-flying plane over in the direction of the Pentagon.

 

As I got into my car to drive home, there was a report on the radio of an attack at the State Department, but that was later determined to be false. There was also talk about an attack on the World Trade Center and something about a collapse or possible collapse. In my mind at the time, I was thinking that they meant some of the facing had come off or something like that.

 

When I got home (about a mile away) and turned on the TV, I don't remember when it was that I first saw that the WTC building or buildings had collapsed entirely. I don't have any recollection of "Oh my God," but I must have had a response of that type. I was definitely stunned enough to not really remember my reaction, considering that I believed at the time that 25-30,000 people had just died, maybe even as high as 50,000 (thank-you Lord for the WTC personnel and firefighters who were able to evacuate the towers so efficiently).

 

After sitting in front of the TV for a few hours, I walked out of the house and went over to Lee Highway, which leads directly to the District. There were long lines of crowds of people walking down the sidewalk, they were federal government workers evacuating D.C. on foot because the Metro (subway) had stopped running.

 

In the days that followed, heavily armed military personnel began to populate many of the street corners. We were happy to see them.

 

See also Why I Believe, or, How I Know that God Exists .

Days When Life As You Know It Ends

Life as you know it can change in an instant. The world can change in an instant. A prime example is September 11. We woke up on that day in one world and we went to bed that night in another. The plans that we had made and the path that we had expected to follow, both as a nation and individually, came to an abrupt end that day, and we were thrown onto a different course.

The Lord has warned that such could happen, that such will likely happen to us in our lives. We often will not know the time or the hour of life-changing events or, most especially, life-ending events. And so, we must always be ready, always be prepared, and part of that preparation for the possibility of catastrophic change is not merely stocking up on those things that might be changed or lost in an instant, but by building our lives on rock, on things that last, the eternal things, that is, the Eternal One, rather than building on lives on sand, which are then washed away when the inevitable storm comes, such as the sands of temporal worldly things, worldly wealth, possessions, jobs, health, all of which will one day crumble and turn to dust.

With the Lord, in hope, we are already saved. With Him, all things are possible, including perseverence in the face of hardship, peace of heart and mind, love, and even the ability to forgive, rather than retaliate in self-corrosive hate, when that hardship and life-changing event are brought about by evil and wrongs against you.

Eternal and Merciful God, at times of tragedy our intellects seek understanding, our hearts seek healing, and our souls turn to You: our source of hope and solace. Heal our troubled nation as our nation turns its eyes to You and comfort those whose lives are changed forever: those who have perished, those who have lost family, friends or loved ones, and those who now live in the aftermath of these acts of terror. May God bless our national leadership, may God bless our servicemen and women, and may God bless America. Amen

Almighty God, our heavenly Father, let thy protection be upon all those who are in the service of our country; guard them from all harm and danger of body and soul; sustain and comfort those at home, especially in their hours of loneliness, anxiety, and sorrow; prepare the dying for death and the living for your service; give success to our arms on land and sea and in the air; and grant unto us and all nations a speedy, just and lasting peace. Amen.

September 11, 2001. Many of us remember it as if it were yesterday. But also, for many, we experience our own personal September 11 in our personal lives when they are radically ended and our path forever changed by, for example, death of loved ones, illness and/or injury, job loss and inability to obtain other employment, or even the adverse consequences of our own sin and folly. But whether you are an entirely innocent victim or a sinner, the Lord is ready to protect us.

Written on Saturday, September 15, 2001

I drove by the Pentagon today. I decided to go by a condo I saw advertised that is nearby. Luckily, the damage appears to be quite localized to the crash site. I drove down the parkway along the river and then onto the highway that runs past the Pentagon.

As I approached, I saw the building, standing as firm and imposing as always. I curved around and the next side of the five-sided building was perfectly fine, but there in the parking lot were countless trucks and trailers. I could see some smoke and smelled food being cooked for the rescuers. There was a McDonald's sign atop one tent.

Then, I came around the bend and saw the unmistakable black markings along the exterior from the fire and smoke. Now I could see the crash site, the middle of the building that was rubble.

I turned off onto my exit and got on Arlington Ridge Road, on the heights above D.C. On the far east end, there is a hairpin turn and at that end there is a park, what used to be Fort Albany -- a place on the heights where cannon and other guns were placed to protect the city from attack in the Civil War. Here were many people, looking across the highway to the damaged side of the Pentagon. None of them said much of anything. Everyone just staring grimly at the collapsed middle. A few taking pictures.

As I said, thankfully, the damage was fairly localized, so I gazed around the city. Being on the heights, I could see a few miles to the spires of the National Cathedral. I could see about six miles in another direction to the dome of the National Shrine at my school Catholic University. The Washington Monument of course loomed over everything.

It was a beautiful day and a beautiful city. The one thing I could not see, try though I might, was the White House. Only two stories high, nestled in the trees, perhaps its lack of visibility saved it from being the place of destruction.

I had thought about going to a funeral mass for one of the victims this morning at St. Thomas More Cathedral here in Arlington, but my sleep was kind of restless last night and I woke up late. For the first time in the 12 years (so many!) that I've been here, I experienced a bit of personal apprehension for my safety.

I've always realized in the abstract that if we ever suffer a missile attack, all I'll ever know of it is a momentary bright flash and that's the last you'll hear of me, but its never really concerned me. Never once during the Gulf War was I concerned. But late last night, as I was on the computer, I heard this very loud BANG! and then all the power went out. It was a very unusual sound, but last week I would have simply figured someone crashed into a electrical pole or a transformer blew, but this isn't last week. It was a sound I hadn't heard before and, although there is nothing in this neighborhood worth attacking, I was a little jumpy after that. Just to be safe, I reported it to the police. Just in case.

So, we all have to be a little more vigilant now that we are at war. A buddy of mine from high school is in the reserves and I expect he'll be one of those called to active duty. Over in the District, the national guard has been deployed. Many street corners have humvees sitting there with soldiers on the sidewalks. I'm glad to see them. Not for my benefit, because except for being startled last night, I'm not too concerned about me getting it, but I do expect further attacks on us. This is war, not merely for some in uniform going to southeast Asia, but for all of us.

We all have our part to do and sacrifices to make. It’s entirely possible that we will not be able to all be together this Thanksgiving. I expect we will have positioned our troops and have launched our campaign by then. If so, expect the airports to be shut down again. Even if we have not launched our attack by then, expect the planes to be grounded. Our enemy is perfectly aware that Thanksgiving is the busiest time of the year for air travel and would like nothing more than to kill some more of us.

If the planes are flying, as passengers, we'll need to stay alert during the flights and prevent that from happening. If hijacked, we need to emulate the heroes of the plane in Pennsylvania and retake the plane, no matter the cost. As for me, if I'm hijacked and we cannot regain control -- shoot us down. I'll not allow them to make a low-tech missile out of me.

At the same time, pray for true peace. Pray for my buddy as he gets activated and sent into battle. Pray for our enemy, that God grant them grace and wisdom to choose peace. Pray for us, that, as we destroy that enemy, that God grant us grace and strength to not hate those He commands us to love, that we kill not for vengeance, but to end the violence and the capacity and will of the enemy to make war on us, until the day we again may live in peace with these children of God.

_____________________

Added September 11, 2010

The morning of September 11, 2001, I was at the Arlington Courthouse, waiting for cases to be called in both circuit court and general district court. During a break, I popped down to the clerk's office for something and, while I was there, the phone rang and the clerk answered it. After a moment or two, he told us that a plane had just crashed into the Pentagon, which is about two miles or so to the south.

We thought that that was odd, to say the least. National Airport is almost right next to the Pentagon, but still, how could a plane crash into it?

I next went up to circuit court, where there was still a break, but the judge was on the bench talking to the clerks and bailiffs, saying that "this is war." Still not comprehending (not knowing anything about New York), I went down to general district court to see if my case down there could be called.

A few moments after I entered the courtroom, I saw sheriff's deputies running up to the bench, saying something to the judge. The judge then announced that all the cases were being cancelled and that an evacuation of the building had been ordered for safety reasons. (Apparently this was when there was a plane approaching D.C. (Flight 93). The deputies and police were also needed for mass mobilization to the Pentagon and throughout the area.)

Once outside, I talked to one of the prosecutors who said that he had seen a very low-flying plane over in the direction of the Pentagon.

As I got into my car to drive home, there was a report on the radio of an attack at the State Department, but that was later determined to be false. There was also talk about an attack on the World Trade Center and something about a collapse or possible collapse. In my mind at the time, I was thinking that they meant some of the facing had come off or something like that.

When I got home (about a mile away) and turned on the TV, I don't remember when it was that I first saw that the WTC building or buildings had collapsed entirely. I don't have any recollection of "Oh my God," but I must have had a response of that type. I was definitely stunned enough to not really remember my reaction, considering that I believed at the time that 25-30,000 people had just died, maybe even as high as 50,000 (thank-you Lord for the WTC personnel and firefighters who were able to evacuate the towers so efficiently).

After sitting in front of the TV for a few hours, I walked out of the house and went over to Lee Highway, which leads directly to the District. There were long lines of crowds of people walking down the sidewalk, they were federal government workers evacuating D.C. on foot because the Metro (subway) had stopped running.

In the days that followed, heavily armed military personnel began to populate many of the street corners. We were happy to see them.

See also Why I Believe, or, How I Know that God Exists
.

To the City and to the World: Christ Our Hope has Arisen

Urbi et Orbi Message of Pope Benedict XVI
Easter Sunday, 8 April 2012

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Rome and throughout the world!

“Surrexit Christus, spes mea” – “Christ, my hope, has risen” (Easter Sequence).

May the jubilant voice of the Church reach all of you with the words which the ancient hymn puts on the lips of Mary Magdalene, the first to encounter the risen Jesus on Easter morning. She ran to the other disciples and breathlessly announced: “I have seen the Lord!” (Jn 20:18). We too, who have journeyed through the desert of Lent and the sorrowful days of the Passion, today raise the cry of victory: “He has risen! He has truly risen!”

Every Christian relives the experience of Mary Magdalene. It involves an encounter which changes our lives: the encounter with a unique Man who lets us experience all God’s goodness and truth, who frees us from evil not in a superficial and fleeting way, but sets us free radically, heals us completely and restores our dignity. This is why Mary Magdalene calls Jesus “my hope”: He was the one who allowed her to be reborn, who gave her a new future, a life of goodness and freedom from evil.

“Christ my hope” means that all my yearnings for goodness find in Him a real possibility of fulfilment: with Him, I can hope for a life that is good, full and eternal, for God Himself has drawn near to us, even sharing our humanity.

But Mary Magdalene, like the other disciples, was to see Jesus rejected by the leaders of the people, arrested, scourged, condemned to death and crucified. It must have been unbearable to see Goodness in person subjected to human malice, truth derided by falsehood, mercy abused by vengeance. With Jesus’ death, the hope of all those who had put their trust in him seemed doomed. But that faith never completely failed: especially in the heart of the Virgin Mary, Jesus’ Mother, its flame burned even in the dark of night.

In this world, hope cannot avoid confronting the harshness of evil. It is not thwarted by the wall of death alone, but even more by the barbs of envy and pride, falsehood and violence. Jesus passed through this mortal mesh in order to open a path to the kingdom of life. For a moment, Jesus seemed vanquished: darkness had invaded the land, the silence of God was complete, "hope" a seemingly empty word.

And lo, on the dawn of the day after the Sabbath, the tomb is found empty. Jesus then shows Himself to Mary Magdalene, to the other women, to His disciples. Faith is born anew, more alive and strong than ever, now invincible since it is based on a decisive experience: “Death with life contended: combat strangely ended! Life’s own champion, slain, now lives to reign”.

The signs of the resurrection testify to the victory of life over death, love over hatred, mercy over vengeance: “The tomb the living did enclose, I saw Christ’s glory as he rose! The angels there attesting, shroud with grave-clothes resting”.

Dear brothers and sisters! If Jesus is risen, then – and only then – has something truly new happened, something that changes the state of humanity and the world. Then He, Jesus, is someone in whom we can put absolute trust; we can put our trust not only in His message, but in Jesus Himself, for the Risen One does not belong to the past, but is present today, alive.

Christ is hope and comfort in a particular way for those Christian communities suffering most for their faith on account of discrimination and persecution. And He is present as a force of hope through His Church, which is close to all human situations of suffering and injustice.

May the risen Christ grant hope to the Middle East and enable all the ethnic, cultural and religious groups in that region to work together to advance the common good and respect for human rights. Particularly in Syria, may there be an end to bloodshed and an immediate commitment to the path of respect, dialogue and reconciliation, as called for by the international community. May the many refugees from that country who are in need of humanitarian assistance find the acceptance and solidarity capable of relieving their dreadful sufferings. May the paschal victory encourage the Iraqi people to spare no effort in pursuing the path of stability and development. In the Holy Land, may Israelis and Palestinians courageously take up anew the peace process.

May the Lord, the victor over evil and death, sustain the Christian communities of the African continent; may He grant them hope in facing their difficulties, and make them peacemakers and agents of development in the societies to which they belong.

May the risen Jesus comfort the suffering populations of the Horn of Africa and favour their reconciliation; may he help the Great Lakes Region, Sudan and South Sudan, and grant their inhabitants the power of forgiveness. In Mali, now experiencing delicate political developments, may the glorious Christ grant peace and stability. To Nigeria, which in recent times has experienced savage terrorist attacks, may the joy of Easter grant the strength needed to take up anew the building of a society which is peaceful and respectful of the religious freedom of all its citizens.

Happy Easter to all!

Fatima and the Government's Contraception Mandate

Today, the Church celebrates the feast day of the humble shepherd children of Fatima, Blessed Francisco and Blessed Jacinta. Given the various many attacks on the Church and the Catholic Faith by government, most recently the assault on religious liberty and conscience by the Obama Administration, we need to remember what Our Lady told us at Fatima -- although the faithful will suffer, and the Church will be persecuted, her Immaculate Heart will triumph.

The Mission of Fatima Continues

On October 13, 1917, a reported 70,000 people were present for the "Miracle of the Sun" outside the small town of Fatima, Portugal, where a radiant Lady in white had appeared to three humble shepherd children. The Lady had spoken of the war then raging in Europe (World War I) and had warned of an even greater war to follow (World War II), and she asked that people pray for the conversion of Russia to prevent its errors (e.g. Communism) from being spread throughout the world. A third "secret" involved the suffering and shooting of a "bishop in white," who has since been interpreted as being the pope.

The world wars are over, the Soviet Union is no more, and Eastern Europe is free. Pope John Paul II was in fact shot on May 13, 1981, the anniversary of the first apparition, and he suffered greatly before his death. Now that so much of the prophetic message of Our Lady has come to fruition, does that mean that Fatima is now relegated to the past? Are those events and the message of Our Lady of Fatima now merely a historical curiosity? Or perhaps we ought to ask: What really is The Message of Fatima?

We would be mistaken to think that Fatima’s prophetic mission is complete. Here there takes on new life the plan of God which asks humanity from the beginning: "Where is your brother Abel . . . Your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground!" (Gen 4:9). Mankind has succeeded in unleashing a cycle of death and terror, but failed in bringing it to an end... In sacred Scripture we often find that God seeks righteous men and women in order to save the city of man and he does the same here, in Fatima, when Our Lady asks: "Do you want to offer yourselves to God, to endure all the sufferings which he will send you, in an act of reparation for the sins by which he is offended and of supplication for the conversion of sinners?" (Memoirs of Sister Lúcia, I, 162).

At a time when the human family was ready to sacrifice all that was most sacred on the altar of the petty and selfish interests of nations, races, ideologies, groups and individuals, our Blessed Mother came from heaven, offering to implant in the hearts of all those who trust in her the Love of God burning in her own heart. At that time it was only to three children, yet the example of their lives spread and multiplied, especially as a result of the travels of the Pilgrim Virgin, in countless groups throughout the world dedicated to the cause of fraternal solidarity. May the seven years which separate us from the centenary of the apparitions hasten the fulfilment of the prophecy of the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, to the glory of the Most Holy Trinity.

--Pope Benedict XVI, Fatima, May 13, 2010

What is The Message of Fatima? What is the ultimate message given to us, the ultimate meaning?

There is great hardship and suffering in the world. Yet, we do not despair because Jesus came to save us from death and destruction. We have hope. Not the "hope" of wishes and grasping at straws, but of trustworthy confidence and assured expectation of salvation. (Spe Salvi) But Jesus asks for our help in the work of salvation, which comes through the Cross. We are called to, among other things, pray for others, make a gift of self in love to others, and to help Him carry the Cross, taking upon ourselves what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ and suffering with Him. (Col 1:24).

The ultimate message of Fatima is this: Humanity will necessarily suffer great hardship in this world, but God has not abandoned us. The Lady in white, clothed as with the sun, asks us to help her Son in the work of salvation, including prayer, penance, and redemptive suffering, not merely for ourselves, but for the salvation of others, for their conversion away from sin to embracing holiness. The faithful will suffer and even be hated and persecuted, but all this is beatitude (Mt. 5:3-10). In the end, notwithstanding all of the great evils that are thrust upon us, her Immaculate Heart will triumph.

The Heart open to God, purified by contemplation of God, is stronger than guns and weapons of every kind. The fiat of Mary, the word of her heart, has changed the history of the world, because it brought the Saviour into the world — because, thanks to her Yes, God could become man in our world and remains so for all time.

The Evil One has power in this world, as we see and experience continually; he has power because our freedom continually lets itself be led away from God. But since God himself took a human heart and has thus steered human freedom towards what is good, the freedom to choose evil no longer has the last word. From that time forth, the word that prevails is this: “In the world you will have tribulation, but take heart; I have overcome the world” (Jn 16:33). The message of Fatima invites us to trust in this promise. (Theological Commentary on Fatima, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith)

Evil will not have the last say, the good will prevail. "He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain." (Rev. 21:1-8)

Ultimately, The Message of Fatima is hope.

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Here is a really interesting documentary from Italy on Fatima --

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See also -
--Timeline of the Events of Fatima
--Theological Commentary on Fatima by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger
--Church Teaching on Marian Apparitions and Other Private Revelations
--Beatification of Francisco and Jacinta and the Message of Fatima
--The Truth of Sin and Suffering, and Our Helping Jesus in the Work of Salvation
--Other Source Material on Fatima

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Hanukkah and the Light of ChristThe Rededication of the Temple and the Festival of Lights

Hanukkah begins this evening, December 1, 2010, at sundown (remembering that the Jewish day begins at sundown).

The Jewish Feast of Dedication (Hanukkah) was instituted in the year 165 B.C. It is celebrated annually as a memorial of the rededication of the Temple with a new altar and purification of the sanctuary. Three years earlier, Antiochus Epiphanes had caused a pagan altar to be set up at the altar of burnt offerings in the Temple and sacrifices to be offered to his idol, called "Zeus Olympius."

The Maccabean revolt followed, led by Judas Maccabeus (Yehuda HaMakabi, "Judah the Hammer"). After many battles, the Holy City of Jerusalem and the Temple were recovered.

1 Maccabees 4:36-59

Judas Maccabeus and his brothers said, "Now that our enemies have been crushed, let us go up to purify the sanctuary and rededicate it." So the whole army assembled, and went up to Mount Zion. They found the sanctuary desolate, the altar desecrated, the gates burnt, weeds growing in the courts as in a forest or on some mountain, and the priests' chambers demolished.

Then they tore their clothes and made great lamentation; they sprinkled their heads with ashes and fell with their faces to the ground. And when the signal was given with trumpets, they cried out to Heaven.

Judas appointed men to attack those in the citadel, while he purified the sanctuary. He chose blameless priests, devoted to the law; these purified the sanctuary and carried away the stones of the Abomination to an unclean place.

They deliberated what ought to be done with the altar of holocausts that had been desecrated. The happy thought came to them to tear it down, lest it be a lasting shame to them that the Gentiles had defiled it; so they tore down the altar. They stored the stones in a suitable place on the temple hill, until a prophet should come and decide what to do with them.

Then they took uncut stones, according to the law, and built a new altar like the former one. They also repaired the sanctuary and the interior of the temple and purified the courts. They made new sacred vessels and brought the lampstand, the altar of incense, and the table into the temple. Then they burned incense on the altar and lighted the lamps on the lampstand, and these illuminated the temple. They also put loaves on the table and hung up curtains. Thus they finished all the work they had undertaken.

Early in the morning on the twenty-fifth day of the ninth month, that is, the month of Chislev, in the year one hundred and forty-eight, they arose and offered sacrifice according to the law on the new altar of holocausts that they had made. On the anniversary of the day on which the Gentiles had defiled it, on that very day it was reconsecrated with songs, harps, flutes, and cymbals. All the people prostrated themselves and adored and praised Heaven, who had given them success.

For eight days they celebrated the dedication of the altar and joyfully offered holocausts and sacrifices of deliverance and praise. They ornamented the facade of the temple with gold crowns and shields; they repaired the gates and the priests' chambers and furnished them with doors. There was great joy among the people now that the disgrace of the Gentiles was removed.

Then Judas and his brothers and the entire congregation of Israel decreed that the days of the dedication of the altar should be observed with joy and gladness on the anniversary every year for eight days, from the twenty-fifth day of the month Chislev. (see also 2 Macc 1:18-2:19; 10:1-8)

Hanukkah, from the Hebrew word for "dedication" or "consecration", is also known as the Festival of Lights due to a miracle that allowed the Eternal Light of the Temple to burn for eight days, even though there was only enough oil to last one day.

This miracle is recounted in the Talmud (Shabbat 2),

The rabbis taught: On the twenty-fifth day of Kislev, Hanukkah commences and lasts eight days, on which lamenting (in commemoration of the dead) and fasting are prohibited. When the Hellenists entered the sanctuary, they defiled all the oil that was found there. When the government of the House of Asmoneans prevailed and conquered them, oil was sought (to feed the holy lamp in the sanctuary) and only one vial was found with the seal of the high priest intact. The vial contained sufficient oil for one day only, but a miracle occurred, and it fed the holy lamp eight days in succession. These eight days were the following year established as days of good cheer, on which psalms of praise and acknowledgment (of God's wonders) were to be recited.

The Eternal Light of the Temple represented God's everlasting presence, just as the sanctuary lamp placed before the tabernacle containing the Blessed Sacrament in Catholic churches is kept lit to indicate and honor the presence of Christ. In the synagogue, a perpetual lamp signifies the Lord's presence in the Torah, the Word of God.

Although a Jewish holiday -- one celebrated by Jesus -- Hanukkah can also be a time for Christians to remember that it is God Himself who is a Light that is everlasting and can never be extinguished. These days of rededication and the manifestation of God's eternal light remind us that evil will be defeated and, even if the evil has defiled the good, in the meantime, God cannot be defeated. His light is everlasting. More than light from oil, which runs out, His is the Eternal Light which cannot be extinguished. Thus, this is a time of hope.

It is fitting, then, that we observe this celebration of the Light as we await in Advent the birth and revelation to the world of the Light Incarnate -- God from God, Light from Light.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

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Spiritual Poverty and Youth

As Pope Benedict notes in his book, Jesus of Nazareth, the Beatitudes are paradoxes, a transformation of worldly values, which bring hope and joy amidst affliction and hardship. The Beatitudes are words of both promise and spiritual direction, indicating the way of conversion and reform of life – teaching how to love God and one another and thereby be a light of truth to the world.

The first of the Beatitudes says -- "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven"

What does this mean?

The “poor in spirit” are not those who are spiritually deficient, but are those who humbly are in need of God, who are detached from worldly things and rely on Him, unlike those who have no want or need for God. These latter people are "rich in spirit," thinking that they already have everything they need spiritually, such that they have no need for, or want of God. The "rich in spirit" think they know it all, whereas the "poor in spirit" admit to themselves that they do not know everything, and that they are in need of God very much.

This is a concept that even children should be able to grasp. Most children know other children who are pushy know-it-alls who don't think that they need to or should listen to mom and dad or to their teachers. And they know that these other arrogant kids are fools. On the other hand, those kids who admit to themselves that they are still just kids, that they don't have all the answers, and that they are very much in need of mom and dad, as well as their teachers and other grown-ups, it is they who are blessed.

They are blessed because, in their humility, they are willing and able to listen to their parents and teachers, and be taken care of by them, and prosper, which are a kind of symbolic "kingdom of heaven." Conversely, the kid who knows everything and runs away from home because he thinks he doesn't need his parents, ends up being cursed, not blessed.

What is true regarding kids and their parents on earth is true regarding kids and their Parent in heaven. If they are blessed by their admitting that they are dependent upon mom and dad, how much more will they be blessed in admitting that they are dependent upon God.

However, teaching the faith to young people can be a challenge if only because the faith is about salvation -- be saved from something bad -- and many youths often have never been in a position to know hardship, much less to think about things like death.

It is one thing to go up to an adult who has know misery and say, "I have 'good news' for you, Jesus will deliver you from your misery." It is quite another thing to try to explain that to a child or teenager who has never known want, but has been fed, clothed, sheltered, and loved their entire lives.

So, teaching the faith to them can be a challenge, including the Beatitudes. But in addition to analogizing the blessings of spiritual poverty to the blessings one has from his dependence upon his parents, we should remember that, as stated above, the Beatitudes are paradoxes, a transformation of worldly values, which bring hope and joy amidst affliction and hardship.

Perhaps some young people have personally known hardship, if they have not, then perhaps they have at least witnessed the hardship of others. For example, perhaps they are aware of the earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, so you can have them empathize with the victims and imagine being in their place.

Reflecting on the Beatitudes in such situations can be occasions of hope, as well as a teachable moment. The Beatitudes about being "poor in spirit," mournful, and merciful would all seem to apply here. And the lesson is this --

Do not despair in times of hardship and suffering. Rather, have hope by putting your trust in God (be poor of spirit).

When everything is gone, when your home is destroyed and you have nothing left, put your trust in God, who will never abandon you. If you do that, if you put your spiritual reliance on Him, then He will save you, He will give you an entire kingdom to replace your destroyed home. Maybe not in this life, but if you humbly recognize that you need Him above all things, and you depend upon Him spiritually, God will bring you to a place where there is no more want, no more tears.

Youth should know that, if ever they encounter hardship themselves, they have no need to worry, no need to cry, if they humbly love and trust in God. If they are poor in spirit, they kingdom of heaven is theirs.
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Following Jesus in the Lenten Desert is Necessary to Participate in His Easter

Homily of Pope Benedict XVI
Basilica of S. Sabina on the Aventine Hill
Ash Wednesday, February 17, 2010

"You love all creatures, Lord,
And do not loath anything you have made;
You forget the sins of those who convert and forgive them,
Because you are the Lord our God" (Entrance Antiphon)

Venerated Brothers in the Episcopate,
Dear Brothers and Sisters,

With this moving invocation, taken from the Book of Wisdom (cf 11:23-26), the liturgy introduces the Eucharistic Celebration of Ash Wednesday. They are words that, in some way, open the whole Lenten journey, placing as their foundation the omnipotence of the love of God, His absolute lordship over every creature, which is translated in infinite indulgence, animated by a constant and universal will to live. In effect, to pardon someone is equivalent to saying: I do not want you to die, but that you live; I always and only want what is good for you.

This absolute certainty sustained Jesus during the 40 days transpired in the desert of Judea after the baptism received from John in the Jordan. This long time of silence and fasting was for Him a complete abandonment to the Father and to His plan of love; it was in itself a "baptism," that is, an "immersion" in His will, and in this sense, an anticipation of the Passion and the Cross.

To go into the desert and to stay there a long time, alone, meant to be willingly exposed to the assaults of the enemy, the tempter who made Adam fall and through whose envy death entered the world (cf Wisdom 2:24). It meant engaging in open battle with him, defying him with no other weapons than limitless confidence in the omnipotent love of the Father: Your love suffices me, my food is to do your will (cf John 4:34). This conviction dwelt in the mind and heart of Jesus during His "forty days."

It was not an act of pride, a titanic enterprise, but a decision of humility, consistent with the Incarnation and the Baptism in the Jordan, in the same line of obedience to the merciful love of the Father, who "so loved the world that He gave His only Son" (John 3:16).

The Lord did all this for us. He did it to save us and, at the same time, to show us the way to follow Him. Salvation, in fact, is a gift, it is God's grace, but to have effect in my existence it requires my consent, an acceptance demonstrated in fact, that is, in the will to live like Jesus, to walk after Him. To follow Jesus in the Lenten desert is thus a condition necessary to participate in His Easter, in His "exodus."

Adam was expelled from the earthly Paradise, symbol of communion with God. Now, to return to that communion and, therefore, to true life, to eternal life, it is necessary to cross the desert, the trial of faith. Not alone, but with Jesus! He, as always, has preceded us and has already conquered in the battle against the spirit of evil. This is the meaning of Lent, the liturgical season that every year invites us to renew our choice to follow Christ on the path of humility in order to participate in his triumph over sin and death.

Understood in this perspective also is the penitential sign of the ashes, which are imposed on the head of those who begin with good will the Lenten journey. It is essentially a gesture of humility, which means: I recognize myself for what I am, a frail creature, made of earth and destined to the earth, but also made in the image of God and destined to Him. I am dust, yes, but loved, formed by love, animated by His vital breath, capable of recognizing His voice and of responding to Him; free and, because of this, also able to disobey Him, yielding to the temptation of pride and self-sufficiency. This is sin, the mortal sickness that soon entered to contaminate the blessed earth that is the human being.

Created in the image of the Holy and Righteous One, man lost his own innocence and he can now return to righteousness, to be justified, only through the justice of God, the justice of love that, as St. Paul writes, is manifested "through faith in Jesus Christ" (Romans 3:22).

From these words of the Apostle, I took my inspiration for my Message, addressed to all the faithful on the occasion of this Lent: a reflection on the theme of justice in the light of Sacred Scriptures and their fulfillment in Christ.

The theme of justice is present even in the Biblical readings for Ash Wednesday. Above all, the page from the prophet Joel and the responsorial Psalm - the Miserere - form a penitential diptych, which highlight that at the origin of every material and social injustice is what the Bible calls "iniquity," namely, sin, which consists fundamentally of disobedience to God, which means a lack of love.

"For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.
Against thee, thee only, have I sinned,
and done that which is evil in thy sight"

(Psalm 51(50):3-4). The first act of justice is therefore to recognize one's own iniquity, and recognize that this is rooted in the "heart," in the very core of the human person.

"Fasting," "weeping", "mourning" (cf. Joel 2:12) and every penitential expression have value in the eyes of God only if they are the sign of hearts that have truly repented.

Also the Gospel, taken from the "Sermon on the Mount," insists on the need to practice proper "justice" -- almsgiving, prayer and fasting -- not before men, but only in the eyes of God, who "sees in secret" (cf Matthew 6:1-6.16-18). The true "recompense" is not others' admiration, but friendship with God and the grace that derives from it, a grace that gives peace and strength to do good, to love also the one who does not deserve it, to forgive those who have offended us.

The second reading, Paul's call to let ourselves to be reconciled with God (cf 2 Cor. 5:20), contains one of the famous Pauline paradoxes, which redirects all reflection on justice back to the mystery of Christ. St. Paul writes: "For our sake, He made Him who did not know sin to be sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Cor. 5:21).

In the heart of Christ, that is, in the center of His divine-human Person, the whole drama of freedom is played out in decisive and definitive terms. God takes His own plan for salvation to its extreme consequences, remaining faithful to His love even at the cost of giving His only-begotten Son to death, and to death on a cross. As I wrote in the Lenten Message, "here divine justice reveals itself as profoundly different from human justice . . . thanks to the action of Christ, we can enter into that 'greater' justice, which is that of love" (cf Romans 13:8-10).

Dear brothers and sisters, Lent lengthens our horizon, it orients us to eternal life. On this earth, where we are on pilgrimage, we do not have a stable city, but we are in search of that future spoken of in the Letter to Hebrews. (13:14). Lent makes us understand the relativity of the goods of this earth and thus makes us capable of the necessary self-denials, free to do good. Let us open the earth to the light of heaven, to the presence of God in our midst. Amen.

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Everything Ends -- Only Love Endures

The recent earthquake in Haiti recalls another earthquake in L'Aquila, in the Abruzzo region of Italy, during Holy Week last spring. On Good Friday, the day of the Passion of the Lord, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican Secretary of State, celebrated a Funeral Mass for the many victims who lost their lives and homes. In the face of the current tragedy, it would be appropriate to reflect again upon his timely words.

Homily of Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone
Funeral Mass for the Earthquake Victims in Abruzzo
Good Friday, 10 April 2009

"Standing by the Cross of Jesus were His mother and His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala."

These words of the Evangelist John, a sorrowful witness to the Crucifixion of Christ, seem to express the state of mind that we too are reliving this morning. With immense devotion, we are not only closely gathered in spirit around the many victims, not only of the city and the province, but also of so many other places and also of other nations' victims torn precociously from their relatives by a cruel death. And we feel close to the many families left homeless and deprived of their dearest possessions.

We have come here in an act of homage and mourning, and especially for a celebration of prayer. It is the mystery of death that unites us, that brings us to kneel before God, makes us adore His will but immerses us in His eternal love with the prospect of immortality. We are here to pray to the Author of life, sustained by the certainty, as the Word of God affirms, that the souls of the righteous are in the hands of the good and merciful God.

"Standing by the Cross" . . .

Beside these coffins, as beside the Cross of Jesus, stand the grieved and dismayed relatives, friends and acquaintances. . . . The whole of Italy is gathered in spirit, in your city and in the villages which have experienced other difficult times in their history, which even in this difficult trial has shown how strong the values of solidarity and brotherhood are that characterize our Italy. Beside you, dear brothers and sisters, is the Holy Father Benedict XVI; from the very outset he has not ceased to pray for you and today has wished to make himself especially close, as well as with my presence and that of his Private Secretary, also with the Message we have heard.

We bow before the indecipherable enigma of death. Yet death is also a precious opportunity for understanding what the value and true meaning of life are. Death makes tangible the fact that everything can cease, in an instant, things and projects. Everything ends -- only love endures, as an elderly female teacher said to me this morning in a field hospital. Only love endures and triumphs over everything. Only God who is Love endures. At this time of sorrow and deep distress, it is the word of God that supports and comforts us, assuring us that nothing can annul the power of love. Nothing can prevail against it.

To keep us united on our journey towards Eternity is the consolation that comes to us from faith, that sweet relief that the encounter with the Man of the Cross brings for us, that loving closeness to all the crucified figures in history who are awaiting the inauguration of the Heavenly Jerusalem, where all things will recover their original beauty, where tears will be wiped away and where "death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away" (cf. Rv 21).

I am thinking of all this and I feel hope reborn in my heart because there is a feeling in the air that, beneath the rubble, is the will to start out anew, to rebuild, to return to planning and dreaming. The Prophet Isaiah wrote: one day "they shall build up the ancient ruins, they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities" (Is 61:4) -- the city of L'Aquila, like the city of Avezzano and the other towns. And you will return with greater strength, with greater courage, to restore life to these places with the power and mental dignity that distinguish you.

Today, on Good Friday, the whole Church is weeping for her Crucified King. After that cry from the Cross "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mk 15:34) there was silence.

It was a long and wearing silence, full of doubts and anguish: the silence of man permeated by suffering before the silence of God. God may seem absent, sorrow can appear a brute force and meaningless, tears dim the eyes and also seem to obscure even the most timid rays of Spring sunshine.

Yet it is precisely while the taunting question arises "Where is your God?" (Ps 42[41]:3) that we feel emerging from the depths the certainty of God's loving intervention that becomes heart, hands, help -- constant help, present help. Ours is a God who has a passion for man; a God who suffers with us and for us; a God who chooses silence to find a home in the arms of those who, suffering, strive to keep the torch of hope alight.

Dear brothers and sisters, after the silence of this Triduum, which so deeply calls us into question and comforts us, the day after tomorrow we shall be celebrating Easter. It will be your Easter, an unforgettable Easter, but an Easter that will be reborn once again from the rubble of a people tried many a time in its history. And it will be like being born a second time, listening to the words of the Easter Angel: "Do not be afraid; for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He has risen, as He said" (Mt 28: 5).

Let us therefore continue the journey, brothers and sisters, together with Mary. Let us bear together the suffering of the irremediable absence of the deceased, with a more assiduous, brotherly and friendly presence in your families, which have become even more authentically our families, in the great family of God's children. Thanks to the motherly help of Our Lady, we shall seek to draw from death a lesson of authentic Christian life. And supported by her intercession, we shall not fear difficulties although they stand before us.

May she, the Star of Hope, help us to keep on trusting firmly in God and in ourselves, certain that one day we shall also see again our dear departed who have gone before us in the race to Heaven. Let us repeat for them the prayer we have so often recited: "Eternal rest grant to them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May their souls rest in peace. Amen."

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Hope Amidst Suffering

Following natural disasters and tragedies such as that which has struck Haiti, there are some who ask whether this was the will of God, whether God caused this disaster, whether God is the cause of suffering generally, and/or why God would let this happen?

With respect to these questions of suffering and God, it cannot be said that He has merely stood by doing nothing, that He has merely “let this happen.” We live in a world, a physical world that is subject to various physical laws and geological realities, including the reality of tectonic plates occasionally rubbing together to cause earthquakes which might then cause devastation if they occur in populated areas. God does allow us to live in such a world. But we should realize that this world is not the be all and end all. We should realize that death and destruction in this life is not “the end,” so as tragic as it is, we should not think that it has the final say in the matter.

And that our lives might be snuffed out in an instant is a possibility for us all. Certainly, death absolutely will come to us all, ourselves and our loved ones.

But again, God does not stand idly by. Rather, He is compassionate. That is, in Jesus, God suffers with us (from the Latin “com,” meaning “with,” and “passion,” meaning “to suffer”). He does not eliminate suffering, that is, pretend that it does not exist. It does exist, and to pretend otherwise would be contrary to truth.

Rather, Jesus takes that suffering upon Himself and thereby transforms it. He joins our sufferings to His. In doing so, He also transforms death to life — death in this world, which is only a temporary sojourn for us anyway, to real and authentic life with Him.

If God did not do this, if He did not have compassion, if He did not “suffer with” us, then it really would be a devastating tragedy — we really would be without hope, it really would be “the end,” a nihilistic abyss. Sadly, for those who do not turn to Him, accepting His compassionate love, it is as if He were standing idly by, doing nothing. They are truly without hope; for them, everything is gone.

So let us give thanks that we do have Him and thus, the tears of the afflicted will wiped from their eyes, and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain. All will be made new again.
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Hanukkah and the Light of ChristThe Rededication of the Temple and the Festival of Lights

Hanukkah begins today, December 11, 2009, at sundown.

The Jewish Feast of Dedication (Hanukkah) was instituted in the year 165 B.C. It is celebrated annually as a memorial of the rededication of the Temple with a new altar and purification of the sanctuary. Three years earlier, Antiochus Epiphanes had caused a pagan altar to be set up at the altar of burnt offerings in the Temple and sacrifices to be offered to his idol, called "Zeus Olympius."

The Maccabean revolt followed, led by Judas Maccabeus (Yehuda HaMakabi, "Judah the Hammer"). After many battles, the Holy City of Jerusalem and the Temple were recovered.

1 Maccabees 4:36-59

Judas Maccabeus and his brothers said, "Now that our enemies have been crushed, let us go up to purify the sanctuary and rededicate it." So the whole army assembled, and went up to Mount Zion. They found the sanctuary desolate, the altar desecrated, the gates burnt, weeds growing in the courts as in a forest or on some mountain, and the priests' chambers demolished.

Then they tore their clothes and made great lamentation; they sprinkled their heads with ashes and fell with their faces to the ground. And when the signal was given with trumpets, they cried out to Heaven.

Judas appointed men to attack those in the citadel, while he purified the sanctuary. He chose blameless priests, devoted to the law; these purified the sanctuary and carried away the stones of the Abomination to an unclean place.

They deliberated what ought to be done with the altar of holocausts that had been desecrated. The happy thought came to them to tear it down, lest it be a lasting shame to them that the Gentiles had defiled it; so they tore down the altar. They stored the stones in a suitable place on the temple hill, until a prophet should come and decide what to do with them.

Then they took uncut stones, according to the law, and built a new altar like the former one. They also repaired the sanctuary and the interior of the temple and purified the courts. They made new sacred vessels and brought the lampstand, the altar of incense, and the table into the temple. Then they burned incense on the altar and lighted the lamps on the lampstand, and these illuminated the temple. They also put loaves on the table and hung up curtains. Thus they finished all the work they had undertaken.

Early in the morning on the twenty-fifth day of the ninth month, that is, the month of Chislev, in the year one hundred and forty-eight, they arose and offered sacrifice according to the law on the new altar of holocausts that they had made. On the anniversary of the day on which the Gentiles had defiled it, on that very day it was reconsecrated with songs, harps, flutes, and cymbals. All the people prostrated themselves and adored and praised Heaven, who had given them success.

For eight days they celebrated the dedication of the altar and joyfully offered holocausts and sacrifices of deliverance and praise. They ornamented the facade of the temple with gold crowns and shields; they repaired the gates and the priests' chambers and furnished them with doors. There was great joy among the people now that the disgrace of the Gentiles was removed.

Then Judas and his brothers and the entire congregation of Israel decreed that the days of the dedication of the altar should be observed with joy and gladness on the anniversary every year for eight days, from the twenty-fifth day of the month Chislev. (see also 2 Macc 1:18-2:19; 10:1-8)

Hanukkah, from the Hebrew word for "dedication" or "consecration", is also known as the Festival of Lights due to a miracle that allowed the Eternal Light of the Temple to burn for eight days, even though there was only enough oil to last one day.

This miracle is recounted in the Talmud (Shabbat 2),

The rabbis taught: On the twenty-fifth day of Kislev, Hanukkah commences and lasts eight days, on which lamenting (in commemoration of the dead) and fasting are prohibited. When the Hellenists entered the sanctuary, they defiled all the oil that was found there. When the government of the House of Asmoneans prevailed and conquered them, oil was sought (to feed the holy lamp in the sanctuary) and only one vial was found with the seal of the high priest intact. The vial contained sufficient oil for one day only, but a miracle occurred, and it fed the holy lamp eight days in succession. These eight days were the following year established as days of good cheer, on which psalms of praise and acknowledgment (of God's wonders) were to be recited.

The Eternal Light of the Temple represented God's everlasting presence, just as the sanctuary lamp placed before the tabernacle containing the Blessed Sacrament in Catholic churches are kept lit to indicate and honour the presence of Christ. In the synagogue, a perpetual lamp signifies the Lord's presence in the Torah, the Word of God.

Although a Jewish holiday -- one celebrated by Jesus -- Hanukkah can also be a time for Christians to remember that it is God Himself who is a Light that is everlasting and can never be extinguished. These days of rededication and the manifestation of God's eternal light remind us that evil will be defeated and, even if the evil has defiled the good in the meantime, God cannot be defeated. His light is everlasting. More than light from oil, which runs out, His is the Eternal Light which cannot be extinguished. Thus, this is a time of hope.

It is fitting, then, that the Lord -- God from God, Light from Light -- should be born and revealed to the world during this time of celebration of the Light.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

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An Eternal Home is Being Prepared in Heaven

Homily of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI
Mass in remembrance of cardinals and bishops who have died in the past year
November 5, 2009

I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go to the house of the Lord!'"

The words of Psalm 122[121]:1 which we have just sung, invite us to lift our heart's gaze towards the "house of the Lord," towards the Heavens. It is there that the host of all the Saints whom, a few days ago, the Liturgy brought us to contemplate is mysteriously gathered in the beatific vision of God. The Solemnity of All Saints is followed by the commemoration of all the faithful departed. These two celebrations, lived in a profound atmosphere of faith and prayer, help to us to understand better the mystery of the Church in its totality and to comprehend ever more that life must be lived in continual, vigilant anticipation. It is a pilgrimage towards eternal life, the ultimate fulfilment that gives meaning and fullness to our earthly journey. Already "our feet have been standing" (v. 2) at the gates of the heavenly Jerusalem.

By now, the following late Cardinals have reached this definitive destination: Avery Dulles, Pio Laghi, Stéphanos II Ghattas, Stephen Kim Sou-hwan, Paul Joseph Pham Ðính Tung, Umberto Betti, Jean Margéot, as have the numerous Archbishops and Bishops who have left us during this past year. We remember them with affection and we give thanks to God for the good that they achieved. We are gathered in this Vatican Basilica, as every year, to offer the Eucharistic Sacrifice for their souls. We think of them in the real and mysterious communion that unites us pilgrims on earth and those who have gone before us into the afterlife, certain that death does not break the bonds of spiritual fraternity forged by the Sacraments of Baptism and of Holy Orders. . . .

"The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God" (Wis 3: 1). The First Reading, taken from the Book of Wisdom, speaks of the righteous who are persecuted, unjustly put to death. But, the sacred Author emphasizes, even if their deaths occurred in circumstances so humiliating and painful as to seem shocking, in truth, for those who have faith, this is not so, for "they are at peace." And even if they undergo punishment in the eyes of men, "their hope is full of immortality" (vv. 3-4).

The loss of loved ones is painful. The event of death is a disquieting enigma; but for believers, however it occurs, it is always illumined by the "hope of immortality." Faith sustains us in these moments, charged with human sadness and discouragement.

"In your eyes, life is not taken away but transformed," the Liturgy recalls, "and whilst the land of this earthly exile is destroyed, an eternal home is being prepared in Heaven" (Preface, Mass for the Dead).

Dear brothers and sisters, we know well and we experience in our own journeys that there is no lack of difficulties and problems in this life. There are situations of suffering and of pain, difficult moments to understand and accept. All this, however, acquires worth and meaning if it is considered in the perspective of eternity. In fact, every challenge, accepted with persevering patience and offered for the Kingdom of God, already works to our spiritual advantage here on earth and above all in the next life, in Heaven. In this world we are in transit; we are tested in the crucible like gold, as the Sacred Scripture affirms (cf. Wis 3:6). United mysteriously to Christ's passion, we can make of our existence a pleasing offering to the Lord, a voluntary sacrifice of love.

In the Responsorial Psalm and in the Second Reading, taken from the First Letter of Peter, we find something of an echo of the words from the Book of Wisdom. While Psalm 122 -- which takes up the song of the pilgrims who come to the Holy City after a long journey and reach its gates full of joy -- projects a festive feeling of paradise, St. Peter exhorts us to keep the perspective of hope, a "living hope" alive in our hearts during the earthly pilgrimage (1:3). He notes that, in the face of the inevitable dissolution of this world, we are made the promise of "an inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading," because God in his great mercy has given us new life "through the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" (1:3-4). This is why we must be "full of joy," even if we are burdened with various afflictions.

If, in fact, we persevere in the good, our faith, purified by many trials, will shine in all its splendour one day and will return to our praise, glory, and honour when Jesus manifests himself in his glory. Herein lies the reason for our hope, that already makes us "rejoice with unutterable and exalted joy" here, while we are journeying towards the purpose of our faith: the salvation of souls (cf. vv. 6-8).

Dear brothers and sisters, it is with these sentiments that we wish to entrust to Divine Mercy these Cardinals, Archbishops and Bishops, with whom we have worked together in the Lord's vineyard. Once liberated from whatever remains of their human frailty, may the Heavenly Father welcome them into his eternal Kingdom and confer upon them the reward promised to the good and faithful servants of the Gospel.

May the Blessed Virgin, with her maternal care, accompany them and open to them the gates of Paradise. May the Virgin Mary help us too, still travellers upon the earth, to keep our eyes fixed on the homeland that awaits us. May she encourage us to be ready with our "loins... girded and our lamps burning" to welcome the Lord "when he comes and knocks" (Lk 12: 35-36). At any hour and at any moment. Amen!

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Behold, I Proclaim to You Good News of Great Joy

Homily of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI
Celebration of Holy Mass
Manger's Square in Bethlehem
Pilgrimage to the Holy Land
May 13, 2009

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I thank Almighty God for giving me the grace to come to Bethlehem, not only to venerate the place of Christ’s birth, but also to stand beside you, my brothers and sisters in the faith, in these Palestinian Territories. I am grateful to Patriarch Fouad Twal for the sentiments which he has expressed on your behalf, and I greet with affection my brother Bishops and all the priests, religious and lay faithful who labor daily to confirm this local Church in faith, hope and love. In a special way my heart goes out to the pilgrims from war-torn Gaza: I ask you to bring back to your families and your communities my warm embrace, and my sorrow for the loss, the hardship and the suffering you have had to endure. Please be assured of my solidarity with you in the immense work of rebuilding which now lies ahead, and my prayers that the embargo will soon be lifted.

“Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy … today, in the city of David, a Savior is born for you” (Lk 2:10-11).

The message of Christ’s coming, brought from heaven by the voice of angels, continues to echo in this town, just as it echoes in families, homes and communities throughout the world. It is “good news,” the angels say “for all the people.” It proclaims that the Messiah, the Son of God and the Son of David, has been born “for you”: for you and me, and for men and women in every time and place.

In God’s plan, Bethlehem, “least among the clans of Judah” (Mic 5:2), has become a place of undying glory: the place where, in the fullness of time, God chose to become man, to end the long reign of sin and death, and to bring new and abundant life to a world which had grown old, weary and oppressed by hopelessness.

For men and women everywhere, Bethlehem is associated with this joyful message of rebirth, renewal, light and freedom. Yet here, in our midst, how far this magnificent promise seems from being realized! How distant seems that Kingdom of wide dominion and peace, security, justice and integrity which the Prophet Isaiah heralded in the first reading (cf. Is 9:7), and which we proclaim as definitively established in the coming of Jesus Christ, Messiah and King!

From the day of His birth, Jesus was “a sign of contradiction” (Lk 2:34), and He continues to be so, even today. The Lord of hosts, “whose origin is from old, from ancient days” (Mic 5:2), wished to inaugurate His Kingdom by being born in this little town, entering our world in the silence and humility of a cave, and lying, a helpless babe, in a manger.

Here, in Bethlehem, amid every kind of contradiction, the stones continue to cry out this “good news,” the message of redemption which this city, above all others, is called to proclaim to the world. For here, in a way which surpassed every human hope and expectation, God proved faithful to His promises. In the birth of His Son, He revealed the coming of a Kingdom of love: a divine love which stoops down in order to bring healing and lift us up; a love which is revealed in the humiliation and weakness of the Cross, yet triumphs in a glorious resurrection to new life.

Christ brought a Kingdom which is not of this world, yet a Kingdom which is capable of changing this world, for it has the power to change hearts, to enlighten minds and to strengthen wills. By taking on our flesh, with all its weaknesses, and transfiguring it by the power of His Spirit, Jesus has called us to be witnesses of His victory over sin and death. And this is what the message of Bethlehem calls us to be: witnesses of the triumph of God’s love over the hatred, selfishness, fear and resentment which cripple human relationships and create division where brothers should dwell in unity, destruction where men should be building, despair where hope should flourish!

“In hope we were saved,” the Apostle Paul says (Rom 8:24). Yet, he affirms with utter realism that creation continues to groan in travail, even as we, who have received the first-fruits of the Spirit, patiently await the fulfilment of our redemption (cf. Rom 8:22-24).

In today’s second reading, Paul draws a lesson from the Incarnation which is particularly applicable to the travail which you, God’s chosen ones in Bethlehem, are experiencing: “God’s grace has appeared,” he tells us, “training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires, and to live, temperately, justly and devoutly in this age,” as we await the coming of our blessed hope, the Savior Jesus Christ (Tit 2:11-13).

Are these not the virtues required of men and women who live in hope?

First, the constant conversion to Christ which is reflected not only in our actions but also in our reasoning: the courage to abandon fruitless and sterile ways of thinking, acting and reacting. Then, the cultivation of a mindset of peace based on justice, on respect for the rights and duties of all, and commitment to cooperation for the common good. And also perseverance, perseverance in good and in the rejection of evil. Here in Bethlehem, a special perseverance is asked of Christ’s disciples: perseverance in faithful witness to God’s glory revealed here, in the birth of His Son, to the good news of His peace which came down from heaven to dwell upon the earth.

“Do not be afraid!” This is the message which the Successor of Saint Peter wishes to leave with you today, echoing the message of the angels and the charge which our beloved Pope John Paul II left with you in the year of the Great Jubilee of Christ’s birth. Count on the prayers and solidarity of your brothers and sisters in the universal Church, and work, with concrete initiatives, to consolidate your presence and to offer new possibilities to those tempted to leave. Be a bridge of dialogue and constructive cooperation in the building of a culture of peace to replace the present stalemate of fear, aggression and frustration. Build up your local Churches, making them workshops of dialogue, tolerance and hope, as well as solidarity and practical charity.

Above all, be witnesses to the power of life, the new life brought by the Risen Christ, the life that can illumine and transform even the darkest and most hopeless of human situations. Your homeland needs not only new economic and community structures, but most importantly, we might say, a new “spiritual” infrastructure, capable of galvanizing the energies of all men and women of good will in the service of education, development and the promotion of the common good. You have the human resources to build the culture of peace and mutual respect which will guarantee a better future for your children. This noble enterprise awaits you. Do not be afraid!

The ancient Basilica of the Nativity, buffeted by the winds of history and the burden of the ages, stands before us as a witness to the faith which endures and triumphs over the world (cf. 1 Jn 5:4). No visitor to Bethlehem can fail to notice that in the course of the centuries the great door leading into the house of God has become progressively smaller.

Today let us pray that, by God’s grace and our commitment, the door leading into the mystery of God’s dwelling among men, the temple of our communion in His love, and the foretaste of a world of eternal peace and joy, will open ever more fully to welcome, renew and transform every human heart. In this way, Bethlehem will continue to echo the message entrusted to the shepherds, to us, and to all mankind:

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth,
peace to those whom He loves”!

Amen.



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