Saturday 17 March 2012
Monday 12 March 2012
Pope Benedict Says Our Savior Died to Bring Men Back 'Into God's World'
If a man loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him" (Jn 14:22-23). In that moment we live in "God's world." It is the heaven of "now but not yet." It is a real, true and knowable experience in which we "feel," with the senses of the soul., the touch of infinite love.
We experience God's touch with the senses of the soul: a mysterious, life-giving and life-changing encounter with the Other whose boundless and uncontainable fount of love is always transformative.
GLADE PARK, CO (Catholic Online) -- Pope Benedict XVI, in his reflection before praying the Angelus on 26 February, stated that in Christ, God addresses man "in an unexpected way, with a closeness that is unique, tangible and full of love. God became incarnate and entered man's world in order to take sin upon himself, to overcome evil and to bring man back into God's world."
God "entered man's world" in order to "bring man back into God's world." What does it mean to enter into "God's world?" That is precisely what the sacred season of repentance and penance we call Lent is all about. Lent, a time of spiritual renewal, growth and regeneration in the love of Christ through the gift of the Holy Spirit, is a period in which we are called to enter deeply into the experience of God. But what does that mean? Also, how is God experienced?
Ask a thousand Christians what it means to experience God and we will hear just as many answers. Yet it must be admitted that the experience of God is something often misunderstood today, even altogether forgotten. Consequently, it can be helpful to think about what can harm our experience of God. That is, what blocks our experience of the unsurpassed divine love of the Holy Spirit? What prevents us from living in an intimate and infinite relationship of attentiveness and love with the indwelling Spirit of Love? It is important to ponder these questions, for in exploring insufficiencies and errors in our life, we contrast those important actions and attitudes that bring us nearer to God with those which can limit or even destroy our ability to enter into "God's world."
The terrible and horrifyingly damaging effects of sin is a given. But let us put that aside for a moment and mention the psyche of contemporary society: heavily engrained in today's culture is a pragmatic view of life in which can be found a type of nearly continuous preoccupation with the attainment of physical and material goods, which is laced with various distractions and exaggerated concerns, most of which have as their object not God but fleeting, created objects. In such an infertile environment, spiritual fruitfulness and growth often wither in the heat of blighted ambitions.
Other troubling elements which perhaps affect us all to some degree are often referred to as "noise." In this category is the inordinate use of technology, media and movies, created objects and even other creatures: included is an improper attachment to people, conversation, dinning out, and otherwise filling every moment with "things" and so forth. If not careful, we may find we prefer the evanescent pleasures of the visible over the infinite depth and love of the Divine Other who, invisible, transcends beyond the limits of the human senses. As a result of filling our life to the brim with "clutter," experienced is a fear of that silence and interior reflection so crucial to living in God.
The spiritual man clings to God and his will, living in the spirit of God, while the worldly man follows human passions (cf. 1 Pet. 4:2 ff.).
Further, we must recognize the need to do battle with self: this is primarily an interior struggle in which we strive to gain self-knowledge through prayer and reflection. This war is waged against that disordered view of self known as the capitol sin of pride. Here we must combat that nearly irrepressible desire for self-importance and self-acknowledgement, including that wrongful self-love in which we attempt to assert ourselves above others, even over and above the divine will of God. Pride quells the desire to walk in the light, thus we are left to stumble in the darkness (cf. Prov 4:18; Lk 1:79; Jn 3:19-21, to name a few). We must not forget our human limitations and the dangers of sin: "Sometimes a way seems right to a man, but the end of it leads to death!" (Prov. 14:12).
Also, it is often presumed that we have a relationship with God without taking concrete steps to cultivate the proper interior disposition, prayer, self-mastery and virtue so necessary to the spiritual life. Thus we suffer a type of spiritual depression. Here the Catechism of the Catholic Church makes note of acedia: "The spiritual writers understand by this a form of depression due to lax ascetical practice, decreasing vigilance, carelessness of heart. 'The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak'" (2733).
Ora et Labora: "Pray and Work"
Remember that we are creatures of habit. Unfortunately, it is quite easy, due to the inclination toward sin we call concupiscence, to form bad habits called vices. Thus the need for self-discipline and the cultivation of those habitual perfections of the soul that are acquired through practice called virtues, in order to achieve self-mastery. Just as an athlete habitually trains his legs in order to win a race, so too we must habitually train our soul in virtue in order to ...
God "entered man's world" in order to "bring man back into God's world." What does it mean to enter into "God's world?" That is precisely what the sacred season of repentance and penance we call Lent is all about. Lent, a time of spiritual renewal, growth and regeneration in the love of Christ through the gift of the Holy Spirit, is a period in which we are called to enter deeply into the experience of God. But what does that mean? Also, how is God experienced?
Ask a thousand Christians what it means to experience God and we will hear just as many answers. Yet it must be admitted that the experience of God is something often misunderstood today, even altogether forgotten. Consequently, it can be helpful to think about what can harm our experience of God. That is, what blocks our experience of the unsurpassed divine love of the Holy Spirit? What prevents us from living in an intimate and infinite relationship of attentiveness and love with the indwelling Spirit of Love? It is important to ponder these questions, for in exploring insufficiencies and errors in our life, we contrast those important actions and attitudes that bring us nearer to God with those which can limit or even destroy our ability to enter into "God's world."
The terrible and horrifyingly damaging effects of sin is a given. But let us put that aside for a moment and mention the psyche of contemporary society: heavily engrained in today's culture is a pragmatic view of life in which can be found a type of nearly continuous preoccupation with the attainment of physical and material goods, which is laced with various distractions and exaggerated concerns, most of which have as their object not God but fleeting, created objects. In such an infertile environment, spiritual fruitfulness and growth often wither in the heat of blighted ambitions.
Other troubling elements which perhaps affect us all to some degree are often referred to as "noise." In this category is the inordinate use of technology, media and movies, created objects and even other creatures: included is an improper attachment to people, conversation, dinning out, and otherwise filling every moment with "things" and so forth. If not careful, we may find we prefer the evanescent pleasures of the visible over the infinite depth and love of the Divine Other who, invisible, transcends beyond the limits of the human senses. As a result of filling our life to the brim with "clutter," experienced is a fear of that silence and interior reflection so crucial to living in God.
The spiritual man clings to God and his will, living in the spirit of God, while the worldly man follows human passions (cf. 1 Pet. 4:2 ff.).
Further, we must recognize the need to do battle with self: this is primarily an interior struggle in which we strive to gain self-knowledge through prayer and reflection. This war is waged against that disordered view of self known as the capitol sin of pride. Here we must combat that nearly irrepressible desire for self-importance and self-acknowledgement, including that wrongful self-love in which we attempt to assert ourselves above others, even over and above the divine will of God. Pride quells the desire to walk in the light, thus we are left to stumble in the darkness (cf. Prov 4:18; Lk 1:79; Jn 3:19-21, to name a few). We must not forget our human limitations and the dangers of sin: "Sometimes a way seems right to a man, but the end of it leads to death!" (Prov. 14:12).
Also, it is often presumed that we have a relationship with God without taking concrete steps to cultivate the proper interior disposition, prayer, self-mastery and virtue so necessary to the spiritual life. Thus we suffer a type of spiritual depression. Here the Catechism of the Catholic Church makes note of acedia: "The spiritual writers understand by this a form of depression due to lax ascetical practice, decreasing vigilance, carelessness of heart. 'The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak'" (2733).
Ora et Labora: "Pray and Work"
Remember that we are creatures of habit. Unfortunately, it is quite easy, due to the inclination toward sin we call concupiscence, to form bad habits called vices. Thus the need for self-discipline and the cultivation of those habitual perfections of the soul that are acquired through practice called virtues, in order to achieve self-mastery. Just as an athlete habitually trains his legs in order to win a race, so too we must habitually train our soul in virtue in order to ...
Sunday 11 March 2012
Message of Jesus
Love
Jesus dealt with many aspects of human life but the one that he spent longest on was the need for love. His focus was not just on the love for our friends and family, but something much more challenging, a love that tests every nerve and sinew.
"Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you." (Matthew 5:44)
He spoke of a love for those who we want to hate, a love for those who already hate us. This love requires effort, and strain, and every ounce of self-command that man can summon up.
It is the easiest thing in the world to hate, to let the desire for revenge grow in our hearts. Indeed vengeance may even have the shadow of justice attached to it, but in reality it leads to dark, unadulterated hate and a spiral of destruction.
To be truly happy we must rise above the bigotry and jealousy of others. We must love even if we are hated for it. Love and do not hate, for surely love is the only path to peace, freedom and happiness.
Sincerity
There were many people Jesus met who seemed holy in front of others but who acted very differently when there was no-one watching. For Jesus it was no good just pretending to love others, or pretending to control our selfish instincts, we had to truly feel it in our hearts.
"You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.' But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (Matthew 5:27-28)
What we think in our hearts makes us just as guilty as those who commit their sins in daylight. Each of us are careful to appear respectable in front of others, but how many of us would dare to say that our hearts are pure?
If only the world could rid itself of its hypocrisy then people may truly become good rather than just trying to appear so. It is a challenge which each of us must face every hour of every day for the temptation to be otherwise is overwhelming.
Without this sincerity, without this trust, no man can achieve anything worthy of note. It is only sincerity that can inspire men to greatness, that can make heroes who stand up for truth, liberty and justice.
Forgiveness
For Jesus it was important not only that we try to reach these standards of love and sincerity but also that we realise the occasions when we do not. Once we have understood what we have done wrong we can ask for forgiveness, and then make a serious effort to correct our mistakes. It is only when we do this that we can truly be a follower of God.
To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men--robbers, evildoers, adulterers--or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'
"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'
"I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." (Luke 18:9-14)
The forgiveness of our sins is not without a cost because when we break laws, whether they be civil or divine, we should expect to face some consequences. However the price of our forgiveness was paid in a remarkable, symbolic way when Jesus suffered and died in our place. He explained this sacrifice by using bread and wine as symbols of his body and blood.
While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body." Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. (Matthew 26:26-28)
All of the followers of Jesus are joined together in a mystical union to make up one body, of which Christ is the head. When Jesus died it was like this whole body of believers died in him, and so his death becomes a meaningful sacrifice for the wrong doing of all believers.
We must humble ourselves in a way that allows us to truly understand what we have done, what we deserve, and what Jesus gave up so that we could be free. When we do this we will finally realise how much God has done for us.
Our Father
Having shown men how they should live loving, sincere, humble lives, Jesus also began telling them about how they should think of God. Within each of us there is something that tells us there is a God, some kind of higher power, some force governing the world, yet it is beyond our understanding as to what exactly this Being is.
Jesus tried to reveal this higher power to us in a very simple, yet a truly radical way. Jesus told us to think of God as our Father, as a loving, kind, generous parent who has given us life and will provide for us in the times ahead.
"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! (Matthew 7:7-11)
Jesus' relationship with the Father was unique as his Spirit was divine, but we too can be children of God. This way of thinking about God changes our whole conception of life. It give us confidence and strength during even the toughest times, and comforts us in the moments of despair.
Jesus' teaching on the Heavenly Father was a truly revolutionary step forward in philosophy and religion. By thinking of God as our Father we can face the world with confidence knowing that He will work everything out for the best. However it also places on us the responsibility of living as the children of God, a truly great family that we must never bring shame upon.
Jesus' life and death
This has been just a short overview of how Jesus' wisdom earned him the name of the "Great Teacher" by many other wise and insightful men. Yet there is even more to Jesus than his wisdom.
Jesus was more than just a teacher, he was also unique in his nature. He united the essence of God and man within himself, being both divine and human. This meant he could be a unique mediator between the Father and mankind, with his death allowing us to be reconciled with God.
Saturday 10 March 2012
Roman Catholic Church in Pakistan
Roman Catholic Church in Pakistan
There are over one million Catholics in Pakistan, which represents less than 1% of the total population. There are 7 ecclesiastical units in Pakistan comprising 2 archdioceses, 4 dioceses, and one Apostolic Vicariate, all Latin Rite.
The Catholic Church in Pakistan is also active in education managing leading schools like St. Patrick's High School Karachi, health and other social aspects of daily life in addition to its spiritual work. The Catholic Church runs 534 schools, 53 hostels, 8 colleges, 7 technical institutes and 8 catechetical centers, according to 2008 statistics.
Joseph Corderio, Archbishop of Karachi, became the first (and thus far only) Pakistani Cardinal elevated to the position by Pope Paul VI on 5 Mar 1973.
Pope John Paul II received the President of Pakistan PErvez Musharraf in a private audience in the Vatican on 30 September 2004. In 2004 President Pervez Musharraf began hosting an annual Christmas dinner as an expression of seasonal goodwill.
For the first time in the country’s history, Shahbaz Bhatti, a Catholic, became the federal minister for minorities in 2008.Bhatti was assassinated February 2011.
Pope Benedict XVI met the Roman Catholic bishops of Pakistan on June 19, 2008. The bishops were in Rome for their ad limina visit.
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