meditations

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Monday, 10 March 2014 : 1st Week of Lent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 18 : 8, 9, 10, 15

The law of the Lord is perfect : it gives life to the soul. The word of the Lord is trustworthy : it gives wisdom to the simple.

The precepts of the Lord are right : they give joy to the heart. The commandments of the Lord are clear : they enlighten the eyes.

The fear of the Lord is pure, it endures forever; the judgments of the Lord are true, all of them just and right.

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart find favour in Your sight, o Lord – my Redeemer, my Rock!

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Seventh General Congregation of the College of Cardinals, and the Eighth (decision on the Conclave date)

During the Seventh General Congregation of the College of Cardinals this Friday morning, 8 March 2013, the College of Cardinals had accepted the letters of the two Cardinals who are unable to attend the Conclave due to health issue (Cardinal Darmaatmadja of Jakarta) and other reasons (Cardinal O’Brien of Scotland, UK), according to the provisions of the Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici Gregis and the modifications in the Motu Proprio Normas Nonnullas.

The morning meeting had also discussed the modifications made on the Article 37 of the Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici Gregis, which deals on the earliest starting date of the Conclave, which originally must be at least 15 days from the Vacancy of the Apostolic See, but then because the modifications made by the Motu Proprio Normas Nonnullas, which provided for a waiver of the 15 days waiting period, allow for an earlier start providing all the Cardinal-electors are already in Rome.

As all the Cardinal-electors are already in Rome, they can immediately decide on when to begin the Conclave, which is scheduled to be done and voted in the Eighth General Congregation on Friday afternoon. Fr. Federico Lombardi confirmed that the Conclave will not begin either tomorrow (Saturday) or Sunday. The Conclave is likely to begin either Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday (11-13 March 2013)

There will be only one General Congregation session on Saturday morning, that is the Ninth General Congregation of the College of Cardinals. The Cardinals too may go and visit (may not be all of them) their titular Churches in Rome (I will publish the list of the titular Churches for each Cardinals, and if possible, the addresses of each in Rome, in case anyone looking to meet any of the Cardinals in Rome for the Sunday Mass) for Sunday Mass to pray for the election of the new Pope and for the Conclave. Each of the Cardinals are given a titular church in Rome upon his appointment as a Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church.

Cardinal Prosper Grech from Malta, who is a Cardinal non-elector, will be the one giving out the second of the two meditations as mandated by the Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici Gregis, to be given out prior to the beginning of the Conclave.

18 Cardinals spoke in the morning meeting and several inteventions had also been made, on several issues from rules of the Conclave to other matters. Issues covered are bioethics, interreligious dialogue, collegiality, role of the Church in the world, in justice, and others.

A video is shown to the reporters during the press briefing by Fr. Federico Lombardi, head of the Holy See Press Office, on Friday afternoon, on the place where the Cardinal-electors will reside during the duration of the Conclave (currently the Cardinals are staying in different locations in Rome, but will move in to the place after the Conclave begins), which is called Domus Sancta Marthae, commissioned by the late Blessed Pope John Paul II, and was also used in the 2005 Conclave. Shown was the spartan but comfortable lodgings of the Cardinal-electors. The Cardinals will be assigned the rooms randomly.

Add : 220,000 people had ‘adopted’ a Cardinal through the Adopt a Cardinal website, and pray for them during this period.