Pope

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Cardinal Angelo Scola, Archbishop of Milan : My personal choice as the next Pope

My personal opinion on who will be the next Pope? Cardinal Angelo Scola, former Patriarch of Venice and now the Archbishop of Milan. I have been watching his Masses and homilies at Youtube, and they were great. He does have the potential to be a good Pope.

http://www.youtube.com/user/itleditore (from the Archdiocese of Milan)

Nevertheless, it’s up to the Holy Spirit to decide who will be the 267th successor of St. Peter as the Bishop of Rome. We can pray now for the Holy Spirit to descend on all the Cardinal electors. May God be with them, especially during the Conclave session.

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A vision that I have for the future College of Cardinals : For Greater Representation and Universality of the Church

This is still updating in the view of more data and research

Curial Cardinals

1. Cardinal Secretary of State

2. Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith

3. Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches

4. Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments

5. Prefect of the Congregation for Causes of Saints

6. Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops

7. Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples

8. Prefect of the Congregation for Clergy

9. Prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and for Societies of Apostolic Life

10. Prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education (for Seminaries and Educational Institutions)

11. Major Penitentiary of the Apostolic Penitentiary

12. President of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura

13. President of the Pontifical Council for the Laity

14. President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity

15. President of the Pontifical Council for the Family

16. President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace

17. President of the Pontifical Council ‘Cor Unum’

18. President of the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People

19. President of the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Assistance to Health Care Workers

20. President of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts

21. President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue

22. President of the Pontifical Council for Culture

23. President of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications

24. President of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelisation

25. President of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See

26. President of the Prefecture of the Economic Affairs of the Holy See

27. President of the Governatorate of the Vatican City State

28. Archpriest of the Basilica of St. John Lateran

29. Archpriest of the Basilica of St. Peter in Vatican

30. Archpriest of the Basilica of St. Mary Major

31. Archpriest of the Basilica of St. Paul Outside-the-Walls

32. President of the Financial Information Authority of the Holy See

 

Non-curial cardinals (Residential)

Europe (Sees tied to the Cardinalate)

33. Metropolitan Archbishop of Vienna (Austria)

34. Metropolitan Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussel (Belgium)

35. Metropolitan Archbishop of Zagreb (Croatia)

36. Metropolitan Archbishop of Praha/Prague (Czech Republic)

37. Metropolitan Archbishop of Paris (France)

38. Metropolitan Archbishop of Bordeaux (France)

39. Metropolitan Archbishop of Lyon (France)

40. Metropolitan Archbishop of Rheims (France)

41. Metropolitan Archbishop of Tours (France)

42. Metropolitan Archbishop of Berlin (Germany)

43. Metropolitan Archbishop of Munchen und Freising (Germany)

44. Metropolitan Archbishop of Koln (Germany)

45. Metropolitan Archbishop of Paderborn (Germany)

46. Metropolitan Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest (Hungary)

47. Metropolitan Archbishop of Armagh (Ireland)

48. Metropolitan Archbishop of Dublin (Ireland)

49. Metropolitan Archbishop of Firenze (Italy)

50. Metropolitan Archbishop of Palermo (Italy)

51. Metropolitan Archbishop of Genova (Italy)

52. Metropolitan Archbishop of Bologna (Italy)

53. Metropolitan Archbishop of Milano (Italy)

54. Metropolitan Archbishop of Torino (Italy)

55. Metropolitan Archbishop of Napoli (Italy)

56. Latin Patriarch of Venice (Italy)

57. Metropolitan Archbishop of Vilnius (Lithuania)

58. Metropolitan Archbishop of Utrecht (Netherlands)

59. Metropolitan Archbishop of Warszawa (Poland)

60. Metropolitan Archbishop of Krakow (Poland)

61. Metropolitan Archbishop of Wroclaw (Poland)

62. Metropolitan Archbishop of Gniezno (Poland)

63. Latin Patriarch of Lisboa/Lisbon (Portugal)

64. Metropolitan Archbishop of Bratislava (Slovakia)

65. Metropolitan Archbishop of Ljubljana (Slovenia)

66. Metropolitan Archbishop of Barcelona (Spain)

67. Metropolitan Archbishop of Sevilla (Spain)

68. Metropolitan Archbishop of Toledo (Spain)

69. Metropolitan Archbishop of Madrid (Spain)

70. Metropolitan Archbishop of Valencia (Spain)

71. Metropolitan Archbishop of Westminster (UK)

72. Metropolitan Archbishop of Saint Andrews and Edinburgh (UK)

Asia  (Sees tied to the Cardinalate)

73. Bishop of Hong Kong (China)

74. Metropolitan Archbishop of Bombay (India)

75. Metropolitan Archbishop of Calcutta (India)

76. Metropolitan Archbishop of Delhi (India)

77. Latin Patriarch of the East Indies, Metropolitan Archbishop of Goa and Daman (India)

78. Metropolitan Archbishop of Ranchi (India)

79. Metropolitan Archbishop of Jakarta (Indonesia)

80. Metropolitan Archbishop of Semarang (Indonesia)

81. Metropolitan Archbishop of Ende (Indonesia)

82. Metropolitan Archbishop of Tokyo / Metropolitan Archbishop of Nagasaki (Japan)

83. Metropolitan Archbishop of Yangon / Metropolitan Archbishop of Mandalay (Myanmar)

84. Metropolitan Archbishop of Lahore (Pakistan)

85. Metropolitan Archbishop of Manila (Philippines)

86. Metropolitan Archbishop of Cebu (Philippines)

87. Metropolitan Archbishop of Davao (Philippines)

88. Metropolitan Archbishop of Lipa (Philippines)

89. Metropolitan Archbishop of Jaro (Philippines)

90. Metropolitan Archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan (Philippines)

91. Metropolitan Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur /Archbishop of Singapore / Metropolitan Archbishop of Kuching / Metropolitan Archbishop of Kota Kinabalu (Singapore and Malaysia)

92. Metropolitan Archbishop of Seoul (South Korea)

93. Metropolitan Archbishop of Daegu (South Korea)

94. Metropolitan Archbishop of Colombo (Sri Lanka)

95. Metropolitan Archbishop of Taipei (Taiwan/ROC)

96. Metropolitan Archbishop of Bangkok (Thailand)

97. Bishop of Dili (Timor-Leste)

98. Metropolitan Archbishop of Ha Noi (Vietnam)

99. Metropolitan Archbishop of Thanh-Pho Ho Chi Minh (Vietnam)

100. Metropolitan Archbishop of Hue (Vietnam)

North America (Sees tied to Cardinalate)

101. Metropolitan Archbishop of Toronto (Canada)

102. Metropolitan Archbishop of Montreal (Canada)

103. Metropolitan Archbishop of Quebec (Canada)

104. Metropolitan Archbishop of Guadalajara (Mexico)

105. Metropolitan Archbishop of Mexico (Mexico)

106. Metropolitan Archbishop of Monterrey (Mexico)

107. Metropolitan Archbishop of Leon (Mexico)

108. Metropolitan Archbishop of Acapulco (Mexico)

109. Metropolitan Archbishop of Tijuana (Mexico)

110. Metropolitan Archbishop of New York (USA)

111. Metropolitan Archbishop of Baltimore (USA)

112. Metropolitan Archbishop of St. Louis (USA)

113. Metropolitan Archbishop of Washington (USA)

114. Metropolitan Archbishop of Boston (USA)

115. Metropolitan Archbishop of Los Angeles (USA)

116. Metropolitan Archbishop of San Francisco (USA)

117. Metropolitan Archbishop of Philadelphia (USA)

118. Metropolitan Archbishop of Chicago (USA)

119. Metropolitan Archbishop of Denver (USA)

120. Metropolitan Archbishop of Detroit (USA)

Central America (Sees tied to Cardinalate)

121. Metropolitan Archbishop of La Habana / Havana (Cuba)

122. Metropolitan Archbishop of Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic)

123. Metropolitan Archbishop of San Salvador (El Salvador)

124. Metropolitan Archbishop of Guatemala (Guatemala)

125. Metropolitan Archbishop of Tegucigalpa (Honduras)

126. Metropolitan Archbishop of Managua (Nicaragua)

127. Metropolitan Archbishop of San Juan de Puerto Rico (USA/Puerto Rico)

South America (Sees tied to the Cardinalate)

128. Metropolitan Archbishop of Buenos Aires (Argentina)

129. Metropolitan Archbishop of Parana (Argentina)

130. Metropolitan Archbishop of Cordoba (Argentina)

131. Metropolitan Archbishop of La Plata (Argentina)

132. Metropolitan Archbishop of Santa Cruz  de la Sierra (Bolivia)

133. Metropolitan Archbishop of Sucre (Bolivia)

134. Metropolitan Archbishop of Aparecida (Brazil)

135. Metropolitan Archbishop of Sao Paulo (Brazil)

136. Metropolitan Archbishop of Sao Sebastiao do Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)

137. Metropolitan Archbishop of Sao Salvador da Bahia (Brazil)

138. Metropolitan Archbishop of Brasilia (Brazil)

139. Metropolitan Archbishop of Porto Alegre (Brazil)

140. Metropolitan Archbishop of Belo Horizonte (Brazil)

141. Metropolitan Archbishop of Florianopolis (Brazil)

142. Metropolitan Archbishop of Manaus (Brazil)

143. Metropolitan Archbishop of Cuiaba (Brazil)

144. Metropolitan Archbishop of Santiago (Chile)

145. Metropolitan Archbishop of Concepcion (Chile)

146. Metropolitan Archbishop of Bogota (Colombia)

147. Metropolitan Archbishop of Bucaramanga (Colombia)

148. Metropolitan Archbishop of Quito (Ecuador)

149. Metropolitan Archbishop of Asuncion (Paraguay)

150. Metropolitan Archbishop of Lima (Peru)

151. Metropolitan Archbishop of Trujillo (Peru)

152. Metropolitan Archbishop of Montevideo (Uruguay)

153. Metropolitan Archbishop of Caracas (Venezuela)

154. Metropolitan Archbishop of Barquisimeto / Metropolitan Archbishop of Maracaibo / Metropolitan Archbishop of Merida / Metropolitan Archbishop of Valencia (Venezuela)

Africa (Sees tied to Cardinalate)

155. Metropolitan Archbishop of Luanda (Angola)

156. Metropolitan Archbishop of Cotonou (Benin)

157. Metropolitan Archbishop of Ougadougou (Burkina Faso)

158. Metropolitan Archbishop of Douala (Cameroon)

159. Metropolitan Archbishop of Bangui (Central African Republic)

160. Metropolitan Archbishop of Brazzaville (Congo)

161. Metropolitan Archbishop of Kinshasa (Zaire)

162. Metropolitan Archbishop of Abidjan (Cote d’Ivoire)

163. Metropolitan Archbishop of Addis Abeba (Ethiopia) (Ethiopic Rite)

164. Metropolitan Archbishop of Cape Coast (Ghana)

165. Metropolitan Archbishop of Tamale (Ghana)

166. Metropolitan Archbishop of Conakry (Guinea)

167. Metropolitan Archbishop of Nairobi (Kenya)

168. Metropolitan Archbishop of Antananarivo (Madagascar)

169. Bishop of Port-Louis (Mauritius)

170. Metropolitan Archbishop of Maputo (Mozambique)

171. Metropolitan Archbishop of Abuja (Nigeria)

172. Metropolitan Archbishop of Lagos (Nigeria)

173. Metropolitan Archbishop of Onitsha (Nigeria)

174. Metropolitan Archbishop of Kaduna (Nigeria)

175. Metropolitan Archbishop of Kigali (Rwanda)

176. Metropolitan Archbishop of Dakar (Senegal)

177. Metropolitan Archbishop of Cape Town (South Africa)

178. Metropolitan Archbishop of Durban (South Africa)

179. Metropolitan Archbishop of Juba (South Sudan)

180. Metropolitan Archbishop of Khartoum (Sudan)

181. Metropolitan Archbishop of Dar-es-Salaam (Tanzania)

182. Metropolitan Archbishop of Kampala (Uganda)

183. Metropolitan Archbishop of Lusaka (Zambia)

184. Metropolitan Archbishop of Harare (Zimbabwe)

Oceania (Sees tied to Cardinalate)

185. Metropolitan Archbishop of Samoa-Apia (Samoa)

186. Metropolitan Archbishop of Sydney (Australia)

187. Metropolitan Archbishop of Melbourne / Metropolitan Archbishop of Perth / Metropolitan Archbishop of Brisbane (Australia)

188. Metropolitan Archbishop of Wellington (New Zealand)

189. Metropolitan Archbishop of Port Moresby (Papua New Guinea)

Eastern Rite Patriarchs and Major Archbishops

190. Patriarch of Alexandria of the Copts (Egypt)

191. Patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites (Lebanon)

192. Patriarch of Antioch of the Syrians (Syria)

193. Patriarch of the Greek-Melkites

194. Catholicos of Cilicia of the Armenians

195. Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans (Iraq)

196. Major Archbishop of Fagaras si Alba Iulia of the Romanians (Romania)

197. Major Archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly of the Syro-Malabars (India)

198. Major Archbishop of Trivandrum of the Syro-Malankars (India)

199. Major Archbishop of Kyiv-Halyc of the Ukrainians (Ukraine)

Total Sees tied to Cardinalate + Curial Cardinals = 199

Sees tied to Cardinalate (require resolution of problems regarding the Church in the area)

1. Metropolitan Archbishop of Beijing (China)

2. Metropolitan Archbishop of Nanjing (China)

3. Metropolitan Archbishop of Guangzhou (China)

4. Metropolitan Archbishop of Xi’an (China)

5. Metropolitan Archbishop of Changsha (China)

6. Metropolitan Archbishop of Pyongyang (North Korea)

Grand Total = 205 Cardinal electors minimal (Not counting irregular appointed non-bishop Cardinals, namely Cardinals appointed from priests, theologians, and distinguished members of the Church’s ordained presbyters)

Division by continents (minimum, as more Cardinals from dioceses/archdioceses not listed above can be created)

Europe = 42

Asia = 41

North America = 20

Central America = 7                        America total = 54

South America = 27

Africa = 31

Oceania = 5

Curial = 32 (can be from any continents, although majority will be Italians and Europeans)

(Total College size will be larger <= 350 if counting the Emeritus Archbishops of these Metropolitan Archdioceses and the Roman Curial posts’ Emeritus Cardinals above the age of 80 or non-electors). 

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Prophecy of the Popes by St. Malachy (No! The last one is not the next one, only God knows!)

To those who believe in the Prophecy of St. Malachy on the Popes :

Do not think that the next Pope will be the last one, since there is no number assigned to the last prophecy, and therefore there will be a number of Popes before the last one. After all, it is only God who knows the time, not us. To the Saint is revealed the vision of the prophecy, but the last was purposely made vague so that we will always be ready for the coming of the Lord, whenever it will be. God be with Pope Benedict XVI and his successors!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prophecy_of_the_Popes

In persecutione extrema Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae sedebit Petrus Romanus, qui pascet oves in multis tribulationibus : quibus transactis civitas septicollis diruetur, Iudex tremedus iudicabit populum suum. Finis.

(In the extreme persecution of the Holy Roman Church, there will sit (as the Bishop of Rome), Peter the Roman (Petrus Romanus), who will pasture his sheep in many tribulations : and when these things are finished, the city of seven hills (Rome) will be destroyed, and the ‘terrible’ Judge (Christ) will judge His people. The end.)

Even the last Bishop of Rome will likely face martyrdom for his faith in the Lord, from the enemies of His Church, in the command of the evil one, who are now increasing their attacks on the Lord’s faithful. Pray for our current Pope Benedict XVI, and whoever his successor as the Bishop of Rome will be. That our next Pope will be a great shepherd, a guide in our journey towards Christ, and a unifier of the Church!

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Friday, 8 February 2013 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Jerome Emiliani, and St. Josephine Bakhita, Virgin (Scripture Reflection)

We heard today of the tale of how St. John the Baptist was killed by Herod, out of Herod’s adulterous behaviour with his brother’s wife, and that wife’s hatred on John. St. John the Baptist, who had come before Christ to make straight the way for the Lord, met his death at the hands of the corrupt and immoral person who called himself the king of Judea at that time.

Who is John the Baptist? He is the cousin of Jesus, son of Elizabeth, miraculously conceived when Elizabeth was already old and barren, because the Lord desires that through her, a great prophet preceding Christ be born. St. John the Baptist indeed become the last prophet just before the coming of the Messiah, declaring to the world to repent and to be baptised at the River Jordan, in order to prepare themselves for the Messiah, who in fact at that time, had already walked on this world, in the form of Jesus, son of Mary, and Son of the Most High God.

John the Baptist’s call was heeded by many, who came to be baptised by John, and to truly repent from their sins. Nevertheless, the Pharisees and the scribes, just as they will later reject Jesus, they were also skeptical of John’s prophetic mission, and did not repent as many others do. But John managed to lay out the foundation for the later works of Christ and His disciples, just like a farmer plowing the soil preparing for it for the sower, who is Christ, who spreads the seeds on the plowed soil, fertile and ready, and thus are able to produce fruits hundredfold and thousandfold.

After Jesus was baptised by John, He arises in importance, which John in great humility said to his own disciples that just as the Lord for whom he has come to prepare the path for, is rising, he himself has to become lesser. His task in preparing the path for the Lord is complete, and in the last part of his life, which was told in the Gospel today, he was imprisoned for chastising Herod the king and his adultery with Herodias, his brother’s wife.

In ancient Jewish custom, this is actually not unacceptable for a brother to take care of a deceased brother’s wife, and take her as his own wife. Remember another story from the Bible, where the Saducees, who did not believe in the resurrection, asked the Lord about whose wife is the woman who was married to seven brothers, who died one after the other. Clearly, this custom is identified as the norm at that time, as the widow is perceived to be financially incapable of supporting herself, and therefore, it is justified for the brother to come in and take care of his sister-in-law by marrying her himself.

However, in this case, this is different because, just as Jesus later will stress, that marriage is a sacrosanct act, in which a man and woman is joined by God, and through God, this union, when made is eternal and cannot be dissolved by either man or even angels. For what God has made one, no man shall divide. This is the new commandment of the new covenant that Christ brought with His coming, and John, as the messenger of the Lord, did his last service to God by putting forward this teaching, against none other than Herod himself.

It is sad that today, many disregard the sanctity of marriage, and think that marriage is a trivial matter, and that divorce can be so easily contemplated and done. Divorce is something which should be avoided at all costs, as it directly violates what God has told us, that what He had brought together in marriage, which is a Sacrament on its own, no one, not even the husband and the wife themselves should divide back into two. It is sad that in our modern world, many take divorces lightly, and even marry again after the divorce. Many who did this, did so because they claim that they no longer love the wife, or worse that they have been tempted with lust and desire for another woman or man.

In order to maintain the sanctity of marriage, it is paramount that in the family, the faith in the Lord be kept strong, and that all actions should be carried out in love, and in accordance with God’s will. This is why it is important for couples and families, to come together and have meals together as best as they can everyday, so that they will stay close, despite challenges and temptations, and pray together, that the Lord will continue to bless them and strengthen their union, so that the evil one cannot come in between them and made them to decide to split.

Many couples are able to last for decades and many last beyond 50 years, and indeed, until death brought them apart, but not forever, since we know that we eventually will be reunited with the loved ones when we ourselves ascend to heaven at the end of our own lives. Indeed, their secret is no other than ensuring that couples constantly speak to one another from heart to heart, and coming together at all times, with their children, to pray regularly, to share the meal at the table. Remember that when more than two and three gathered in God’s name, He will be there, and will remain there with them, always.

Another story which I will bring to your attention, besides the already told story of John the Baptist, Herod, and Herodias, is the story of the divorces of King Henry VIII, the founder of the Anglican ‘church’ in his vain search for a male heir. King Henry VIII divorced his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, because she was not able to produce a male heir for him, although she did produce a daughter. His appeal to divorce her to the Pope was rejected, and King Henry VIII, displeased at the Papal disapproval went his own way and rebel from the Church, creating his own Anglican ‘church’.

St. Thomas More, King Henry VIII’s chancellor, refused to follow his king into rebellion from Rome, and chastised the king for his immoral behaviour in seeking to marry Anne Boleyn, who was to become the king’s second wife. He was asked to choose between loyalty to his king, and be given great wealth and influence as he always had before that, and thus even greater afterwards, or death if he remains faithful to the true Church. St. Thomas More abandoned all of his worldly wealth and fame, and chose to remain faithful to the Lord, and was therefore martyred.

Ultimately, King Henry VIII would kill Anne Boleyn after she herself failed to produce a male heir, and eventually married no less than four more times, with a total of having six wives and at least two mistresses, and all ultimately in vain, since even when there was a male heir, he died young, and the dynasty died out.

All that futile attempts was most damaging especially if we see how today, 80 million Christians who are in the Anglican Communion, are the direct product of this adulterous behaviour of King Henry VIII. This is an example on how if marriage is not kept as sacrosanct and indivisible in nature, not only it can affect just the two, but especially in King Henry’s case, it caused the destruction of the unity in the Body of Christ, that is the Church. Until today, we still pray and hope that all of them will eventually return soon to the true Faith and Church.

Today we also celebrate the feast of St. Jerome Emiliani, an Italian charitable man who cared deeply for the poor and orphans in early 16th century northern Italy, and died after in his pious work of service to the sick and the poor, he contracted a disease that killed him, and St. Josephine Bakhita, a Canossian nun, who was once a slave from Sudan, who after being freed from slavery, converted to Christianity and committed herself to the Lord by joining the Canossians as a nun. She was noted for her great faith in the Lord, and her dedication to Mary, His mother. She was also very much noted for her great heart and forgiving nature, seeking not revenge against her enemies, and even her former slavemasters, but rather seeking to forgive them and bless them instead.

Therefore, in the footsteps of these great saints, let us all strive, especially for those amongst us who are married, to keep our lives holy and meaningful, by doing what is good for the sake of others, just like St. Jerome Emiliani in service of the poor and the sick, by giving and sharing what we have more to those who need them more, and by our gentle and forgiving nature, following the example of St. Josephine Bakhita, who strive to keep herself pure and holy in the presence of God.

Let us pray also for the unity of all Christians, that especially for the Anglicans today, that their detachment from the Body of Christ that is the Church can soon be reversed, through our constant prayers to God, and through God’s actions, may the unity of the Church be restored. What damages King Henry VIII had done in his adulterous ways parallel to what Herod had done, in direct opposition to the Lord’s will on the sanctity of marriage, may we begin to heal through concrete attempts to reunite back the branches of the Body of Christ back onto its trunk, the Church.

Pray for us, St. Thomas More. And St. Jerome Emiliani, and St. Josephine Bakhita, pray for us all too. Pray for God’s holy Church that it will be one again, and indivisible, just like marriage, as the Lord has made His Church one, just like He and the Father is one and indivisible in the Holy Trinity. Amen.

+Ut Omnes Unum Sint+

(That they all may be One)

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Saturday, 2 February 2013 : Feast of the Presentation of the Lord (Scripture Reflection)

We remember today the day when our Lord Jesus, the firstborn son of Mary and Joseph, was presented at the Temple of Jerusalem to the Lord, just as the Lord commanded to the people through the Law. Christ is our High Priest, who offered Himself up to God, as a worthy offering for our sins, which is done once and for all at the cross, for our complete redemption and freedom from sin and death. However, earlier in His life, just days after His birth, Jesus was offered as the firstborn son, just like all other firstborn sons of the Israelites. Why is this so?

This is because, at the time when the people of Israel was still enslaved in Egypt under the rule of the Pharaoh, God sent Moses as His messenger to the Pharaoh to free His people and let them go to the Promised Land. The Pharaoh hardened his heart and punished the people of Israel because of what Moses told him of the Lord’s will. What happened next? The Lord sent ten plagues to punish Egypt for their treatment of His beloved and chosen people. The last of all plagues saw the death of all Egyptian firstborn sons, while the firstborn sons of the people of Israel were saved. The mark of the blood of the lamb eaten at Passover, which was applied to the door, became the symbol of salvation of the people of Israel.

Jesus, the Lamb of God, the High Priest, offered Himself as the Lamb of sacrifice, similar to the time of the Passover. His blood became the mark of salvation for all of us who believe in Him. Death and evil will have no more power over us, if we are saved by the blood of the Lamb of God. As the lamb for the Passover ought to be a young lamb, unblemished and perfect in appearance, so does when Jesus was presented at the Temple, Jesus was chosen to be that Lamb, the Lamb of God. For who else is worthy other than the Son of God Himself, who willed to come down and became human just as we are, that through His offering of Himself as the Lamb, He freed us from the chain of death. Just as Pharaoh refused to release the people of Israel from slavery and hard work, neither did Satan want to release us from the slavery of sin, which had subjected all humankind since the disobedience of Adam and his wife, Eve. But the Lord, in sending His Son to us, is sending Satan a plague and disaster far greater than that of the ten plagues of Egypt.

For through the offering of Himself, Jesus presented Himself as the worthy sacrifice, that released now not just the people of Israel, but also all mankind, and now not just to go to the Promised Land on earth, but now we are indeed free to embark on our way towards the Promised Land on heaven itself, with God as our Lord, while the old sacrifice did not free us from death, and the Promised Land of Israel as the Bible shows, is full of conflicts and destruction, especially when Israel disobeyed the Lord and turned their back on Him, preferring the pagan gods for worship instead of the Lord who had delivered them from the Egyptians; but now we have the Sacrifice, which we celebrate regularly through the Mass, when the Lord gave us His Precious Body and His Precious Blood, that we are in Him, and He in us, that all of us, are worthy of eternal life, and worthy of the Kingdom of God, where there is no more violence, no more death, and no more suffering.

Today, on this feast of the Presentation of the Lord, we especially pray for our priests, for all the bishops, and the cardinals, and our Pope, Benedict XVI. For today is the day most appropriate for prayer for all those who has given themselves to God, who has been consecrated to God, just like the firstborns of Israel, and just like Jesus Himself. For they have given themselves fully to God, embracing in full the depth of the love of God, and embracing His Church as their bride. For priests and all consecrated to God have dedicated themselves truly to God, just as Christ was, and they represent Christ Himself, or in persona Christi. It is through them, and through the divine authority given to them from the Lord, through the Apostles, and all the bishops of all ages, that in the Holy Mass, we have the very Sacrifice that the Lord made on the cross in Calvary.

For through our priests, the Lord gives us His Precious Body and Blood, turned from the bread and wine, for us to receive Him, that we also take part in our Lord’s Sacrifice, that freed us from all the chains of sin. No more will evil and Satan has any power over us. Therefore, today, let us fervently pray for all those consecrated to God, that they will stay faithful, and they will keep themselves holy and pure, to be worthy to God just as Christ, the perfect sacrifice and the Lamb of God once was. May God bless all our priests, and bless His Holy Church, with all of us His children. Amen.

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St. Agnes and the Blessing of Pallium of Metropolitan Archbishops

Today is the Feast Day of St. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr, whose name closely resembled Agnus or Lamb in Latin. Her martyrdom also represents the similar Sacrifice of our Lord, the Lamb of God on the cross. This is why this day is the day selected for the blessing of a special lamb-wool sewn shoulder-band like vestment, called the pallium, by the Pope.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pallium

What is a pallium? It is a woolen cloth, shaped like two connected Y-alphabets worn around the shoulders, and only worn by bishops possessing Metropolitan character (Metropolitan Archbishops), that is the authority over other bishops as overseers of particular Provinces of the Church, as the pallium signify this authority that has been given to them, and also represents the link that they have to the Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Christ, the Pope.

The pallium itself can also represent the sheep being carried by the shepherd, which represents us, the faithful, the sheep, being entrusted in the care of the Metropolitan Archbishop, who is the shepherd.

For those of us in Singapore in particular, and other Archdioceses directly subject to the Holy See (not part of any Provinces of the Church), our Archbishops do not wear this pallium, and the reason was noted above, as they do not oversee any other bishops in a Province of the Church. This is why, Singapore’s Archbishop, Nicholas Chia, do not wear a pallium, while the Archbishop of my hometown, Palembang, wears one, as he is the Metropolitan Archbishop of the Church (Ecclesiastical) Province of Palembang, overseeing the two Dioceses of Pangkalpinang and Tanjungkarang in the region.

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Pope Benedict XVI now tweets in Latin too! https://twitter.com/Pontifex_ln

Pope Benedict XVI tweets in Latin at https://twitter.com/Pontifex_ln

His main twitter account in English is at https://twitter.com/Pontifex

 

In total Pope Benedict XVI tweets simultaneously in nine languages :

French : https://twitter.com/Pontifex_fr

Arabic : https://twitter.com/Pontifex_ar

Italian : https://twitter.com/Pontifex_it

Polish : https://twitter.com/Pontifex_pl

Portuguese : https://twitter.com/Pontifex_pt

Spanish : https://twitter.com/Pontifex_es

 

I hope Pope Benedict XVI will soon tweet in Chinese and Tagalog as well! God bless our Pope and the Universal Church!