Ad Maoirem De Gloriam

October 1st is the feast day of St. Therese of Lisieux. Even though the French saint passed away at the age of 24, her short life continues to have great impact. During a general audience on April 6th 2011, the Pope explained what “The Little Flower” can teach Christians about  spirituality.  BENEDICT XVI (6/04/2012) “Theresa received permission to enter the Carmel of Lisieux at the tender age of fifteen. Her name in religion – Sister Theresa of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face – expresses the heart of her spirituality, centered on the contemplation of God’s love revealed in the mysteries of the Incarnation and Redemption.  In imitation of Christ, Theresa sought to be little in all things and to seek the salvation of the world. Taken ill in her twenty-third year, she endured great physical suffering in union with the crucified Lord; she also experienced a painful testing of faith which she offered for the salvation of those who deny God. By striving to embody God’s lo...

September 10, 2012. Next Sunday the Pope will be in Lebanon, right next door to Syria's civil war. In light of his coming trip, he expressed his closeness to those that are suffering from military conflicts in the Middle East. He also encouraged the international community to continue to work towards a lasting peace. “The effort for dialogue and reconciliation should be prioritized by all parties, and should be supported by the international community, to be increasingly aware of the importance for everyone to achieve a stable and lasting peace throughout the region,” said Benedict XVI. Benedict XVI also called on Colombian officials to look toward forgiveness and reconciliation in their plans to begin negotiations with the FARC rebel group. BENEDICT XVI “It was announced in Colombia, Norway and Cuba, an important dialogue between the Colombian government and representatives of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, with the participation of delegates from Venezuela and ...

photos credit: http://www.gizmag.com/renault-electric-popemobile/24044/ Renault Donates 2 Eco-sustainable Vehicles By Luca Marcolivio VATICAN CITY, SEPT. 6, 2012 (Zenit.org).- On Wednesday the Holy Father received two Renault battery-powered vehicles, made expressly for the Pontiff and the staff at his service. The gift was explained during a press conference held in the Marconi Room of Vatican Radio. Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican press office, recalled some of the salient passages about the commitment of the Catholic Church to care for the environment and renewable energy. In his encyclical "Caritas in Veritate," Benedict XVI spoke about the environment and also addressed the topic in his 2010 World Day of Peace Message, "If You Want to Cultivate Peace, Protect Creation." "The Holy See already has other electric cars. In particular, the Holy Father made use of one during his pastoral visit to Venice and Arezzo, and on t...

JARO, Iloilo City, July 16, 2012―A series of conferences on the scientific findings of the Eucharistic miracles will be held in the archdioceses of Jaro and Cagayan de Oro sometime this month. The conferences, titled “Eucharistic Miracles, the triumph of faith over science”, will be open to the clergy, religious, the laity and the general public. Main speaker for the conferences will be Dr. Ricardo Castañon Gomez, a Cognitive Neuropsychologist and a member of a pool of scientists that have examined various claimed mystical phenomena for the Church throughout the world. A doctor in abnormal psychology, with university studies in Germany and Italy who specializes in psychosomatic medicine, Gomez has also carried out psychotherapy specialty studies in London, pathologies in Lyons-France, toxico-dependencies in the University of Berkeley in California and applied psychology in Louvain, Belgium. Gomez is expected to come to the Philippines on July 21 until August 6, 2012 for t...

M A NIL A , Feb. 25, 2012— A bishop from the Diocese of Dum a guete h a s been n a med the new he a d of the A rchdiocese of P a lo in E a stern Vis a y a s. Pope Benedict XVI a nnounced in Rome tod a y the a ppointment of Bishop John Du, 57, a s a rchbishop of P a lo. He will now t a ke the title of A rchbishop-design a te a he a d of his offici a l inst a ll a tion soon, succeeding A rchbishop Jose P a lm a who w a s tr a nsferred to the A rchdiocese of Cebu in October 2010. P a p a l nuncio to the Philippine A rchbishop Guiseppe Pinto rel a yed the news of the Du’s a ppointment to Msgr. Pedro Quitorio, medi a director of the C a tholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines. Du w a s born on Oct. 18, 1954, in B a nt a y a n, Cebu. He w a s ord a ined a priest on June 1, 1979. In 1997, Pope John P a ul II a ppointed him A uxili a ry Bishop of Cebu. He w a s a ppointed Bishop of Dum a guete on A pril 21, 2001. Currently, the a rchbishop-elect is CBCP’...

ROME, Feb. 23, 2 0 12 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI says the somber Ash Wednesday declaration "You are dust and to dust you shall return" is not only an invitation to humility, but also an announcement of the path to salvation. The Pope made this reflection Wednesday as he celebrated evening Mass for the start of Lent at Rome's Basilica of Santa Sabina. Referring to the Genesis description of the fall of Adam and Eve and God's response, the Holy Father explained: "When [God] says to man, 'You are dust and to dust you shall return!' together with the just punishment he also intends to announce a path of salvation, which will travel through the earth, through that 'dust,' that 'flesh' that will be assumed by the Word." "It is in accord with this salvific perspective that the verse of Genesis is taken up by the Ash Wednesday liturgy: as an invitation to penance, to humility and to an awareness of our mortal conditio...

VATIC AN , Feb. 8, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI says that Jesus' prayer on the cross -- "My God, my God, why have you ab an d on ed me?" -- is a reminder that in prayer, we must also move bey on d our own problems an d present to God the needs an d sufferings of o the rs. The Pope made this invitati on today during the general audience held in Paul VI Hall, in which he c on tinued with his series of catechesis on prayer, taking up today Jesus' prayer as death was imminent. Mark an d Mat the w give an account of the prayer of the dying Jesus not on ly in Greek, the l an guage in which the ir Gospel s were written, but also in a mixture of Hebrew an d Aramaic, the Holy Fa the r noted. "In this way, the y have h an ded down not on ly the subst an ce but even the sound this prayer had on the lips of Jesus: We truly listen to the words of Jesus as the y were." The P on tiff explained how the prayer that Jesus voices is th...

On January 13, Pope Benedict XVI held his annual private audience with members of the Italian police force that serves at the Vatican. "Defending public order, especially in an area so heavily frequented by tourists and pilgrims from all over the world, is no simple task", the Pope acknowledging, thanking the police officers for their work. At the same time, the Pope said, the necessity for a police detail at the Vatican should not be seen as a burden on the secular government: The presence, both of the Holy See and of such large numbers of cosmopolitan visitors who come to be at the heart of the Catholic Church, is certainly not a problem for the city of Rome or for Italy as a whole; rather, it is a source of richness and a reason to be proud. Pope Benedict reminded the officers that the past year has seen an increasing incidence of violence against Christians. He seemed to be alerting his listeners of the need for vigilance, in case such v...

Pope Benedict said Jan. 12 that the economic crisis hitting much of the West is the result of self-centeredness but that it also presents an opportunity to reshape society. "The present crisis can, then, be an opportunity for the entire community to verify whether the values upon which social life is founded have generated a society that is just, fair and united," the Pope said Jan. 12 at the Vatican's Apostolic Palace. The Pope, as Bishop of Rome, was addressing the political authorities of the City of Rome, the Region of Lazio, and the Province of Rome during their traditional annual exchange of New Years greetings. Pope Benedict told them that it is necessary at this present time to "undertake a profound rethink in order to rediscover values which are the basis of a true renewal of society." This means not only promoting economic recovery but also "promoting the integral good of human beings." He proposed that the present ...

VATICAN CITY, January 11 (CNA/EWTN News) .- Pope Benedict XVI continued his series of reflections on prayer at his Jan. 11 general audience by explaining why the Eucharist stands at "the apex" of all Christian prayers. "By participating in the Eucharist we have an extraordinary experience of the prayer which Jesus made, and continues to make for us all," he said to the 7,000 pilgrims gathered in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall. Jesus offers us this prayer, he taught, so that "the evil we encounter in our lives may not triumph, and that the transforming power of Christ's death and resurrection may act within each of us." The Pope's reflections today were part of his ongoing set of discourses on prayer. He devoted his Jan. 11 words to explaining the deep significance of the Last Supper in salvation history, with "its overtones of the Passover and the commemoration of Israel's liberation." This connection is why the praye...

Secretary of Justice and Peace Council Comments on Benedict's Message By Mercedes De La Torre ROME, JAN. 10, 2012 (Zenit.org).- On the first day of the new year, in which the World Day of Peace was observed, Bishop Mario Toso, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, commented on the Pope's message for the Day, titled "Educate Young People in Justice and Peace." Bishop Toso pointed out that the Holy Father trusts young people, because they show hope and are able to receive God in the midst of human history. ZENIT spoke with the Salesian bishop, professor of social philosophy, former rector of the Pontifical Salesian University and Consultor for 20 years of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, about Benedict XVI's message. ZENIT: Why does Benedict XVI address young people in particular in this 45th Message for the World Day of Peace? Bishop Toso: Benedict XVI wished to address this message in particular to young people who...

Vatican City, Jan 10, 2012 / 03:27 pm ( CNA/EWTN News ) .- When Pope Benedict XVI creates 22 new cardinals next month, he will use a revised and simplified version of the ceremony to avoid any impression that becoming a cardinal is a sacrament. “The creation of new cardinals had to be inserted into a context of prayer, while at the same time avoiding anything that could give rise to the idea of a ‘cardinalatial Sacrament,’ the Office of Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff said Jan. 10. “Historically speaking, in fact, consistories have never been considered as a liturgical rite but as a meeting of the Pope with cardinals as part of the governance of the Church.” The chief modification to the ceremony that will take place in Rome on Feb. 18 is that three phases will now be combined into one: the imposition of the biretta, the consignment of the ring and the assignation of each cardinal’s new title. The Office of Liturgical Celebrations explained that...

Rimini, Italy, Aug 23, 2010 / 08:06 pm ( CNA/EWTN News ) .- Reflecting on where man's true satisfaction and fulfillment lies, Pope Benedict wrote last week to attendees at the Rimini Meeting in Italy. The "great things" for which man strives, the Holy Father said, can be found in God through prayer. The message from the Pope, transmitted in a note sent by Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone to Bishop Francesco Lambiasi of Rimini, was read at the end of the inaugural Mass for the "Meeting for Friendship Amongst Peoples." The week-long encounter is titled, "That nature which pushes us to desire great things is the heart." At the root of this title, observed the Pope, is the reminder of an "unsuppressible anxiety" in every man's nature which spurs him to find answers for his longings. "Every man," he said, "perceives that in the realization of the most profound desires of his heart he can find the ...

Vatican City, Jan 9, 2012 / 01:42 pm ( CNA/EWTN News ) .- Pope Benedict stressed the plight of persecuted Christians and other religious minorities in his annual address to Vatican-accredited diplomats on Jan. 9. “In many countries Christians are deprived of fundamental rights and sidelined from public life; in other countries they endure violent attacks against their churches and their homes,” the Pope reminded the 179 diplomats accredited to the Holy See from around the world, who were gathered at the Apostolic Palace. In his speech, Pope Benedict paid tribute to the slain Pakistani Minister Shahbaz Bhatti, a Catholic “whose untiring battle for the rights of minorities ended in his tragic death” in March 2011. But in bringing up Bhatti's murder, the Pope said he was “not speaking of an isolated case.” “In the past year religiously motivated terrorism has also reaped numerous victims, especially in Asia and in Africa,” he recalled, before stating that relig...

VATICAN CITY, 9 JAN 2012 (VIS) - This morning in the Sala Regia of the Vatican Apostolic Palace, Pope Benedict pronounced his traditional annual address to members of the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See. Before making his remarks, the Pope was greeted by Alejandro Emilio Valladares Lanza of Honduras, dean of the diplomatic corps, then received the greetings of the ambassadors as a whole formulated in a speech delivered by Jean-Claude Michel of the Principality of Monaco, vice dean. The Holy See currently maintains full diplomatic relations with 179 States, to which must be added the European Union and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. It also has relations of a special nature with the Palestine Liberation Organisation. Furthermore, the Holy See has observer-State status at the United Nations, as well as being a member of seven organisations and agencies of the UN system, observer in eight others, and member or observer in five regional organis...

"The Church, Thanks to the Word of God, Sees Through the Fog" VATICAN CITY, JAN. 6, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave today before and after praying the midday Angelus on the feast of the Epiphany. He also announced the names of 22 new cardinals. * * * Dear brothers and sisters! Today, on the solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, I ordained two new bishops in St. Peter's Basilica. So, please forgive me for being late. This feast of Epiphany is a very ancient feast, which has its origin in the Christian East and underscores the mystery of Jesus Christ's manifestation to all peoples, who are represented by the Magi who came to worship the King of the Jews newly born in Bethlehem, as we are told by the Gospel of St. Matthew (cf. 2:1-12). That "new light" that shone forth on Christmas night (cf. Preface for Christmas I), today begins to cast its rays upon the world, as the image of the star suggests, a cel...

January 5, 2012. (Romereports.com) (-ONLY VIDEO-) In 2005, World Youth Day was held in Cologne, Germany, where Benedict XVI set time aside to pray at the tomb of the Three Wise Men. During his speech, the pope talked about what really motivated their journey to Bethlehem. SEE FULL TEXT: “Why did the Magi set off from afar to go to Bethlehem? The answer has to do with the mystery of the "star" which they saw "in the East" and which they recognized as the star of the "King of the Jews", that is to say, the sign of the birth of the Messiah (cf. Mt 2:2). So their journey was inspired by a powerful hope, strengthened and guided by the star, which led them towards the King of the Jews, towards the kingship of God himself. This is the meaning behind our journey: to serve the kingship of God in the world. The Magi set out because of a deep desire which prompted them to leave everything and begin a journey. It was as though they had always been waiting for...

  Dear Brothers and Sisters! On the first day of the year, the liturgy resounds in the Church throughout the world with the ancient priestly blessing that we heard during today’s first reading: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace” ( Num 6:24-26). This blessing was entrusted by God, through Moses, to Aaron and his sons, that is, to the priests of the people of Israel. It is a triple blessing filled with light, radiating from the repetition of the name of God, the Lord, and from the image of his face. In fact, in order to be blessed, we have to stand in God’s presence, take his Name upon us and remain in the cone of light that issues from his Face, in a space lit up by his gaze, diffusing grace and peace. This was the very experience that the shepherds of Bethlehem had, who reappear in today’s Gospel. They had the experience of standi...