Papal Homily for the Assumption

"Mary Lives Her Constant Ascent to God in the Spirit of the Magnificat"

CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy, AUG. 30, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is a Vatican translation of the homily Benedict XVI gave Aug. 15, the solemnity of the Assumption. The Pope celebrated Holy Mass at the Parish Church of San Tommaso da Villanova in Castel Gandolfo.

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Venerable Brothers in the Episcopate and in the Priesthood,

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Today's Solemnity crowns the series of important liturgical celebrations in which we are called to contemplate the role of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the history of salvation. Indeed, the Immaculate Conception, the Annunciation, the Divine Motherhood and the Assumption are the fundamental, interconnected milestones with which the Church exalts and praises the glorious destiny of the Mother of God, but in which we can also read our history.

The mystery of Mary's conception recalls the first page of the human event, pointing out to us that in the divine plan of creation man was to have had the purity and beauty of the Virgin Immaculate.

This plan, jeopardized but not destroyed by sin, through the Incarnation of the Son of God, proclaimed and brought into being in Mary, was recomposed and restored to the free acceptance of the human being in faith.

Lastly, in Mary's Assumption, we contemplate what we ourselves are called to attain in the following of Christ the Lord and in obedience to his word, at the end of our earthly journey.

The last stage of the Mother of God's earthly pilgrimage invites us to look at the manner in which she journeyed on toward the goal of glorious eternity.

In the Gospel passage just proclaimed, St Luke tells that, after the Angel's announcement, Mary "arose and went with haste into the hill country", to visit Elizabeth (Lk 1: 39).

With these words the Evangelist wishes to emphasize that for Mary to follow her own vocation in docility to God's Spirit, who has brought about within her the Incarnation of the Word, means taking a new road and immediately setting out from home, allowing herself to be led on a journey by God alone.

St Ambrose, commenting on Mary's "haste", says: "the grace of the Holy Spirit admits of no delay" (Expos. Evang. sec. Lucam, ii, 19: PL 15, 1560).

Our Lady's life is guided by Another: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word" (Lk 1: 38); it is modelled by the Holy Spirit, it is marked by events and encounters, such as that with Elizabeth, but above all by her very special relationship with her Son Jesus.

It is a journey on which Mary, cherishing and pondering in her heart the events of her own life, perceives in them ever more profoundly the mysterious design of God the Father for the salvation of the world.

Then, by following Jesus from Bethlehem to exile in Egypt, in both his hidden and his public life and even to the foot of the Cross, Mary lives her constant ascent to God in the spirit of the Magnificat, fully adhering to God's plan of love, even in moments of darkness and suffering, and nourishing in her heart total abandonment in the Lord's hands in order to be a paradigm for the faithful of the Church (cf. Lumen Gentium, nn. 64-65).

The whole of life is an ascent, the whole of life is meditation, obedience, trust and hope, even in darkness; and the whole of life is marked by this "holy haste" which knows that God always has priority and nothing else must create haste in our existence.

And, lastly, the Assumption reminds us that Mary's life, like that of every Christian, is a journey of following, following Jesus, a journey that has a very precise destination, a future already marked out: the definitive victory over sin and death and full communion with God, because as Paul says in his Letter to the Ephesians the Father "raised us up with him, and made us sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Eph 2: 6).

This means that with Baptism we have already fundamentally been raised and are seated in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, but we must physically attain what was previously begun and brought about in Baptism.

In us, union with Christ resurrection is incomplete, but for the Virgin Mary it is complete, despite the journey that Our Lady also had to make. She has entered into the fullness of union with God, with her Son, she draws us onwards and accompanies us on our journey.

In Mary taken up into Heaven we therefore contemplate the One who, through a unique privilege, was granted to share with her soul and her body in Christ's definitive victory over death. "When her earthly life was over", the Second Vatican Council says, the Immaculate Virgin "was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory... and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things, that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords (cf. Rv 19: 16) and conqueror of sin and death" (Lumen Gentium, n. 59).

In the Virgin taken up into Heaven we contemplate the crowning of her faith, of that journey of faith which she points out to the Church and to each one of us: the One who, at every moment, welcomed the Word of God, is taken up into Heaven, in other words she herself is received by the Son in the "dwelling place" which he prepared for us with his death and Resurrection (cf. Jn 14: 2-3).

Human life on earth as the First Reading has reminded us is a journey that takes place, constantly, in the intense struggle between the dragon and the woman, between good and evil. This is the plight of human history: It is like a voyage on a sea, often dark and stormy. Mary is the Star that guides us towards her Son Jesus, "the sun that has risen above all the shadows of history" (cf. Spe Salvi, n. 49) and gives us the hope we need: the hope that we can win, that God has won and that, with Baptism we entered into this victory. We do not succumb definitively: God helps us, he guides us.

This is our hope: This presence of the Lord within us that becomes visible in Mary taken up into Heaven. "The Virgin" in a little while we shall read in the Preface for this Solemnity "that you made to shine out as "a sign of hope and comfort for your people on their pilgrim way'".

With St Bernard, a mystic who sang the Blessed Virgin's praises, let us thus invoke her: "We pray you, O Blessed One, for the grace that you found, for those prerogatives that you deserved, for the Mercy you bore, obtain that the One who for your sake deigned to share in our wretchedness and infirmity, through your prayers may make us share in his graces, in his bliss and in his eternal glory, Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who is above all things, Blessed God for ever and ever. Amen" (Sermo 2 "de Adventu", 5: PL 183, 43).

© Copyright 2009 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana

jalan peristiwa sama...konsep berbeza..mmm...

Salam 1 Malaysia

Jude,

Perbezaan dalam konsep dan pemahaman di antara Kristian dan Islam tidak dapat di nafikan... dan di elakkan... namun kita sebagai seorang yang beriman harus saling menghormati ajaran agama masing-masing. Perbezaan yang ada harus TIDAK di jadikan alasan untuk merendah-rendahkan ajaran agama yang lain... "If you trust Your God, have faith in Him and believe in Him and above all is to LOVE Him"

Jika kita meneliti secara terperinci banyak juga peristiwa-peristiwa yang berbeza diantara Kristian dan Islam. Perbezaan peristiwa dan konsep ini adalah kerana pemahaman akan Tuhan atau dalam bahasa agama di kenali dengan "Theology" sesuatu ajaran itu amat berbeza.

Sebagai seorang Kristian kita diajarkan oleh Yesus untuk mengasihi Tuhan Allah dengan segenap hati, segenap akal dan dengan segenap jiwa kita dan kita juga mencintai antara satu dengan yang lain sebagaimana Yesus telah mengasihi kita"

Maka jangan disebabkan perbezaan ini kita menjadi asing antara satu dengan lain. Sesuatu yang amat digalakkan bagi semua penganut agama Kristian adalah untuk mendalami pengetahuan iman dan agama, ajaran gereja dan memahami konsep-konsep atau dalam gereja di kenali sebagai Dogma dan Doktrin Gereja. Memahami ajaran agama lain adalah sesuatu yang baik, namun demikian kita dinasihatkan untuk mendalami ajaran agama kita sendiri terlebih dahulu agar kita akan lebih dapat memahami dan mencintai agama kita dan semakin diteguhkan, tanpa asas pengetahuan agama sendiri untuk memahami agama lain, kadang-kadang ianya akan menyebabkan kekeliruan.

Diharapakan sedikit penjelasan ini dapat membantu sdra, jude dalam pembangunan seharian. Senyum selalu...

Agama Rasmi....

Jude question: erm sy da mo tnya..napa agama Islam jadi agama rasmi, bukannya Kristian. sebab Kristian wujud dulu dr Islam..bleh jawabka??heheh

Thanks Jude for the question…

My answer: Sdra Jude. Penetapan agama rasmi sesebuah negara sama ada Kristian lebih dulu wujud daripada agama-agama yang lain ianya bergantung kepada faktor demografi yang mengambil kira populasi sesebuah Negara.

Contohnya Bagi Negara kita Malaysia, majoriti penduduknya adalah bergama Islam kira-kira 60.4% (kiraan tahun 2000). Dan sememangnya dari awal pembentukan tanah Malaya, agama Islam merupakan agama majoriti penduduk Tanah Melayu. Dibawah Suruhanjaya Reid, yang bertanggungjawab menggubal Perlembangan Persekutuan 1957, hasil daripada dialog dan persefahaman (Kontrak Sosial) di antara tiga kaum utama ketika itu, Melayu, Cina dan India, Agama Islam telah dijadikan agam rasmi persekutuan Tanah Melayu di bawah Perkara 3 (1), perlembagaan persekutuan.

Untuk pengetahuan Sdra. Jude, agama Rasmi bagi Negara Philippine dan Timor Leste ialah agama Kristian, ini kerana majority penduduknya Beragama Kristian. Dalam menentukan agama rasmi sesebuah negara, faktor demografi atau jumlah penganut agama sesebuah Negara juga di ambil kira. Namun demikian ianya juga mengambil kira keadaan politik dan sosio-budaya sesebuah Negara.

Bagi kita di Malaysia jangan lah risau kerana, di bawah Akta perlembagaan persekutuan 1957, Perkara 3 (1), Perkara 11 (1),(2),(3, 3a,3b), secara terang membenarkan kebebasan beragama, membenarkan setiap agama untuk mengurus dan mentadbir agama masing-masing. Oleh itu kita sebagai rakyat Malaysia harus peka akan hak kita sebagai warganegara Malaysia. Dan kita wajib mempertahankan Hak kita yang telah termaktub di bawah Akta Perlembagaan ini, bagi menjamin kebebasan bergama dan mengamalkan ajaran agama masing-masing terus terpelihara.

Diharapakan penerangan yang ringkas ini dapat menjawab pertanyaan atau kekeliruan Sdra. Jude.

COY "perjalanan yang berbeza"

BATAL!!!! ayia macam oh??? penat sudah siurang merancang, buat nie buat tu, kasi promosi lagi... kamiurang sudah start latihan koir sudah siap sedia dengan yell... kenapa tiba-tiba kasi batal???

Kesian si.. H1N1 dipersalahkan atas pembatalan ini.Paling teruk lagi ada juga yang mempersalahkan Tuhan kerana wujudnya H1N1. Paling UTAMA Tuhan harus tidak DIPERSALAHKAN dalam hal sebegini.

Bukan mahu menambahkan duka, tapi mari sama-sama berimaginasi,waktu pendaftaran yang sesak dengan 535 orang peserta dan ibupaba angkat yang menunggu anak-anak angkat, "Welcoming Night" yang wow!!!, Misa Pembukaan oleh Bapa Uskup, sesi-sei yang pastinya membuka minda, malam penghayatan, Adorasi, Pengakuan dan yeah..games dan Rhythm of Youth, lagu-lagu yang hebat dan persembahan peserta yang penuh bergaya aduh..pastinya meriah dan..bayangkanlah....mmm

Sebagai Koordinator Belia Keuskupan Keningau, saya adalah salah seorang antara mereka yang sodih dan kiciwa. saya mula bertanya mengapa dan mengapa? terbawa-bawa akan emosi dan perasaan. Tapi sikijap ja lah hehe...saya harus bersifat rasional dan terbuka... dan dalam membuat persiapan diri untuk ke Misa Kudus..pembacaan pertama hari ini (09/08/2009), yang menceritakan tentang Elia. Yang mengalami keputusasaan dan ingin mati. Kalau kita membaca kisah Elia seterusnya ia adalah pertemuan Elia dengan Tuhan di atas Gunung Sinai, Tuhan yang datang dalam suasana yang damai dan memberikan kekuatan.

Ketika dalam renungan banyak persoalan bermain di benak pemikiran, antaranya ialah "adakah saya melakukan semua tugas pelayanan itu bersandarkan kepada diri sendiri atau bersumberkan kekuatan Allah? "adakah saya melakukan semua ini kerana Yesus atau sekadar membuktikan kebolehan diri...? Adakah saya benar-benar membenarkan Allah bekerja dalam diri saya?

Saya sedari bahawa dalam kes pembatalan COY, Tuhan inginkan kesetiaan yang lebih lagi dari saya, lagi-lagi kesetiaan ketika dalam kekecewaan, takwa dan penuh berserah kepada kebijaksanaan Tuhan. Tuhan mengajarkan saya akan erti "Jalan DIA bukan bukanlah seperti perjalanan yang saya kehendaki" dalam usia semuda ini (promote dulu kejap..2 tahun lagi sa masuk 30 tahun dah hehe) untuk terus bertahan di dalam pelayanan ini, saya harus belajar untuk bersandar sepenuhnya kepada Allah, belajar untuk berserah sepenuhnya kepada dorongan Roh Kudus dan seperti Elia yang peka sehinggakan dapat mendengar dan memutuskan kehadiran Tuhan di antara angin ribut, gempa dan bunyi bisikan halus. saya harus belajar dari Nabi Elia untuk taat, percaya dan mempunyai hubungan yang erat dengan Tuhan dan berupaya mendengar bisikannya dan membezakan bisikan-bisikan yang hadir... dalam meneruskan perjalanan yang Tuhan telah sediakan bagi saya.

Diharapkan semua pihak juga dapat belajar sesuatu dari Nabi Elia, mungkinkah bisikan Tuhan kepada anda berbeza daripada bisikan yang Dia berikan kepada saya... kalau ada,,,kongsikanlah bisikan itu agar kita semua dapat saling bertumbuh dalam Kristus Yesus...

AIseyMen........

Finally.... he is ordained.... We've been waiting for this joyous occasion... and there he is saying "Lord here i am" Ordained by Bishop Piong, Cornelius on the 25th July in St. Theresa's Church, Tambunan Sabah . Who is he??? none other than Rev. Fr Ronnie Alfred Luni from Tondulu, Tambunan. He is so macho and handsome that day..i wonder how many hearts were broken before..hehe joke...jangan marah ya Fr…

Father, rest assured that we in the youth commission and the rest of the young you served before and still, will always pray for you..and also will be there to listen and sharing ideas... Terima kasih... Thank You Father for saying "YES" to His call... and on your ordination Congratulation and Celebration from us...God Bless
...

Praise be the Lord Forever and Ever.

Salt Ulu Belaga 2009

Hello yeah-yeah… apa kabar semua?

Inginkan sebuah program yang mencabar MINDa?
HatI?
JiWa?

Anda boleh mengikuti aktiviti tertera di bawah




Date : 21st November - 7th December 2009
Venue : Bintulu (formation sessions) / Ulu Belaga (Exposure)
Fee : RM100 (include accomodation, food and transportation for exposure)
Notes: However the transportation to Bintulu and come back from Bintulu will be by the participants own expenses

Participation : Open to all the IPTA/IPTS student in Malaysia. However the participation allocation
is limited.

8 seats - For SALT Phase 1
12 seats - Open to all the students
5 seats - International participants

Any further information please contact

Fr. Jojo - 012-7103285, jojodear@gmail.com
Edrin - 019-7059436 , edrin_mme@yahoo.com
Fiona - 013-7929065, fay_luke@yahoo.com

Thank you for your kind attention.

Yours sincerely
Edrin Marconi M.E
Campus Ministry Office
Malacca-Johore Diocese

God Has Answer for Ongoing Violence, Says Pope

Affirms That Crucified Christ Is Promise of Hope

VATICAN CITY, JULY 5, 2009 (Zenit.org)

Ever since murder marked the very first human family, people have continued to kill one another, but God's answer to this is the blood of his Son, Benedict XVI says.

As he addressed crowds gathered in St. Peter's Square today to pray the midday Angelus, the Pope reflected on the phenomenon of brother raising his hand against brother. The occasion for this reflection is the tradition of using the first Sunday of July for devotion to the Precious Blood of Christ.

The Holy Father noted how his predecessor Blessed John XXIII confirmed this tradition with a 1960 apostolic letter.

"The theme of blood linked to that of the Paschal Lamb is of primary importance in sacred Scripture," Benedict XVI explained. "In the Old Testament the sprinkling of the blood of sacrificed animals represented and established the covenant between God and the people, as one reads in the Book of Exodus. [...]
"Jesus explicitly repeats this formula at the Last Supper. [...] And, from the scourging, to the piercing of his side after his death on the cross, Christ has really shed all of his blood as the true Lamb immolated for universal redemption."

The shedding of blood is also a theme that runs throughout history, the Pope continued.

The blood of Abel, slain by his brother, cried out to God from the earth. "And, unfortunately, today as yesterday, this cry does not cease, since human blood continues to run because of violence, injustice and hatred," he lamented. "When will men learn that life is sacred and belongs to God alone? When will men understand that we are all brothers?"

However, the Holy Father recalled, "To the cry of the blood that goes up from many parts of the earth, God answers with the blood of his Son, who gave his life for us. Christ did not answer evil with evil, but with good, with his infinite love. The blood of Christ is the pledge of the faithful love of God for humanity."

This truth can be a comfort for all people, regardless of their personal situations, the Pontiff contended.

"Looking upon the wounds of the Crucified, every man, even in conditions of extreme moral misery, can say: God has not abandoned me, he loves me, he gave his life for me -- and in this way rediscover hope," the Bishop of Rome affirmed.

And he concluded with a prayer to Christ's mother: "May the Virgin Mary, who beneath the cross, together with the apostle John, witnessed the testament of Jesus' blood, help us to rediscover the inestimable riches of this grace, and to feel profound and perennial gratitude for it."