prayer

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On the Altar Crucifix, the Liturgy, and our Faith

http://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/details/ns_lit_doc_20091117_crocifisso_en.html

On the matter of the altar crucifix, which has bugged me for months now, can liturgists be empowered so that they can indeed persuade the priests, in coordination with the bishop of course, to put such a beautiful, reasonable, and meaningful arrangement? 

As altar crucifix is for the priest to use, and is no barrier to the faithful as many would have countered, and we should indeed glory in the cross of Christ, and not be ashamed at having it. The other, usually larger altar crucifix is for the rest of the congregations to see. Naturally, as in many post-Vatican II arrangements, these crucifixes are placed such that the priests can no longer see them.

It is crucial that everyone, and including the priests, focus their attention to the Lord, represented in the altar crucifix, as the interior alignment/orientation and condition of the priests are important in their celebration of the Mass, that their attention is not to themselves, and not to other things, but towards the Lord. 

http://www.hprweb.com/2012/01/cross-altar-and-the-right-way-of-praying/

In the old days, this is no problem since everyone is facing the Lord, but in our modern arrangement, there is no better solution than that of the “Benedictine” arrangement, by our beloved Pope Benedict XVI himself, that an additional altar crucifix should be used on the altar if the priests cannot see the large crucifix behind the altar intended for the congregation. 

http://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/details/ns_lit_doc_20110126_crocifisso_en.html

That this is the new “Ad orientem” (literally means facing east, as traditionally, Christians pray facing east, towards Jerusalem), which is indeed, facing towards God, in Jesus, for the people, and the priests (celebrant and concelebrants alike).

Similarly with the traditional 6 candles arrangement (7 for bishops), bowing at the Name of Jesus Christ, at the Incarnation moment of the Creed, and many others. There are meanings to all of these, and these are not just ornaments, but articles and things that can help deepen the faith of all who participate in the Mass, if the priests explain them clearly, and together, through the liturgy, our faith can only be ever stronger.

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Pope Benedict XVI’s latest and last Motu Proprio : Normas Nonnullas on the Papal Conclave (Updated)

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/motu_proprio/documents/hf_ben-xvi_motu-proprio_20130222_normas-nonnullas_lt.html

Pope Benedict XVI has published his last Motu Proprio concerning the rules of the Conclave as laid out in the Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici Gregis, by Blessed Pope John Paul II, to clarify and modify some portions of the rules to suit the developments in the current time, and to affirm the rules as written in the Universi Dominici Gregis.

 

1. Cardinal-electors that had been given the right to elect the new Pope and had been rightfully granted that right must not be deprived of his right to join the Conclave and elect the new Pope.

 

2. It grants the College of Cardinals more liberty in the date of the commencement of the Conclave, providing all the Cardinals rightfully given the voting rights and intending to attend the Conclave has been gathered in Rome, as opposed to the previous rule of compulsory 15 days between the vacancy of the See of Rome to the beginning of the Conclave. 15 days here should still be observed, but if the College deems it right for the Conclave to begin, they can do so. Thus, the Conclave can begin earlier than 15 March 2013 for this year’s Conclave.

 

3. The whole area of the Vatican City and the areas around the Sistine Chapel will be restricted during the period of the Conclave, to prevent any leakage of secrecy of the Conclave to the outside world. Especially the area from Domus Sancta Marthae where the Cardinals reside during the Conclave and the Sistine Chapel, where they gather and vote. Anyone breaching this rule, will be given latae sententiae (automatic) excommunication, which is more precisely mentioned than the previous rule, which only mentioned severe punishment. Latae sententiae excommunication is specified in the new ruling.

 

4. The oaths prescribed in the Universi Dominici Gregis, to be taken by every Cardinal-electors at the start of the Conclave. In addition, in the new rule, all those involved in the Conclave, also have to take the oath, not just the Cardinal-electors :

Latin : ‘Ego N. N. promitto et iuro me inviolate servaturum esse secretum absolutum cum omnibus quotquot participes non sunt Collegii Cardinalium electorum, hoc quidem in perpetuum, nisi mihi datur expresse peculiaris facultas a novo Pontifice electo eiusve Successoribus, in omnibus quae directe vel indirecte respiciunt suffragia et scrutinia ad novum Pontificem eligendum.

Itemque promitto et iuro me nullo modo in Conclavi usurum esse instrumentis quibuslibet ad vocem transmittendam vel recipiendam aut ad imagines exprimendas quovis modo aptis de iis quae tempore electionis fiunt intra fines Civitatis Vaticanae, atque praecipue de iis quae quolibet modo directe vel indirecte attinent ad negotia coniuncta cum ipsa electione. Declaro me editurum esse ius iurandum utpote qui plane noverim quamlibet eius violationem adducturam esse excommunicationis mihi poenam latae sententiae Sedi Apostolicae reservatae.’

English (rough translation) : ‘I, NN., promise and swear to keep inviolate the absolute secret from all those who are not participants in the (election of the Pope) by the College of Cardinals, even in perpetuity, unless expressly given me special permission from the newly elected Pope and his successors, in all things which are directly or indirectly concern the votes and ballots to the choosing a new Pope.

So again, I promise and I swear I am in no way, whatsoever, to the sound of instruments in the Conclave of sending or receiving, or would make use of to  represent the images in any way suitable at the time of the election are to be done within the confines of Vatican City on those matters which, in any way, and especially on those matters which pertain to the business of directly or indirectly linked to with the election. It is well explained and clear to me, who so obviously should know that any violation of his oath will lead to excommunication to me, under the penalty of latae sententiae excommunication, reserved to the Apostolic See.

 

5. That the new Pope can only be elected with secret ballot or scrutiny. No acclamation, no compromise, and no absolute majority (or more than 50% of votes) in the event of long conclave. This has been earlier abrogated by Pope Benedict XVI who reiterated the absolute requirement of at least two-thirds of all Cardinals’ votes for one to be elected a new Pope.

 

6. If the Conclave failed to reach conclusion after a period of time, a day of prayer and reflection, and contemplation should be included before voting begins again. Then in the next round of voting, only the two names with the highest number of votes in the previous ballot would be included.

 

7. The formula of the question by the Cardinal Dean to the newly elected Pope is affirmed :

 

Latin : Acceptasne electionem de te canonice factam in Summum Pontificem?

English : Do you accept the Canonical election as the Supreme Pontiff?

 

Latin : Accepto

English : I accept

 

Latin : Quo nomine vis vocari?

English : What do you wish to be called?

 

Latin : Vocabor X

English : I wish to be called X.

(X will be the regnal name, for example, Benedict for our Pope Benedict XVI)

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Pope Benedict XVI will always be with us, in prayer : A praying Pope is an even stronger enemy of Satan than before!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eKOW7GhNAM

Pope Benedict XVI, our Pope, who will retire from his position as our Pope effective this Thursday, 28 February 2013, will not leave us and will not abandon us. Rather, through life dedicated in prayer and good works through writing, our Pope will be a greater leader than he has ever been.

Even though we will no longer see him regularly as we could in the past 8 years, we know that he prays for us, and as our mediator with God. As the praying Pope in his retirement, he will be able to oppose Satan and his forces set to destroy God’s Church, even better. In prayer our Pope will give us strength and courage to rise up and crush Satan’s forces and his diabolical plans for this world.

Let us pray for our beloved Pope, Benedict XVI!

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Saturday, 23 February 2013 : 1st Week of Lent (Scripture Reflection)

God loves all, and He loves everyone, without exception. Not even the worst sinners can escape from His love. However, all of us, who truly love God in return, and keep His teachings and commandments, enjoy even greater love, and also He has made us His people, His children, and promise us every graces and blessings in our lives.

It is easy to love your friends, those who also love you, and your family, and those whom you know. It is easy to be with them and also live happily with them. But indeed, if we are all indeed called by God to be His missionaries to all the world, can we just stay content in being within our own sphere of safety? within our own comfort zone?

No! Indeed, as the Lord said to us, “Love our enemies” and “Pray for those who persecutes you”, we have to reach out to those who hate us, and especially to those whom because of the hate in our hearts, have hated too. It is natural for us humans to hate, as since the days of the fall of Adam and Eve, sin has entered the hearts of men, and therefore with it, came hatred, prejudice, and jealousy. It is natural for us to hate someone who hated us first, and it is natural for us to covet the possession of others, especially those who are more fortunate than us. However, remember that through our baptism in God, and through the Sacred Scripture that we read and listened to, we have all become the children of God, and have been made better than what our human natures allow us to be.

For as the children of God, we too should follow in God’s footsteps. No better example at this, that Christ, the Son of God, whose in His death throes on the cross, showed how great God’s love is to all peoples. For Christ Himself had said, “There is no greater love, than that of those who gave their life for their friends. To Christ, all of us are His friends, does not matter whether king or poor, big or small, saints or sinners. Even to those whom had handed Him the death penalty by shouting “Crucify Him!”, Christ also consider them as friends, and He gave His life for them. These were His enemies, but out of His great love, He forgave them, and asked the Father not to punish them, because they do not know what they were doing.

This was one example Christ gave why we should love our enemies. Not to die like Him for our enemies, but because, these enemies of ours are after all, also the children of God, whom God loves, despite of their sins, just like God loves us, despite of our sins. Therefore, we should love one another, even our enemies, that they too, may learn love, and in doing so, shed off their hatred and sinful ways, and join us in salvation. There are many who also persecute us, especially the faithful, as we have often heard happening all over the world. But how do we face this? Do we face them with hatred and more violence, or do we face them with love? with prayer? For if we face them with hatred, and violence, not only would they be condemned, but we too, since in doing so, we let ourselves fall to the snares of evil, and by bringing more hatred and violence, we prevent the works and love of God from being manifest.

Rather, let us indeed do what the Lord told us, to end the cycle of hatred, the cycle of evil, and steadfastly refuse the temptations of the devil. Bring back our separated brethren, who are separated from us by hatred, prejudice, and jealousy, and therefore, bring ourselves together into the Light, and made our world a better place, just as the Lord wishes for us, whom He loves dearly. Let us pray, that all of us will be strong, and will be able to carry out our mission, and in that mission, to reach out to those who hate us, our enemies, to be able to forgive them and the pains and sufferings they have inflicted on us, and to love all who had persecuted us. Let us make this world a better world, based in love, peace, compassion, and harmony, instead of hatred, evil, and death. Amen.

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Coadjutor Archbishop of Singapore, William Goh Seng Chye : Prayer and Reflection (by Singapore Pastoral Institute)

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/25230650/e-reflection%20ordination.pdf

(Note, you may need to install dropbox to view this file)

To share with you this file released by the Singapore Pastoral Institute with prayers for the soon-to-be ordained Coadjutor Archbishop of Singapore, William Goh Seng Chye. There is also a reflection on the nature of the bishop and his role in the Church.

Let us pray for our Coadjutor Archbishop, that he will grow ever greater in God’s love, and may he be strengthened by the Holy Spirit to carry out his mission as the shepherd for the Church in Singapore.

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Brothers and sisters in Christ, Life goes on : Let’s pray and continue our mission!

Brothers and sisters in Christ, life is still ongoing. Even if we are saddened by the resignation of our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, let us show him our support by continuing to do our mission in the Church, for the good of all.

Now that we are waiting for the new Pope to be elected, let us fervently pray that God will give us a great new shepherd to succeed our beloved Pope, Benedict XVI. May God bless all of us. Amen!

As I am currently studying Italian and Latin, I am also writing this in Italian too (below) for my revision. If there is any mistake, do notify me and correct me.

Fratelli e sorelle in Cristo, la vita è ancora in corso. Anche se siamo addolorati per le dimissioni del nostro Santo Padre, Papa Benedetto XVI, cerchiamo di fargli vedere il nostro sostegno continuando a fare la nostra missione nella Chiesa, per il bene di tutti.

Ora che siamo in attesa per il nuovo papa ad essere eletto, con fervore pregare che Dio ci darà un grande nuovo pastore per avere successo il nostro amato Papa, Benedetto XVI. Che Dio benedica tutti noi. Amen!

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When will the See of Rome become vacant around the world? Let’s pray then!

To all Catholics around the world, my brothers and sisters in Christ, the See of Rome will be vacant as of Rome time (CET/UTC+1), 8.00 pm on 28 February 2013, which corresponds to these times :

Los Angeles / PST / UTC-8 : Thursday, 28 February 2013 at 11.00 am

New York / EST / UTC-5 : Thursday, 28 February 2013 at 2.00 pm

London / GMT / UTC : Thursday, 28 February 2013 at 7.00 pm

Jakarta, Bangkok / UTC+7 : Friday, 1 March 2013 at 2.00 am

Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Beijing / UTC+8 : Friday, 1 March 2013 at 3.00 am

I do not think many will be awake or stay awake, or at work, and busy at this time, but if you are awake or available, let us make this hour an hour of prayer, for our current Pope Benedict XVI, his to-be-elected successor, and for the whole Church.