I was on the radio this morning with Gus Lloyd, where he challenged listeners to pray a novena of Rosaries for the new Pentecost for America that Pope Benedict XVI called for in his visit to the United States.
I've been trying to get Gus to say the Rosary for a while, telling him the Register Guide to the Rosary makes it easier (it's cheapest to buy several at a time, at 1-800-356-9916).
Today is a good day to start:
Feast of St. Joseph, who is the Patron of the Universal Church.
May, month of Mary, Patroness of America.
Ascension Thursday, the beginning of the novena (nine days of prayer) Mary and the apostles spent before the original Pentecost.
At Washington Nationals Park, Pope Benedict XVI gave us a preview of Pentecost by celebrating a Mass identical (only the second reading was changed) to the one we'll celebrate on Pentecost Sunday. He used striking, formal language in the homily:
"In the excercise of my ministry as the Sucessor of Peter, I have come to America to confirm you, my brothers and sisters ... and to implore from the Lord a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the Church in this country."
Peter's Successor invoking his authority to "implore from the Lord" a new Pentecost for America.
That's huge.
I reminded Gus of what else the Holy Father said (at the National Shrine):
"Time spent in prayer is never wasted, however urgent the duties that
press upon us from every side. ... Contemplation of the mysteries of the Rosary releases all their
saving power and it conforms, unites and consecrates us to Jesus Christ."
So Gus took up my challenge: To pray a novena of Rosaries joining Benedict's prayer for a new Pentecost in America. He challenged listeners to join him, and many, many called in.
At the very least, China Philharmonic's debut at the Vatican, part of a
three-city European tour that begins May 4, would carry significant
symbolism for the millions of Roman Catholics in China, who are split
between official and underground churches. Chinese Catholics are only
allowed to worship at state-backed churches, and many worshipping at
clandestine sites and professing loyalty to the pope have been
persecuted.
Money graf:
It wasn't clear how much the concert would help the Vatican and Beijing
move toward reconciliation. But Pope Benedict has made the improvement
of relations with Beijing a priority of his papacy, hoping to secure
greater freedom for Chinese Catholics.
As an evangelical Protestant I happen to disagree with
Pope Benedict on many issues of Christian doctrine and ritual. But when it
comes to his moral vision for America and the world I have one thing to say in
response to the Pope's visit: Amen.
This is a remarkable development. Rev. Hagee isn't just
an evangelical Protestant. As the Catholic League has pointed out, he's a
fundamentalist Christian who, in the past, has done what many fundamentalist
Christians have been doing for decades: point to the 17th and 18th chapters of Revelation to suggest
that the Catholic Church is not only not Christian but also a deadly cult -- "the
Great Whore of Babylon." Evidently he's also claimed that Adolf Hitler was in league
with the "Roman church." Et cetera.
That was then. This is now.
[A]ll of our hearts cheered when Pope Benedict stood
before the United Nations and stated so forcefully that when states fail to
protect the basic human rights of their citizens, "the international
community must intervene."
[snip]
We were all inspired by Pope Benedict's
visit. It is my prayer that we will now follow his example and look beyond our
differences to see that when it comes to the great challenges of our times,
people of faith have much in common.
Twenty years ago Christian unity with certain
sectors of evangelicalism sounded like a pipe dream. Today it's not exactly a
done deal -- don't look for "Bible-only" Christians to report for
RCIA by the tentful any time soon -- but there's the strong sense that, through the Pope's U.S. visit, the Holy Spirit is doing something new.
Something we haven't seen before. Even if, for now, it's only to fill our
hearts with hope and remind us that, for human beings, some things are
impossible -- but "for God, all things are possible" (Matthew 19:26).
I was at Father Neuhaus' St. Mary's talk last night (see below) with Peter Wolfgang of the Family Institute of Connecticut (and of its blog).
Wolfgang asked the night's best question: He noted that it was 20 years since the publication of The Catholic Moment.
He noted that 10 years after the book's publication, Father Neuhaus had written an article for Crisis magazine for the occasion, though I can't find it online. He wanted to know, 20 years later, how Father Neuhaus would reassess the state of the Church in America.
Father Neuhaus' answer nicely distinguished optimism ("a matter of optics, of seeing what you want to see and not seeing what you don't want to see") from the Christian virtue of hope and pointed to some signs of life in the Church. It would be interesting to hear more from him on the question, once he has had time to reflect on it.
The mood in the Church is very different from what it was in 1998, even among the "JPII Generation" of Catholics. The abuse scandals took the wind out of many sails. When will it kick up again?
Father Richard John Neuhaus of First Things spoke last night on Benedict’s visit at St. Mary’s Church in New Haven. Actually, the Communion and Liberation group at St. Mary's originally arranged from him to talk about “The Mind of Benedict.”
Father Neuhaus made the point that Cardinal Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI is misunderstood. He didn’t have a “liberal period” followed by a “conservative period” followed by a “reactionary period” followed by a “warm-fuzzy papal period.”
Rather, he has all along been radically Christ-centered.
“The radically Christological mind of Joseph Ratzinger is manifest in his every word, his every gesture.”
Neuhaus sees the future Pope Benedict XVI meeting the crowds in America in the newly ordained Father Joseph Ratzinger. Father Joseph Ratzinger’s and his brother, Georg’s, ordinations were celebrated by days of Bavarian to-do in Traunstein. Amid the parades, the “oom pa pa” bands, and the festivities, Neuhaus notes (from Ratzinger’s autobiography) the new priest kept saying:
“This is not for you, Joseph.”
“We don’t have as many accounts as we should” of Joseph’s theological work, said Neuhaus, but one idea recurs throughout. It’s the Christology captured in Ratzinger’s oft-repeated description of Christ:
“the human face of God.”
Some choice Neuhaus quotes from the talk:
On Benedict’s speaking style:
“He isn’t one to pander to an inattentive audience.”
On Ratzinger's relationship with John Paul II:
“The intensity of their collaboration … could hardly have been more intense, more mutually influential.”
Quoting a theologian friend on Benedict’s willingness to do whatever God asked him:
“He’s God-intoxicated. … When did you last see a shy person on television?”
He's old. He's a German who lives in Italy. His writing is dense. He's not good at sound-bites. His public speaking isn't colored by great passion. His personal tastes are for things that most Americans don't care much for. His style of dress is archaic. To follow his message would mean to change your life, including giving up things you might like.
But then again:
He tells the truth, not a message that is part what we want to hear and part set-up for something he wants to foist on us. His measure of the universe is larger than his personal interest. He doesn't consider himself the protagonist in his own life, let alone in ours, too. God is the protagonist in both. He prayed not to get his job, and wanted to do something else. Unlike a politician, who has to use us to further his own goals, he's allowing himself to be used for our goals. His favorite subjects are love and hope. And beauty. He is the Mozart of Catholic theology not just because he writes beautiful and intricate works, but because he can practically compose them whole and simply write them down.
... and then there's that intangible something: He's Peter. His office makes us love him. I wonder if John Paul didn't fool us into forgetting that people have always loved the Pope. They loved the jolly John XXIII. They loved the phlegmatic Pius XII. Even Popes love Popes, as when Benedict expressed his love for Paul VI by quoting John Paul II ...
Certainly, people haven't always loved their president. And certainly, lapsed Americans -- people who have left America -- haven't thrilled at the site of a new president in the way that even lapsed Catholics thrill to see the Pope.
Two decades ago papal doings, even big ones, earned no
more than news-brief attention in evangelical-Protestant publications. After
all, Catholics were not saved. They hadn't been born again. They were non-Christians.
A fair number of subscribers to Christianity Today, Christian Herald and the
like would have cancelled their subscriptions, or done worse damage, over long
and complimentary features on a pope.
Times have changed. Here's World magazine, an influential evangelical publication:
More intriguing was his warning, at a session with
non-Catholic Christians that included evangelicals, against relegating religion
entirely to subjective personal experience, minimizing the faith's objective
truth and doctrinal content.
Till now Benedict has been barely known to non-Catholic
Americans, while Catholics have seen him as John Paul's doctrinal
"Rottweiler" who disciplined Catholic liberals and denounced
secularism.
The Benedict that Americans observed is no rock star in
the mold of his predecessor. But this first modern pontiff to be fluent in
English (albeit with a heavy German accent) has a theological mind for all
Christians to reckon with.
I have a lot of respect for a lot of evangelical
Protestants. I have more in common with some of them, spiritually
speaking, than with some of the people in the pews of my own parish. (Remember
that Southern New England, where the Register is located, is one of the most
densely Catholic areas in the country -- and one of the least friendly to life,
marriage and the family.)
Altar Call: If you've got an evangelical friend who asked
anything at all about the Pope during the visit, invite him or her to Mass this
weekend. The Tiber is riper for the crossing than it's been since a Calvinist college student
asked Protestant Professor Scott Hahn, famously: "Where is Sola Scriptura in Scripture?"
Vatican Cardinal 1: "Were you at any of the events Tim Drake was at?"
Vatican Cardinal 2: "Yeah, I saw him at the Vespers, but they had the press guys upstairs."
Vatican Cardinal 1: "But you walked by him?"
Vatican Cardinal 2: "I did. It was amazing. Even just passing Tim you got a sense of peace."
Vatican Cardinal 1: "I know what you mean. When you see him, it's like there's nobody in the room except you and Tim."
Okay, that probably didn't happen, but I did notice a remarkable phenomenon: Everybody loves Tim Drake. They love him. In the media center, when he walks by, voices go up and hands wave and cheery hellos are shouted from eager faces.
In the office happy hour after the issue went out he was, in his quiet, smiling, way, the center of attention.
At home, my children warmed to him immediately. Even the shy-three and the bashful-five year old. This dialog really did happen:
John Paul: "You know what Mr. Strake?"
Tim: "What, John Paul?"
John Paul: "I really like you."
Tim: "Thanks, John Paul!"
John Paul (thinking back on the 99.99 percent of his life that was spent without "Mr. Strake" in it): "You were away for sooo long!"
I've made a lot of mistakes as executive editor in the Register, and I've been proud of a lot of things we've done. But man, oh man. Hiring Tim Drake was one of the best.
This article from Journal News is kind of a Papal Visit
101. The writer, Gary Stern, sums up the Pope's agenda thus:
A. Introduce Benedict to America as warm, friendly and
gracious - without going overboard or trying to make him into something he's
not.
B. Celebrate the success of Catholicism in America and of America itself, but warn of the
dangers to faith that are presented by relativism, secularism and materialism.
C. Face the fallout from the clerical sex-abuse crisis
directly and on his own terms.
Through three days in Washington and three in New York,
Benedict repeatedly hammered home points B and C and, through it all, appeared
to accomplish point A with little trouble.
He also says Benedict satisfied various audiences:
Americans who only tune in and are aware of his visit (they saw warmth and
candor) and insider Catholics (they'll be quoting the texts for years).
He might also have mentioned: the Jewish community (even
the cyncical ones appreciated his gestures), U.N. watchers (the staffs were
delighted, which will mean a lot going forward), Joe Pew Guy (many of us got recommitted to the faith), the media (still deciding what definition
of the man they'll run with).
The article lacks the evangelical joy of Catholics who are saying the same thing and attributing the Holy Spirit. Which for some will mean it might actually make the point stronger.
Months ago, when we planned to go all out for the U.S. papal
visit and World Youth Day, we dubbed our coverage 'The World Meets Benedict.'
But before long, that started to seem a little presumptuous. After all, the
Pope himself dubbed his visit 'Christ Our Hope.' And the world
already knew Pope Benedict XVI.
But then he came. And then ... well, click there and see, silly.
It's the day after the Pope's departure. In addition to trying to meet all our deadlines for our print publication, we're processing the Pope's visit overall. One observation that I made was regarding the weather. Both in Washington, D.C. and New York, the Pope had clear blue skies, few clouds, and plenty of sunshine - so much sunshine, in fact, that I have a nice sunburn to show for it after yesterday's 7 hours of sitting in the stands at Yankee Stadium. The only period of time where the weather wasn't clear, was, as Tom pointed out, during the Pope's visit to Ground Zero. A slight mist/fog rolled into New York in the morning and lasted throughout the Pope's prayer at the World Trade Center site. Just prior to Mass, things cleared up at Yankee Stadium, providing glorious sunshine throughout the Mass.
It seems to me that a parallel can be drawn between the weather and the clarity that the Pope offered at each of his venues. He hit upon broad themes - peace, truth, freedom, obedience, reconciliation, healing, but did so in a very clear manner. It would be hard to read through his many speeches and suggest that he meant something other than what he said.
I can picture him saying, "I meant what I said and I said what I meant. A Pope is faithful - 100%."
The clarity offered by Pope Benedict during his six-day stay in America was matched by the clarity of the skies throughout his entire visit.
Tom Hoopes here. In my dining room. Next to two Guinea Pigs. And Tim Drake.
Wow. What else can one say? It was an amazing experience, spending this week with the Holy Father. My family definitely caught the bug. Surrounding us are papal flags that my wife put up. At the head of Tim's bed is a "Welcome Mr. Drake" sign that my daughter Olivia made. It depicts several scenes of Mr. Drake at various papal events, some of which Olivia knew from reading this blog.
But now comes the tough part. We will be spending the day in the Register's office preparing the next issue of the Register. Find it at www.ncRegister.com.
It will include:
Father Raymond de Souza on Benedict's "mastery" of the media.
Tim Drake on what we heard at the arrival of Pope Benedict ... and what was changed when he departed.
Photo pages featuring the Event Masses.
Moving interviews with participants at Ground Zero, The Catholic University of America speech, and more.
... and much, much more. Do check it out. Subscribe! We need your subscription to keep our mission going strong.
Tom Hoopes here. Lots of people are commenting on the liturgy at Nationals Stadium. To those who have been reading Pope2008.com (see "Liturgies") nothing in the liturgy was much of a surprise.
But the concern is understandable, given what Msgr. Guido Marini, the new papal Master of Ceremonies said:
"I hope the liturgical celebrations presided over by the Holy Father may be an example and also provide an orientation for the church in the United States."
It's important to note that Msgr. Marini was not here recommending papal stadium Masses as a model for your parish. He was speaking of Pope Benedict's Rome liturgies.
It will, however, be interesting to see Pope Benedict XVI celebrate Mass in a church this weekend. Will it be a Msgr. Marini Mass, or a Mass in which participating dioceses get to show off their pride and joy?
Tom Hoopes here. A very attentive crowd is sitting, listening to the Holy Father's homily. The only movement is from the security guys.
His message is that unity becomes many, not the other way around. The unity of Pentecost led to evangelization, the Church going out into new places, including the United States. Secularation then set in, and caused divisions and isolation. Now he wants to call us to unity -- through evangelization.
Division means smallness, ironically. Unity means expansion.
He's reviving many concepts on this trip that John Paul initiated but which he has not mentioned as often. On the plane: The Great Jubilee of the Church in America. Yesterday: The new springtime of the faith. Today: The New Evangelization.
"In the exercise of my ministry as the Successor of Peter, I have come to America to confirm you, my brothers and sisters, in the faith of the Apostles," said Pope Benedict XVI in his homily at Mass this morning at Nationals Park. "I have come to proclaim anew, as Peter proclaimed on the day of Pentecost, that Jesus Christ is Lord and Messiah, risen from the dead, seated in glory at the right hand of the Father, and established as judge of the living and the dead."
"The readings of today's Mass invite us to consider the growth of the Church in America as one chapter in the greater story of the Church's expansion... I pray, then, that this significant anniversary in the life of the Church in the United States, and the presence of the Successor of Peter in your midst, will be an occasion for all Catholics to reaffirm their unity in the apostolic faith, to offer their contemporaries a convincing account of the hope which inspires them, and to be renewed in missionary zeal for the extension of God's Kingdom.
The world needs this witness! Who can deny that the present moment is a crossroads, not only for the Church in America but also for society as a whole? It is a time of great promise, as we see the human family in many ways drawing closer together and becoming ever more interdependent. Yet at the same time we see clear signs of a disturbing breakdown in the very foundation of society: signs of alienation, anger and polarization on the part of many of our contemporaries; increased violence; a weakening or the moral sense; a coarsening of social relations; and a growing forgetfulness of God."
Pope Benedict called upon the power of the Holy Spirit for a renewal of the Church in the U.S.
Again, the Holy Father took up the subject of the pain which the Church in America has experienced as a result of sexual abuse.
Here, he also took up, for the first time the subject of the sacrament of reconciliation, particularly its decline in our country.
"Let us trust in the Spirit's power to inspire conversion, to heal every wound, to overcome every division, and to inspire new life and freedom. How much we need these gifts! And how close at hand they are, particularly in the sacrament of Penance! The liberating power of this sacrament, in which our honest confession of sin is met by God's merciful word of pardon and peace, needs to be rediscovered and reappropriated by every Catholic. To a great extent, the renewal of the Church in America depends on the renewal of the practice of penance and the growth in holiness which that sacrament both inspires and accomplishes."
Tom Hoopes here. With Michael Hertl of the German bishops' conference. He's based in Frankfurt.
Notice the following aspects of the picture taken with his iPod camera thingy.
1. The Benedict of Bavaria book, which I can no longer read because I gave my copy to my old classmate Delia Gallagher who is doing stuff with CNN. I promise I haven't been posting about it simply for self-promotion (Circle Press, who publishes it, is a fellow Circle Media operation). I was posting from it because it's good stuff. But I gave it to Delia for self-promotion.
2. Also notice the Vatican flag Gus Lloyd at Sirius Catholic Channel gave me, so that I have seven now -- which is lucky, because I have seven children, and one of them would have been grumpy either now, or when she is old enough to develop the awareness that I dissed her.
3. In the upper right, see the shattered glass pane that is near our seat, but which looks like a 1970s Church window.
Shhh! Take your seats. Word is the Pope is about to show up ...
Tom Hoopes here. This morning, I headed out early to the ballpark. I was walking with Patrick Novecosky of Legatus, an ethnically Polish guy who was a big fan of John Paul II. I ask him if it's hard to accept a non-Polish pope and he says No. But his eyes say Yes.
We walk down the row into the the ballpark, past the pro-lifers who are out in force. They're passing out stickers that quote Benedict saying: "Defend Life!" I want to start passing out signs that said "Another Pro-Abortion Relativist for Benedict" just to see how people handle the situation.
But it was a joy to walk through the excited atmosphere. A big screen television shows a Gospel choir singing their hearts out for Jesus. A Mexican guy with a guitar and an amp is singing his heart out, too. In heavily accented English, he is singing, "We luh-uh-v you, Holy Father; Alleluia, alle-loo!"
My head was full of media reports last night. All the "deep shame" and "too little, too late" stuff that acted as if the horror of the abuse crisis was the one and only story about the Catholic Church in our time.
But here, no one is focused on shame, outrage, regret or self-consciously avoiding the same. It feels exactly like a ballpark St. Peter's Square. Herds of regular folk are walking with a spring in their step to an event in a stadium, squinting at the concession stands to find the balance between what they are willing to pay and what they are willing to eat. This is a Catholic crowd. It's a crowd of families, fresh-faced professional women, scruffy grinning guys, old ladies glowing with delight, Colombians, Salvadoran immigrants, beaming monsignors and random priests, deacons and bishops, all lining up to cheer on the same home team.
Tom Hoopes here. Yesterday we noticed that Pope Benedict has a spring in his step and a joyful air about him. He extends his arms in a kind of embrace that is electrifying, when you're a Catholic excited about seeing the Holy Father. But as he walked by us at Andrews Air Force Base, his most common gesture was a wave in which he plays "air piano" with his fingers.
It was commented on by several of the reporters there. Why does he wave like that? Benedict of Bavaria (published by our sister publisher, Circle Press ... see the link above to the left) has the answer. Writes Brennan Pursell:
"Some journalists today criticize the Pope for being 'a bad waver,' and it is true that he does not gesture nearly as much as his predecessor. But the way he carries himself is perfectly in keeping with his culture."
Specifically, Pursell attributes this to the Bavarian virtue of being zuruckhaltend, "self-restrained, with no shouting, wild gesticulations, or blaring laughter. Public displays of emotion were in bad taste, and the voice was to be kept soft."
Other Bavarian virtues he sees in the pope:
Fleiss -- "a diligent devotion to hard work,not hard, excessive, or frenetic, but good in quality and quantity."
Punktlichkeit -- "punctuality as a matter of personal discipline and basic consideration for the needs of others."
Bescheidenheit -- "which refers to modest bearing, or basic humility."
... and Geborgenheit and Gemutlichkeit which describe feelings associated with being safely and comfortably at home.
What does the Pope hope will transpire as a result of his U.S. visit? "A time of spiritual renewal." This is from today's Vatican Information Service.
At midday today, following the Regina Coeli prayer, Benedict XVI reminded the thousands of faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square that on Tuesday 15 April he will travel to the U.S.A. where he will visit Washington, New York and the headquarters of the United Nations.
"With the various groups I shall meet", he said in English, "my intention is to share our Lord's word of life. In Christ is our hope! Christ is the foundation of our hope for peace, for justice, and for the freedom that flows from God's law fulfilled in His commandment to love one another".
The Pope also asked people to pray for the success of the visit, "so that it may be a time of spiritual renewal for all Americans".
Thomas Peters has a post on the panel discussion held last week as a kind of preview for the Pope's visit. He has posted his observations and some video from the event, sponsored by Crossroads.
In it, he quotes Papal Nuncio Archbishop Pietro Sambi as using two phrases as being integral to the message that Pope Benedict XVI hopes to bring to the U.S. - those being Conversi Ad Dominum (Turn towards the Lord!) and Sursum Corda (Lift up your heart!).
I took those words to heart this morning and in preparation for my own pilgrimage took advantage of the Sacrament of Reconciliation and Mass offered at St. Louis King of France Catholic Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. Some years ago, when I was working for the Science Museum of Minnesota, I used to enjoy attending daily Mass in the Church's beautiful Winter Chapel. The chapel has since been repainted and it is one of the best kept secrets in St. Paul. It also includes a reproduction of the cove where Mary appeared to Bernadette Soubirous. Mass in the chapel this morning was packed, and I could think of no better way to begin a journey to cover the Pope's visit to the U.S.
It's time to board my airplane. The next time I post will be from D.C.
Just two days to go from the Pope's arrival and expectations are high for Pope Benedict XVI's historic visit. The visit will give Americans their first up-close view of Pope Benedict. They are eager to see him and hear what he has to tell them. His visit is not merely to another head of state, or to the U.S. Bishops, or to the U.N. (even though that was his primary reason for visiting), but rather a visit for the universal Church on America's shore. It's easy to think, given the various audiences, that the Pope's visit is for particular groups within the Church. Yet, his message, whether it's to a group of Catholic university presidents, or ecumenical leaders, is intended for all of us. Will we listen?
The inevitable polls have started surfacing. The Associated Press reports this morning on the "Sacraments Today: Belief and Practice Among U.S.
Catholics" survey conducted by the U.S. Bishops and the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, which has mixed news.
Among its findings:
- For Catholics who attend Mass at least once a month, an overwhelming
majority of the young and older generation believe Christ is present in
the Eucharist.
- Younger, regular Mass-goers surpass
their elders in observing Lent, with nearly all saying they abstain
from meat on Fridays and receive ashes on Ash Wednesday. The young
people are also more likely to consider devotion to saints very
important to their faith.
- Sixty-eight
percent of all Catholics surveyed said they agreed that they believed
they could be in good standing with the church without going to weekly
Mass.
- Nearly one-third of the nation's 64 million
Catholics attend Mass in any given week. That figure has remained the
same in the last five years, according to the report.
- Thirty percent of the respondents said they go to confession less than once a year and 45 percent said they never go.
The Worcester Telegram and Gazette passes the "J.C. Survey" with flying colors by publishing a piece which focuses on the theme of the Pope's visit - "Christ our Hope."
Here's a key paragraph from the article.
“There’s a weariness and restlessness in our
society. We’ve had five years of war and there’s terrible concern about
the impact of the economy on families,” said the Most Rev. Robert J.
McManus, bishop of Worcester. “Wherever he goes, the pope is going to
remind us that Christ is our hope. That’s the theme of the trip. People
will be asked to rediscover Jesus. The message couldn’t be timelier.”
While the theme of the Pope's trip is "Christ Our Hope," it looks like his visit is also motivating others to charity. The Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. has reported that thousands of bags of food are being collected in honor of Pope Benedict XVI's visit.
Parishes and schools across the Archdiocese are bringing thousands of bags of food that they've collected to drop off sites in Washington, DC and Maryland on Sunday, April 13 as part of a Hunger to Hope Food Drive. Parishioners and students are filling 100,000 large paper bags with canned goods, juice, pastas and sauces, cereal, ready meals and dried fruits and nuts to fill area food banks and parish pantries. The bags will be brought to three drop off sites (between 11:30 a.m. and 6 p.m.) where they will be loaded onto trucks for distribution. The drop off sites include: Mount Calvary Church, 6700 Marlboro Pike, Forestville, MD (Prince George's County); McCarrick Center, 12247 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD (Montgomery County); Capital Area Food Bank, 645 Taylor Street, NE, Washington, DC.
The food will fill the pantries of the Capital Area Food Bank, the Southern Maryland Food Bank and the 60 food pantries at parishes in the archdiocese. An April 8 news story in the Washington Post reported on how local food banks are trying to keep pace with the increasing need for groceries due to the economic downturn. Requests for food assistance in the past year are up 30 percent nationwide, the Post reported.
The food drive, coordinated by Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington, honors Pope Benedict XVI's visit by sharing in his concern for the poor, said Washington Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl. "In his name, we can give to food banks," he said, to attest to "his concern for the poor and needy around the world."
During his visit, the pope will be presented with a list of the parishes and schools participating and the amount of food collected in his honor. All 140 parishes and 106 schools in the Archdiocese of Washington are participating in the food drive. The archdiocese hopes to collect at least 200,000 food items.
The Capital Area Food Bank will distribute the food at no cost to its 700 partner agencies and organizations that feed the hungry in the Washington area. The Southern Maryland Food Bank, a program of Catholic Charities, will ensure similar distribution of the food collected across Charles, Calvert and St. Mary's counties in Maryland.
Stories continue about the papal merchandising. Here's one from New York Daily News.
And, none too soon, the official papal visit commemorative store has opened. You'll find T-shirts, caps, medallions, stuffed bears, and rosaries all emblazoned with the logo of the Pope's visit and the theme: Christ Our Hope.
Rocco Palmo had the news yesterday from the Holy See Press Office of a video the Pope will be releasing this morning as a preview to his U.S. trip. Says Palmo,
"This morning, the Holy See Press Office announced that early tomorrow
will see the release of a "brief video message" from Pope Benedict
"addressed to the American people in anticipation of his visit." The
first-of-its-kind tone-setter, whose length was not specified, will
convey the pontiff's first direct comments on his impending pilgrimage
to these shores.
While Benedict had previously given prime-time TV interviews before his 2006 visit to Poland and homecoming to Bavaria or
beamed via satellite greetings to a local gathering or two awaiting his
arrival, the move underscores both the import the church's central
command is placing on next week's events and Rome's understanding of
the usefulness and impact of new technology, both on the life of the
Stateside church and the wider society here."
Once it's released, we'll post the link here.
Update: Here's the last paragraph from the greeting from the Pope, posted at YouTube. We're still waiting on the full video version of today's message.
The USCCB has created a link. Once the video is available, it will be posted there. CNN has beat the USCCB in posting the full message. John Thavis at Catholic News Service has this story on the video. John Allen said that such a message is very unusual, but came as the result of the many media requests for interviews the Pope had received.
Here's Allen: Release of a video from the pope ahead of a foreign trip is not
standard Vatican operating procedure. Vatican sources said the decision
was the result of an unusually high volume of requests for interviews
with the pope from American media outlets sparked by the impending
trip. Although the pope turned down those requests, sources said his
advisors were impressed with the interest and wanted to offer a
response.
PAPAL MESSAGE FOR HIS FORTHCOMING TRIP TO THE U.S.
VATICAN CITY, 8 APR 2008 (VIS) - A video message by the Pope addressed to
citizens of the U.S.A. was made public today. Benedict XVI is due to visit the
United States from 15 to 21 April.
Speaking English, the Holy Father offers "a heartfelt greeting and an
invitation to prayer. As you know", he continues, "I shall only be able to
visit two cities: Washington and New York. The intention behind my visit,
though, is to reach out spiritually to all Catholics in the United States".
After thanking the people working to organise his trip and those who are
praying for its success, Benedict XVI talks of his conviction that "without
the power of prayer, without that intimate union with the Lord, our human
endeavours would achieve very little".
"Together with your bishops, I have chosen as the theme of my journey three
simple but essential words: 'Christ our hope'. ... Jesus Christ is hope for
men and women of every language, race, culture and social condition. ...
Through him, our lives reach fullness, and together, both as individuals and
peoples, we can become a family united by fraternal love, according to the
eternal plan of God the Father. I know how deeply rooted this Gospel message
is in your country. I am coming to share it with you, in a series of
celebrations and gatherings.
"I shall also bring the message of Christian hope to the great Assembly of
the United Nations", the Pope adds, "to the representatives of all the peoples
of the world. Indeed, the world has greater need of hope than ever: hope for
peace, for justice, and for freedom, but this hope can never be fulfilled
without obedience to the law of God, which Christ brought to fulfilment in the
commandment to love one another. Do to others as you would have them do to
you, and avoid doing what you would not want them to do. This 'golden rule' is
given in the Bible, but it is valid for all people, including non-believers.
It is the law written on the human heart; on this we can all agree, so that
when we come to address other matters we can do so in a positive and
constructive manner for the entire human community".
The Holy Father then goes on to address Spanish-speaking U.S. Catholics in
their own language, expressing his "spiritual closeness, especially to the
young, the sick, the elderly and those who are suffering difficulties or feel
in greatest need".
Benedict XVI concludes his message with thanks for everyone living in the
United States, "even if my itinerary is short", he says, "my heart is close to
all of you". MESS/UNITED STATES TRIP/...VIS 080408 (460)
If Pope Benedict is the "Pope of Hope," seeing as his American trip's theme is "Christ Our Hope," then those who are traveling to see the Pope are Papal People of Hope.
Here's a round-up of several other stories profiling those who are making the trek to see the Pope in D.C. or New York.
This Utica Observer-Dispatch story has a brief quote from Beth Lynch, 54, who is traveling from Ilion to N.Y. to see the Pope.
“It will be an awakening of the presence of the Lord among us,” said Lynch.
The Times-News has a story of a father-daughter team - David and Meghan Lynch (no relation to Beth, above), who are traveling from Mebane, North Carolina to N.Y. David had hoped that his daughter could attend World Youth Day in Sydney, but New York is a lot closer to home.
The Los Angeles Times offers this story focusing on various people, from a 24-year-old to an 81-year-old who are all making the trip to see the Pope. It's a fascinating, very personal story. Go read it.
This story from the Columbia Missourian stresses that the public will have fewer opportunities to see the Pope in person during the visit, because the Masses are being held in smaller venues, there are only a few Popemobile encounters, and the majority of the events are private. The story ends, however, telling of Kelly Gannon, a Sioux Indian from Warwick, North Dakota who requested and received 16 tickets to attend the D.C. Mass for herself and her parish's youth group.
Massachusetts' Daily News Tribune has this story which profiles Brenda Peter of Norwich who will be going to see the Pope with her six children, and Father Greg Galvin, who will be distributing the Eucharist.
It does seem as if many in the American media are searching for a phrase they can use to describe Pope Benedict. I don't think that any of the phrases that have been used so far are appropriate, or have stuck.
Our Sunday Visitor says that "America doesn't get popes," in a recent editorial.
While OSV's article doesn't explicitly use the phrase "Professor Pope," it's the phrase that's come to my mind most in reading all of the other labels that news articles have tried to paste on the Pope.
Whereas Pope John Paul II could perhaps be seen as more of a philosopher, Pope Benedict has seemed to embrace the role more of a theologian. This is not meant to detract from one or the other, but simply to be a difference of emphasis. OSV does use the term "anti-celebrity," saying that Pope Benedict is not caught up in all of the trappings of celebrity, which of course, is so popular in this country (see all of the magazines which are built around celebrities). Another I haven't seen a lot of, but that has come to mind is "the Pope of Hope."
Which description have you seen or read that seems most accurate to you in describing the current vicar of Christ?
Seeing the Pope in person is a dream for many. In the upcoming week we'll see a lot more local stories from those who are traveling (some great distances) just to be in the Pope's presence. I've spoken to some folks locally who will be in attendance at the New York Mass. Many of them have said the same thing - "It may be our only opportunity, so we don't want to miss the chance."
This Daily Press story profiles some from the Diocese of Richmond who will be attending. It also receives kudos for passing the J.C. Survey. The story is one of few that actually mentions the theme of the Pope's visit.
This story, from the CantonRep, tells of high school junior Chris Cugini, who will be in attendance at the welcoming ceremony for the Pope on the South Lawn of the White House. The headline overstates it, saying that Cugini will meet the Pope and the President. More than likely, he'll be in a group of several hundred in attendance.
The St. Louis Review has this article about those who will be traveling from St. Louis. It's filled with profiles of those who will be attending.
Here's a story about Northeast Iowans who are making the trek. And another, about 100 folks from Maine.
Catholic writer Hugh McNichol has continued his ongoing commentary on Pope Benedict and the upcoming papal visit at his blog In Principio erat Verbum.
Today he takes on the message outlined by the theme of the Pope's entire apostolic trip, that of Hope.
Writes McNichol: "The entire concept of hope…hope in God is the important message of this Pontificate. Benedict I am certain will not travel to the United States and proclaim a Catholic jihad against the United States as an Evil Empire. My suggestion is that he will paternally and pastorally call upon Catholics in the United States to restore the sense of the sacred in their Catholicism, convert from social and moral excesses that are stressed by secularization and seek a true conversion of the heart when Catholics exercise their religious faith. The goal for the papal trip…is radical Catholic conversion through the message of Gospel love. While the announcement of such a topic and intent will most likely never be revealed in such a clear manner, such a direction is Benedict’s hope and goal."
Pope Benedict XVI is coming to America and Australia. The National Catholic Register wants to make sure you don’t miss out.
Tim Drake, our Senior Writer, will provide you with up-to-the-minute reports on news and preparations, and will blog directly from papal events, right here. To reach the author with news tips, photos, stories, or press releases, email: tdrake[at]tdrake[dot]clearwire[dot]net
Leon Suprenant, Catholics United for the Faith "This site has a lot of good information on it, from commentary and articles concerning what the Pope will talk about when he’s here, to very practical items concerning the papal Masses and local transportation."
I was on the radio this morning with Gus Lloyd, where he challenged listeners to pray a novena of Rosaries for the new Pentecost for America that Pope Benedict XVI called for in his visit to the United States.
