Archive for February 22nd, 2008
St. Margaret of Cortona- Penitent
(1247-1297)
Margaret was born of farming parents in Laviano, Tuscany. Her mother died when Margaret was seven; life with her stepmother was so difficult that Margaret moved out. For nine years she lived with Arsenio, though they were not married, and she bore him a son. In those years, she had doubts about her situation. Somewhat like St. Augustine she prayed for purity—but not just yet.
One day she was waiting for Arsenio and was instead met by his dog. The animal led Margaret into the forest where she found Arsenio murdered. This crime shocked Margaret into a life of penance. She and her son returned to Laviano, where she was not well received by her stepmother. They then went to Cortona, where her son eventually became a friar.
In 1277, three years after her conversion, Margaret became a Franciscan tertiary. Under the direction of her confessor, who sometimes had to order her to moderate her self-denial, she pursued a life of prayer and penance at Cortona. There she established a hospital and founded a congregation of tertiary sisters. The poor and humble Margaret was, like Francis, devoted to the Eucharist and to the passion of Jesus. These devotions fueled her great charity and drew sinners to her for advice and inspiration. She was canonized in 1728.
He Who Hears You Hears Me – Basilica di San Pietro: Cathedra Petri
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The 110 wax candles used once a year to light up a sculpture behind the main altar in St. Peter’s Basilica have led some people to think the Vatican really has a feast day for a chair.Not that it’s just any chair, but the Feb. 22 feast of the Chair of St. Peter, Apostle has much more to do with the symbolism of a chair than with the chair itself.
“The institution of the feast clearly was not because Peter sat on that chair; rather the chair is a symbol of the fact that he sat here in Rome as bishop,” said Father Diego Ravelli, an official in the Vatican almoner’s office who is writing his thesis on the feast of the Chair of St. Peter.Father Ravelli said that already in 354 the feast was listed in the “Chronographia Romana,” a calendar of civic and religious observances.Adapted from an ancient Roman memorial service honoring the head of an important family or clan, he said, for centuries the feast celebrated “the beginning of the episcopacy of St. Peter.”
The pope’s role as servant is emphasized both in Bernini’s sculpture and in prayers for the feast day liturgy written after the Second Vatican Council, Father Ravelli said. While the Gospel reading for the Mass has remained the story of Jesus giving the “keys of the kingdom of heaven” to St. Peter, he said, the Vatican II prayers “focus on service, especially on serving the communion of the whole church.”
“The tone does not underline primacy, which remains part of it, but service,” he said.Bernini’s sculpture also contains both elements and can be interpreted according to one’s point of view, he said.The fact that it is a Baroque masterpiece exalting the chair on bronze clouds right below the Holy Spirit window can been seen as an expression of the royal, triumphant power of the papacy.In that case, Father Ravelli said, the chair is obviously a throne.
But while Bernini depicted Jesus handing the keys to Peter on one side of the chair, the presentation is balanced by the scene of the washing of the feet on the other side.The central scene, decorating the backrest, shows Jesus telling Peter that if he loves the Lord he will feed his sheep.
Bernini’s placement of two saintly theologians from the East and two from the West at the feet of the chair also is open to interpretation focusing either on power or on service, Father Ravelli said.While some would see the theologians in submission under the chair, he said, “the chair is not a weight on them, nor are they holding it up. They are drawn to it, gathered around it.
“To Father Ravelli, the chair is a symbol that the bishop of Rome’s key act of serving the church is service through teaching.”The pope has an obligation to teach,” he said. “Even for nonbelievers he is a point of reference on moral questions.”The 110 candles do not light up a king’s throne, Father Ravelli said, but a teacher’s chair.
read more:http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0600651.htm
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Mater Ecclesiae, pray for us
Podcast Retreat 40 days- Apostolate For Family Consecration
The Apostolate for Family Consecration Families helping families get to Heaven
40 Day Preparation for Total Consecration to the Holy Family starting Feb. 20 go to
http://www.familyland.org
and, as a very cool option, activate your free audio subscription to listen to all the texts on your computer or on youriPod or iPhone.
http://www.familyland.org/content/Content.aspx?CategoryID=706
This way you can take this consecration with you on the go.Let us call down God’s grace as we enter into this hidden home retreat to become fully consecrated to Jesus, through Mary, in union with St. Joseph.
Thank you and may God bless you,
To Jesus, through Mary,in union with St. Joseph,
Jerry ConikerPresident/Co-Founder with wife Gwen
Watch the Message of Hope Presentation and Dedicate Your Family to the Holy Family.
This step gives you the foundation to understand consecration through the “Message of Hope” presentation. It will help you to understand how consecration works and why it is so powerful and important for your family. It will also help consecrate your family.
http://www.familyland.org
Intro http://www.familyland.be/consecration/introduction.html
Enthronement of the Holy Family Video from Catholic Familyland
Ceremony Card (review a few days before the ceremony)
•Enthronement Ceremony Video (featuring Blessed Mother Teresa & Rosary w/John Paul II)
•Holy Family of Fatima 8X10 Portrait
•Certificate (for you and your family members to sign and frame when the enthronement is completed)
St. Margaret of Cortona- Penitent
(1247-1297)
Margaret was born of farming parents in Laviano, Tuscany. Her mother died when Margaret was seven; life with her stepmother was so difficult that Margaret moved out. For nine years she lived with Arsenio, though they were not married, and she bore him a son. In those years, she had doubts about her situation. Somewhat like St. Augustine she prayed for purity—but not just yet.
One day she was waiting for Arsenio and was instead met by his dog. The animal led Margaret into the forest where she found Arsenio murdered. This crime shocked Margaret into a life of penance. She and her son returned to Laviano, where she was not well received by her stepmother. They then went to Cortona, where her son eventually became a friar.
In 1277, three years after her conversion, Margaret became a Franciscan tertiary. Under the direction of her confessor, who sometimes had to order her to moderate her self-denial, she pursued a life of prayer and penance at Cortona. There she established a hospital and founded a congregation of tertiary sisters. The poor and humble Margaret was, like Francis, devoted to the Eucharist and to the passion of Jesus. These devotions fueled her great charity and drew sinners to her for advice and inspiration. She was canonized in 1728.
He Who Hears You Hears Me – Basilica di San Pietro: Cathedra Petri
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The 110 wax candles used once a year to light up a sculpture behind the main altar in St. Peter’s Basilica have led some people to think the Vatican really has a feast day for a chair.Not that it’s just any chair, but the Feb. 22 feast of the Chair of St. Peter, Apostle has much more to do with the symbolism of a chair than with the chair itself.
“The institution of the feast clearly was not because Peter sat on that chair; rather the chair is a symbol of the fact that he sat here in Rome as bishop,” said Father Diego Ravelli, an official in the Vatican almoner’s office who is writing his thesis on the feast of the Chair of St. Peter.Father Ravelli said that already in 354 the feast was listed in the “Chronographia Romana,” a calendar of civic and religious observances.Adapted from an ancient Roman memorial service honoring the head of an important family or clan, he said, for centuries the feast celebrated “the beginning of the episcopacy of St. Peter.”
The pope’s role as servant is emphasized both in Bernini’s sculpture and in prayers for the feast day liturgy written after the Second Vatican Council, Father Ravelli said. While the Gospel reading for the Mass has remained the story of Jesus giving the “keys of the kingdom of heaven” to St. Peter, he said, the Vatican II prayers “focus on service, especially on serving the communion of the whole church.”
“The tone does not underline primacy, which remains part of it, but service,” he said.Bernini’s sculpture also contains both elements and can be interpreted according to one’s point of view, he said.The fact that it is a Baroque masterpiece exalting the chair on bronze clouds right below the Holy Spirit window can been seen as an expression of the royal, triumphant power of the papacy.In that case, Father Ravelli said, the chair is obviously a throne.
But while Bernini depicted Jesus handing the keys to Peter on one side of the chair, the presentation is balanced by the scene of the washing of the feet on the other side.The central scene, decorating the backrest, shows Jesus telling Peter that if he loves the Lord he will feed his sheep.
Bernini’s placement of two saintly theologians from the East and two from the West at the feet of the chair also is open to interpretation focusing either on power or on service, Father Ravelli said.While some would see the theologians in submission under the chair, he said, “the chair is not a weight on them, nor are they holding it up. They are drawn to it, gathered around it.
“To Father Ravelli, the chair is a symbol that the bishop of Rome’s key act of serving the church is service through teaching.”The pope has an obligation to teach,” he said. “Even for nonbelievers he is a point of reference on moral questions.”The 110 candles do not light up a king’s throne, Father Ravelli said, but a teacher’s chair.
read more:http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0600651.htm
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )10th Anniversary of Pope John Paul II’s Historic Pilgrimage to Cuba
2/22/2008
“In effect, a little light can illuminate the entire house….” Pope Benedict XVI
Cardinal John Henry Newman
“O my God,
Save us from the seven deadly sins,
and rescue those who have been made captive by them.”
Dream of Gerontius
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/newman/gerontius/files/gerontius.html
see also:
Newman Reader
I have my mission, I may never know it in this life,But I shall be told it in the next.
I am a link in a chain,A bond of connection between persons.
I shall do good – I shall do His word.
Therefore, I will trust Him.
He does nothing in vain.
He knows what He is about;
He may take away my friends.
Podcast Retreat 40 days- Apostolate For Family Consecration
The Apostolate for Family Consecration Families helping families get to Heaven
40 Day Preparation for Total Consecration to the Holy Family starting Feb. 20 go to
http://www.familyland.org
and, as a very cool option, activate your free audio subscription to listen to all the texts on your computer or on youriPod or iPhone.
http://www.familyland.org/content/Content.aspx?CategoryID=706
This way you can take this consecration with you on the go.Let us call down God’s grace as we enter into this hidden home retreat to become fully consecrated to Jesus, through Mary, in union with St. Joseph.
Thank you and may God bless you,
To Jesus, through Mary,in union with St. Joseph,
Jerry ConikerPresident/Co-Founder with wife Gwen
Watch the Message of Hope Presentation and Dedicate Your Family to the Holy Family.
This step gives you the foundation to understand consecration through the “Message of Hope” presentation. It will help you to understand how consecration works and why it is so powerful and important for your family. It will also help consecrate your family.
http://www.familyland.org
Intro http://www.familyland.be/consecration/introduction.html
Enthronement of the Holy Family Video from Catholic Familyland
Ceremony Card (review a few days before the ceremony)
•Enthronement Ceremony Video (featuring Blessed Mother Teresa & Rosary w/John Paul II)
•Holy Family of Fatima 8X10 Portrait
•Certificate (for you and your family members to sign and frame when the enthronement is completed)
Immaculatae 
