Pope

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When will the papal conclave begin? Possibly between 9-11 March 2013, 10 days after Sede Vacante starts

http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/conclave-expected-to-begin-between-march-9-11/

Conclave likely to begin between 9 March 2013 and 11 March 2013 according to a Vatican official. Based on the Motu Proprio Normas Nonnullas released by Pope Benedict XVI to clarify and modify the rules of the Conclave as stated in the Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici Gregis, the Conclave can begin earlier than 15 days after sede vacante began.

However, the decision on the date of the beginning of the Conclave rests entirely on the College of Cardinals, who will decide in the General Congregation of Cardinals and other meetings that will begin today, Friday, 1 March 2013.

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The Ring of the Fisherman or the Fisherman’s Ring (Pope Benedict XVI’s ring as Pope)

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What is the Ring of the Fisherman? or also called the Fisherman’s Ring? and why fisherman?

This is because, Peter, the leader of the Apostles, whom our Popes are successors of, including our retiring Pope Benedict XVI, was once a fisherman at Lake Galilee in Israel. Then Jesus, our Lord, came and called him and his brother Andrew, to follow Him, and then He made Peter, a fisher of man, through His Church, which He entrusted to him to lead. This is why, the picture on the Fisherman’s Ring represents Peter as fisherman as seen in the image above. Also engraved is the regnal name of the Pope, Benedictus XVI in Latin.

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This ring was used in the past to seal important Papal documents such as letters and most importantly papal bulls. The seal used was wax seal, in which hot wax was poured and the ring is pressed onto the hot wax while it is still hot, and therefore, the image engraved on the ring, will be reflected on the wax seal, signifying the legality of the documents and papal bulls published, with the authority of the Pope, as successor of St. Peter and leader of the Universal Church, one Church of Christ.

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This ring, which symbolises the authority of the Pope, given to him at the Installation of the Pope (Papal Installation), is destroyed upon the Pope’s death, and in Pope Benedict XVI’s case, it will be destroyed after the sede vacante starts with a silver hammer in the presence of witnesses, to prevent any misuse of the Ring during the sede vacante to validate documents not released by the Pope.

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Live Now : Pope Benedict XVI leaving soon for Castel Gandolfo

Watch live at Vatican Player : http://www.vatican.va/video/

The event will begin on Thursday, 28 February 2013 at 4.45 pm CET (Central European Time or UTC+1), and therefore accordingly here are the times for some areas in the world :

1. PST (Western USA) (UTC-8) :Thursday, 28 February 2013 at 7.25 am

2. EST (Eastern USA) (UTC-5) : Thursday, 28 February 2013 at 10.45 am

3. UTC (GMT) : Thursday, 28 February 2013 at 3.45 pm

4. WIB (Western Indonesian Time) (UTC+7) : Thursday, 28 February 2013 at 10.45 pm

5. SG time (UTC+8) : Thursday, 28 February 2013 at 11.45 pm (also for HK, China, Philippines, and Malaysia)

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Pope Benedict XVI’s message at his last General Audience : St. Peter’s Square, Wednesday, 27 February 2013

“Like the Apostle Paul in the Biblical text that we have heard, I feel in my heart that I have to especially thank God who guides and builds up the Church, who plants His Word and thus nourishes the faith in His People. At this moment my heart expands and embraces the whole Church throughout the world and I thank God for the news that, in these years of my Petrine ministry, I have received about the faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and for the love that truly circulates in the Body of the Church, making it to live in the love and the hope that opens us to and guides us towards the fullness of life, towards our heavenly homeland.”

“I feel that I am carrying everyone with me in prayer in this God-given moment when I am collecting every meeting, every trip, every pastoral visit. I am gathering everyone and everything in prayer to entrust it to the Lord: so that we may be filled with the knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding in order to live in a manner worthy of the Lord and His love, bearing fruit in every good work.”

“At this moment I have great confidence because I know, we all know, that the Gospel’s Word of truth is the strength of the Church; it is her life. The Gospel purifies and renews, bearing fruit, wherever the community of believers hears it and welcomes God’s grace in truth and in love. This is my confidence, this is my joy.”

“When, on 19 April almost eight years ago I accepted to take on the Petrine ministry, I had the firm certainty that has always accompanied me: this certainty for the life of the Church from the Word of God. At that moment, as I have already expressed many times, the words that resounded in my heart were: Lord, what do You ask of me? It is a great weight that You are placing on my shoulders but, if You ask it of me, I will cast my nets at your command, confident that You will guide me, even with all my weaknesses. And eight years later I can say that the Lord has guided me. He has been close to me. I have felt His presence every day. It has been a stretch of the Church’s path that has had moments of joy and light, but also difficult moments. I felt like St. Peter and the Apostles in the boat on the Sea of Galilee.”

“The Lord has given us many days of sunshine and light breezes, days when the fishing was plentiful, but also times when the water was rough and the winds against us, just as throughout the whole history of the Church, when the Lord seemed to be sleeping. But I always knew that the Lord is in that boat and I always knew that the boat of the Church is not mine, not ours, but is His. And the Lord will not let it sink. He is the one who steers her, of course also through those He has chosen because that is how He wanted it. This was and is a certainty that nothing can tarnish. And that is why my heart today is filled with gratitude to God, because He never left—the whole Church or me—without His consolation, His light, or His love.”

“We are in the Year of Faith, which I desired precisely in order to strengthen our faith in God in a context that seems to relegate it more and more to the background. I would like to invite everyone to renew their firm trust in the Lord, to entrust ourselves like children to God’s arms, certain that those arms always hold us up and are what allow us to walk forward each day, even when it is a struggle. I would like everyone to feel beloved of that God who gave His Son for us and who has shown us His boundless love. I would like everyone to feel the joy of being Christian. In a beautiful prayer, which can be recited every morning, say: ‘I adore you, my God and I love you with all my heart. Thank you for having created me, for having made me Christian…’ Yes, we are happy for the gift of faith. It is the most precious thing, which no one can take from us! Let us thank the Lord for this every day, with prayer and with a coherent Christian life. God loves us, but awaits us to also love Him!”

“It is not only God who I wish to thank at this time. A pope is not alone in guiding Peter’s barque, even if it is his primary responsibility. I have never felt alone in bearing the joy and the weight of the Petrine ministry. The Lord has placed at my side so many people who, with generosity and love for God and the Church, have helped me and been close to me. First of all, you, dear Brother Cardinals: your wisdom, your advice, and your friendship have been precious to me. My collaborators, starting with my secretary of state who has accompanied me faithfully over the years; the Secretariat of State and the whole of the Roman Curia, as well as all those who, in their various areas, serve the Holy See. There are many faces that are never seen, remaining in obscurity, but precisely in their silence, in their daily dedication in a spirit of faith and humility, they were a sure and reliable support to me.”
 
“A special thought goes to the Church of Rome, my diocese! I cannot forget my Brothers in the episcopate and in the priesthood, consecrated persons, and the entire People of God. In my pastoral visits, meetings, audiences, and trips I always felt great care and deep affection, but I have also loved each and every one of you, without exception, with that pastoral love that is the heart of every pastor, especially the Bishop of Rome, the Successor of the Apostle Peter. Every day I held each of you in prayer, with a father’s heart.”

“I wish to send my greetings and my thanks to all: a pope’s heart extends to the whole world. And I would like to express my gratitude to the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See, which makes the great family of Nations present here. Here I am also thinking of all those who work for good communication and I thank them for their important service.”

“At this point I would also like to wholeheartedly thank all of the many people around the world who, in recent weeks, have sent me touching tokens of concern, friendship, and prayer. Yes, the Pope is never alone. I feel this again now in such a great way that it touches my heart. The Pope belongs to everyone and many people feel very close to him. It’s true that I receive letters from the world’s notables—from heads of states, from religious leaders, from representatives of the world of culture, etc.”

“But I also receive many letters from ordinary people who write to me simply from their hearts and make me feel their affection, which is born of our being together with Christ Jesus, in the Church. These people do not write to me the way one would write, for example, to a prince or a dignitary that they don’t know. They write to me as brothers and sisters or as sons and daughters, with the sense of a very affectionate family tie. In this you can touch what the Church is—not an organization, not an association for religious or humanitarian ends, but a living body, a communion of brothers and sisters in the Body of Jesus Christ who unites us all. Experiencing the Church in this way and being able to almost touch with our hands the strength of His truth and His love is a reason for joy at a time when many are speaking of its decline. See how the Church is alive today!”

“In these last months I have felt that my strength had diminished and I asked God earnestly in prayer to enlighten me with His light to make me make the right decision, not for my own good, but for the good of the Church. I have taken this step in full awareness of its seriousness and also its newness, but with a profound peace of mind. Loving the Church also means having the courage to make difficult, agonized choices, always keeping in mind the good of the Church, not of oneself.”

“Allow me here to return once again to 19 April, 2005. The gravity of the decision lay precisely in the fact that, from that moment on, I was always and for always engaged by the Lord. Always—whoever assumes the Petrine ministry no longer has any privacy. He belongs always and entirely to everyone, to the whole Church. His life, so to speak, is totally deprived of its private dimension. I experienced, and I am experiencing it precisely now, that one receives life precisely when they give it. Before I said that many people who love the Lord also love St. Peter’s Successor and are fond of him; that the Pope truly has brothers and sisters, sons and daughters all over the world and that he feels safe in the embrace of their communion; because he no longer belongs to himself but he belongs to all and all belong to him.”

“’Always’ is also ‘forever’–there is no return to private life. My decision to renounce the active exercise of the ministry does not revoke this. I am not returning to private life, to a life of trips, meetings, receptions, conferences, etc. I am not abandoning the cross, but am remaining beside the Crucified Lord in a new way. I no longer bear the power of the office for the governance of the Church, but I remain in the service of prayer, within St. Peter’s paddock, so to speak. St. Benedict, whose name I bear as Pope, will be a great example to me in this. He has shown us the way for a life that, active or passive, belongs wholly to God’s work.”

“I also thank each and every one of you for the respect and understanding with which you have received this important decision. I will continue to accompany the Church’s journey through prayer and reflection, with the dedication to the Lord and His Bride that I have tried to live every day up to now and that I want to always live. I ask you to remember me to God, and above all to pray for the Cardinals who are called to such an important task, and for the new Successor of the Apostle Peter. Many the Lord accompany him with the light and strength of His Spirit.”

“We call upon the maternal intercession of Mary, the Mother of God and of the Church, that she might accompany each of us and the entire ecclesial community. We entrust ourselves to her with deep confidence.”

“Dear friends! God guides His Church, always sustaining her even and especially in difficult times. Let us never lose this vision of faith, which is the only true vision of the path of the Church and of the world. In our hearts, in the heart of each one of you, may there always be the joyous certainty that the Lord is beside us, that He does not abandon us, that He is near and embraces us with His love. Thank you.”

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Silver Wedding Anniversary (25 years) of my parents : May God bless their marriage and grant them happiness!

Today, Thursday, 28 February 2013, will indeed forever be a memorable day to me. Since, as you all know, that today, is the day when our beloved Pope Benedict XVI will no longer be our Pope as he is stepping down to make way for his successor, whom he thinks will be more capable of handling the duties of the Papacy than him in his old age.

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Indeed, today in fact, will be memorable to me, because it is also the day of the silver wedding anniversary of my parents, who were married on 28 February 1988. Since then, their marriage, although has had its share of troubles, had been mostly happy and filled with grace. I hope that through me, God will always bless my parents.

It has not always been easy for my mother in particular, and for me to an extent, as my mother and my father were not bound by a Christian marriage solemnised with the Sacrament of Marriage, because my father is not yet a Catholic, until the moment I write this post. My mother had been fearful of going to the Church again since her marriage, as she was afraid of what my father would say or act. Thankfully, recently she had been more courageous to go to Church again after my continuous insistence and encouragement. Deo gratias!

Nevertheless, would it not be for my mother, who passed to me her old Catholic Bible when I was young, I may not be here today, and this blog would not have existed. I have to give thanks to her for bringing me up tirelessly despite the problems that I caused her from time to time. I do pray that my whole family will be brought together in Christ soon, that my father will finally be receptive to the Word of God and want to be baptised into the Church.

It has always been my wish that my entire family can one day pray together as one family, and sharing meals together, giving thanks to God for all the blessings He had given me and my family, and for all these 25 years my parents had been together. I cannot thank God enough for that, but that He keeps them safe while I am away overseas, is already great enough a blessing for me.

My mother does have her reservations, especially coming from a rather traditional Chinese family, but indeed gradually she is becoming much more receptive to my calling to be a priest. Mother, if God is willing, and if God calls, it is not for us to reject is it not? For if Mary obediently answer the Lord and gave herself fully to Him, that through her the salvation of this world came, so too even a Pope or Cardinal or bishop would not have been a Pope, Cardinal, or bishop had God not called him first, and had the family not been supportive, especially in prayers.

I do not deny that I do have the desire to be higher in the hierarchy of the Church, as human as I am, but all this is because, I love God’s people, and I want to be able to give myself more to them, to reach out ever more to them, but again, with greater mission, comes greater responsibility. First, is to be a simple priest, what next is for the Lord to decide for me. I am all yours, o Lord.

Therefore, I ask all of you, to pray for me, and my family, that first my parents’ marriage will ever be happy, blessed, and filled with love that is of God. And that God will care for them and bless them as they have blessed me all these while. Pray for me too in my journey, that I will be ever stronger in faith, stronger in love, and stronger in hope, and stronger ever in my dedication to serve God and His people, my brothers and sisters.

That when the time comes, my parents will be the one who will present to me my first chasuble, and hopefully then, my whole family will be able to receive Communion from me, and hence have been united with me in Christ. Pray too for our Church, that in these turbulent times, we will be able to receive a wonderful new Shepherd, filled with God’s Spirit and strength to lead the Church as Pope Benedict XVI had.

We pray for him too that in his prayerful retirement, he will help the Church to become ever holier and ever more powerful in its resolve to fight against evil and all the corruption it has wrought on this world. God bless us all, and God bless my parents and our Pope! Amen!

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Pope Benedict XVI’s last day as our Pope : Thursday, 28 February 2013

Today marks Pope Benedict XVI’s last day as our Pope, and the last day before the sede vacante begins, or the period when there is no successor of St. Peter the Apostle as the leader of the Universal Church. This period will last until a new Pope is elected by the College of Cardinals in the papal conclave.

 

The important events to take note of today includes (live from the Vatican from http://www.vatican.va/video/) :

 

1. Last meeting and farewell to the College of Cardinals at Clementine Hall (Sala Clementina) : Thursday, 28 February 2013 at 11.00 am CET (UTC+1) 

(10.00 am UTC, 5.00 am EST, 2.00 am PST, 5.00 pm WIB (West Indonesian Time) or UTC+7, 6.00 pm SG time (UTC+8)

 

2. Pope Benedict XVI leaves Vatican City for Castel Gandolfo on Thursday, 28 February 2013 at 5.00 pm CET (UTC+1)

(4.00 pm UTC, 11.00 am EST, 8.00 am PST, 11.00 pm WIB/UTC+7, and Friday, 1 March 2013 at 0.00 am SG time/UTC+8)

 

3. Sede Vacante begins on Thursday, 28 February 2013 at 8.00 pm CET (UTC+1)

(7.00 pm UTC, 2.00 pm EST, 11.00 am PST, Friday, 1 March 2013 at 2.00 am WIB/UTC+7, and Friday, 1 March 2013 at 3.00 am SG time/UTC+8)

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Wednesday, 27 February 2013 : 2nd Week of Lent (Scripture Reflection)

Today we again hear about the virtues of humility, and that humility is indeed not the symbol of humiliation, but rather, the symbol of internal strength and justification before God. We also listen today that as the ones who are faithful to the Lord and to His message, life will not be easy for many of us, as the world who hates Christ and His truth, the evil one who hates Him, will definitely also hate all of us, who believe in Him.

Then, through humility, we learn the value of service, to serve one another, following the example of Christ who led by example, the very example of His own life, that ended with His sacrifice on the cross, His ultimate service to all of us. He taught us that to be a leader, we have to render service to others, and ultimately to be responsible for the people entrusted to us. Such is Christ as the Good Shepherd showed His example to us, as a good shepherd lay down his life for his sheep. So too a leader must lay down his ego, and strive to work for the good of the people that he is the leader of.

It is always difficult to do good, to do charitable and loving acts in this world, as there will be many who will not be pleased at such acts, and there will be many who are against the Lord and His ways. But we have to persevere to do so, for the good of the people around us, and for the world itself, even if it hates us so.

Today, in his speech at his last General Audience with the public, our beloved Pope Benedict XVI has mentioned that although he will no longer be Pope, he will never abandon the Church, but rather he will continue in prayer and therefore, as we all should know, lead us in the spiritual battle against the evil one and his mischievous ways, through prayer. For indeed, a praying retired Pope is more powerful than even when he was still active as Pope and leader of our Church. Our Pope too, imitating Christ, in his great humility, has decided to step down, and therefore allow others who are more capable to continue the good works he had started for the good of everyone, especially that of the faithful in Christ.

Our Pope mentioned that although he stepped down from the cross that he has undertaken as our leader, he remains at the foot of the cross in prayer, to support the new Pope who will bear the cross of Christ, together with all the faithful. It is a symbol indeed of great humility, which we too can follow. Remember too, Christ who is divine, but yet lowered Himself such that He was willing to die on the shameful cross, only for the symbol of that shame to be transformed into the victorious cross. We, who are to bear our own crosses with the Lord, should therefore follow in our Lord’s footsteps, to carry our crosses in humility, in order for the burdens of our crosses to be transformed too, into the victorious cross.

But, we are not in this alone, for God walks with us, He who suffered through mockery, humiliation, and death for us. And remember too that all of us, brothers and sisters in Christ, walk together this path of faith, towards the Lord. The path will not be easy, and many challenges would await us, but if we stay faithful in Christ, and believe in one another, and most importantly help one another in our journey, and keep love at the centre of our being, we will prevail. The Lord too would not have prevailed, had He not, out of His infinite love for all of us, willing to continue, bearing the weight of all of our sins, through falling and rising, and through curses and lashes, towards Calvary, and from there towards salvation of all mankind.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, today, let us pray for ourselves, pray for one another, and also pray for our Pope, that together, despite all the sufferings and the obstacles laid in our path towards God, that we can stay together, help one another, and shoulder our crosses, that when the time comes, our burden and our shame will be transformed to that of the victorious cross of Christ, the symbol of salvation. Let us pray too that all of us will be able to embark on missions to reach out to others around us, to alleviate suffering from all, and to show love to all those whom we meet, even to those who hates us and wish for our destruction.

God bless us all, God bless His Holy Church, and God bless our Pope, Benedict XVI. Amen!

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Full video of the last General Audience of Pope Benedict XVI by EWTN

The full video coverage of the last General Audience of Pope Benedict XVI by EWTN, on Wednesday, 27 February 2013, 10.30 am Rome time at St. Peter’s Square.

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Reminder : Pope Benedict XVI’s last General Audience and farewell to public throughout the world

Pope Benedict XVI will preside over his last General Audience today, Wednesday, 27 February 2013, which will be held at St. Peter’s Square due to expected massive crowds that will come to say their farewell and thanks to our Pope who will be stepping down tomorrow at 8.00 pm. This will be his last public event as our Pope. So, do follow the event live and pray for him!

The event will begin at 10.25 am CET (Central European Time or UTC+1), and therefore accordingly here are the times for some areas in the world :

1. PST (Western USA) (UTC-8) : Wednesday, 27 February 2013 at 1.25 am

2. EST (Eastern USA) (UTC-5) : Wednesday, 27 February 2013 at 4.25 am

3. UTC (GMT) : Wednesday, 27 February 2013 at 9.25 am

4. WIB (Western Indonesia) (UTC+7) : Wednesday, 27 February 2013 at 4.25 pm

5. SG time (UTC+8) : Wednesday, 27 February 2013 at 5.25 pm (also for HK, China, Philippines, and Malaysia)

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Tuesday, 26 February 2013 : 2nd Week of Lent (Scripture Reflection)

Humility is one of the greatest virtues a Christian can have, and to be humble is one of the calling for us Christians, to accomplish. To be humble people of God, humbling ourselves before one another as brothers and sisters in Christ, and also humbling ourselves before God. In our humility, God will be able to find the true greatness in us, that is our faith, and love for Him. Pride often closes our heart to the Lord, and distance ourselves from Him, and we will be therefore judged unworthy.

It is in humility that we learn to be able to receive the love of God, and to also render forgiveness and justice upon others, since in humility, we realise our own personal weaknesses as human beings, as imperfect creatures that are bound to sin, mistakes, and faults. Therefore, if we humbly place ourselves, and act in humility and love, we will know that we too are just like others around us, who are our brothers and sisters, no matter our rank, our wealth, or our affluence. For everyone is equal in the eyes of the Lord.

If we fully realise the fullness of our weaknesses, our frailty, and our unworthiness before God, we will be able to act more justly on others, and to render loving acts and kindness to everyone, especially those whom we hate, who are less fortunate than us, that through these acts, they too can be transformed, from hatred into love, and from the poverty of the material, into the wealth of the soul. Why is this so? because we understand the nature of our frailty, our disposition towards sin and failures, that we will not easily mete out judgments on others, as we too have the same kind of weakness, and if we judge someone based on their failures, eventually, we ourselves will also be judged.

If we judge someone first, that someone will not look kindly upon us, and even may hate us. In doing so, not only that we have judged someone perhaps unjustly, but also may cause someone to fall into hatred and therefore sin. Instead, if we refrain ourselves from quick judgment and take the time to reflect upon our actions or possible course of actions, we will realise that the only way to end this endless cycle of judgment, hatred, violence, and more judgment is that to break free from it, through acts of love and justice.

Let us also in addition to that, also in humility, bow down before the Lord and wash ourselves away from our sins. Especially, in this season of Lent, which is perfect for this purpose, as we, through fasting, abstinence, and doing penance, can undergo a thorough spiritual cleansing and purification, to rid ourselves of the evils and faults that plagued us, and ensured that we are found worthy in the end, after a long battle with evil and sin, and the darkness and corruption they brought to our hearts, and to our minds. Let us also fill ourselves with love, and through that love, exercise loving acts, that all those whom we work on, will experience the love of the Lord, and therefore will also be called to salvation and purification of their sins through repentance, just as we are. That they all too may live!

Many will use the Gospel passage today as their main weapon to attack our Church mindlessly, as many literally interpret the Scripture so much that they lose the true meaning of the passage, and through their misunderstanding of the Church of God, they instead become the agents of Satan unknowingly in attempting to destroy and damage God’s Holy Church and God’s Holy people.

For indeed Jesus said that we should not call anybody in this world our father, Rabbi or Master, or leader, because indeed, we have only one such figure in all universe, that is God, God the creator, and God who saved us from eternal death, and brought us to eternal life through His Son, Jesus Christ. However, we understand that, as we know, our priests, whom we call Father, are called that because they are our spiritual fathers, just as we have our biological fathers who took care of our needs since our birth. And while biological fathers take care of our needs, our spiritual fathers ensured that we grew ever stronger in our faith and love of God. But most importantly, we call them so, because they are in representation of Christ Himself, in persona Christi, through the authority and power given to them through the Apostles. We call them Father ultimately not because we revere them as much as the Lord, but we revere the Lord through them, whom we call Father.

That is why, our Pope, whom we call Holy Father, while many will aggressively attack such a title, is nothing more than what I have mentioned. He, as the Bishop of Rome, as the leader of all the faithful in Christ, the successor of Blessed St. Peter the Apostle, to whom Christ entrusted His Church and all His ‘sheep’, is even closer in union with Christ, with God who is our Father. When we call the Pope our Holy Father, this is because we revere the Lord, our God, of whom the Pope is the Vicar, the representative in this world.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, if anyone would ever ask you the question, why you call your priests and so and so father, now you know how to answer them and enlighten them on the truth. That instead of succumbing to the evil one, we rise and fight against him, in the Name of God the Most High, our Saviour Jesus Christ. May God bless us all, that all of us may grow ever stronger in faith, in hope, and in love. That we can use this Lenten season to the best we can, to purify ourselves from our unworthiness before God, and to make ourselves ever closer to God, and help bring one another together closer to God. Amen.