Pope Benedict's Easter Messages

The SJD reading group will not be meeting over the summer months, but we will have one final meeting on April 15th, 2012 to wrap up the year. We will keep it simple and read our Holy Father's Easter homilies and addresses (links below).  From his Urbi et Orbi ("to the city and the world"):

"Every Christian relives the experience of Mary Magdalene. It involves an encounter which changes our lives: the encounter with a unique Man who lets us experience all God’s goodness and truth, who frees us from evil not in a superficial and fleeting way, but sets us free radically, heals us completely and restores our dignity. This is why Mary Magdalene calls Jesus “my hope”: he was the one who allowed her to be reborn, who gave her a new future, a life of goodness and freedom from evil. “Christ my hope” means that all my yearnings for goodness find in him a real possibility of fulfilment: with him I can hope for a life that is good, full and eternal, for God himself has drawn near to us, even sharing our humanity."

Reading List:

• Easter Vigil Homily (Holy Saturday, April 7, 2012)
• Urbi et Orbi: (Easter Sunday, April 8, 2012)
• Regina Caeli:  (Monday of the Octave of Easter, April 9, 2012)
• Wednesday General Audience:  (Wednesday of the Octave of Easter, April 11, 2012)

Lent: The Lamb's Supper

The St. Juan Diego Reading group will be reading Dr. Scott Hahn's book, "The Lamb's Supper" during lent. One way we can "Live the Eucharist" is to spend time reflecting more deeply on the Mass and the Eucharist with Dr. Hahn's book. Deacon Paolo said this book is one of the reference books for Eucharistic Theology class at Mt. Angel Seminary. But don't let that scare you off, for as the book description says, the book is:

Beautifully written, in clear direct language, bestselling Catholic author Scott Hahn's new book will help readers see the Mass with new eyes, pray the liturgy with a renewed heart, and enter into the Mass more fully, enthusiastically, intelligently, and powerfully than ever before.

The following comes from the book description @ www.amazon.com

Of all things Catholic, there is nothing that is so familiar as the Mass. With its unchanging prayers, the Mass fits Catholics like their favorite clothes. Yet most Catholics sitting in the pews on Sundays fail to see the powerful supernatural drama that enfolds them. Pope John Paul II described the Mass as "Heaven on Earth," explaining that what "we celebrate on Earth is a mysterious participation in the heavenly liturgy."

The Lamb’s Supper reveals a long-lost secret of the Church: The early Christians' key to understanding the mysteries of the Mass was the New Testament Book of Revelation. With its bizarre imagery, its mystic visions of heaven, and its end-of-time prophecies, Revelation mirrors the sacrifice and celebration of the Eucharist.

Books - (recent price from amazon, $14.96)

• Web: www.amazon.com
• Local: Blessings from heaven (503-644-1814)
• Local: Our Lady of Peace Retreat House (503-649-7127)

Meeting time/location:

• We meet at PCC during ABC classes, from 10:30-11:30 AM on faith formation Sundays.
• See the schedule for meeting dates and times.

Questions? email sjd.reads@gmail.com

St. Jerome

From the Catholic Encyclopedia biography on Jerome... he was born about the year 340, and died at Bethlehem in 420. He went to Rome, probably about 360, where he was baptized. From Rome he went to Trier, famous for its schools, and there began his theological studies. Later he went to Aquileia, and towards 373 he set out on a journey to the East. He settled first in Antioch. From 374-379 Jerome led an ascetic life in the desert, southwest of Antioch. Ordained priest at Antioch, he went to Constantinople (380-81), where he befriended Gregory of Nazianzus. From 382 to 385 he made another sojourn in Rome. After Pope Damasus died in 384, Jerome was compelled to leave Rome, and by way of Antioch and Alexandria, he finally reached Bethlehem in 386. He settled there in a monastery near a convent founded by two Roman ladies, Paula and Eustochium, who had followed him to Palestine.

Readings

• Benedict audience on Jerome, part 1
• Benedict audience on Jerome, part 2

St John Chrysostom

Wikipedia has the following to say about this Saint, this Doctor of the Church, who is one of the Three Holy Hierarchs:

"Archbishop of Constantinople, was an important Early Church Father. He is known for his eloquence in preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of abuse of authority by both ecclesiastical and political leaders, the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, and his ascetic sensibilities. After his death in 407 (or, according to some sources, during his life) he was given the Greek epithet chrysostomos, meaning "golden mouthed", in English and Anglicized to Chrysostom.

The Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches honor him as a saint and count him among the Three Holy Hierarchs, together with Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzus. He is recognized by the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church as a saint and as a Doctor of the Church."

In the icon above of the Three Holy Hierarchs, St. John Chrysostom (middle) is commonly shown balding, with dark hair and a small beard.

Links:

• Catholic Encyclopedia entry on St. John Chrysostom
• Wikipedia entry on St. John Chrysostom

Readings:

• Pope Benedict's first audience
• Pope Benedict's second audience

Optional Readings:

• Homily 21 on Ephesians 6:1-3, raising a child.

• St. John Chrysostom, Baptismal Instructions, No. 6, p. 93, addressed to the neophytes in criticism of those who have abandoned the religious service and have gone off to the chariot races and the theatres.

• Background on public amusements in Constantinople, including the importance of chariot races at the hippodrome, p. 161-164, in the book St. Chrysostom’s Picture of His Age.  Chrysostom’s actual treatise Contra Ludos, and others, are hard to find online.

St. Gregory of Nyssa

Pope Benedict has the following to say about St. Basil's brother: 

Gregory of Nyssa had a very lofty concept of human dignity. Man's goal, the holy Bishop said, is to liken himself to God, and he reaches this goal first of all through the love, knowledge and practice of the virtues, "bright beams that shine from the divine nature" (De Beatitudinibus 6: PG 44, 1272c), in a perpetual movement of adherence to the good like a corridor outstretched before oneself. In this regard, Gregory uses an effective image already present in Paul's Letter to the Philippians: épekteinómenos (3: 13), that is, "I press on" towards what is greater, towards truth and love. This vivid expression portrays a profound reality: the perfection we desire to attain is not acquired once and for all; perfection means journeying on, it is continuous readiness to move ahead because we never attain a perfect likeness to God; we are always on our way (cf. Homilia in Canticum 12: PG 44, 1025d).




Readings

• Pope Benedict XVI first audience
• Pope Benedict XVI second audience
• On the Soul and Resurrection (optional)

St. Gregory Nazianzus

St. Gregory Nazianzus is venerated in both the Western (Catholic) and Eastern Orthodox Churches.  He is a Doctor of the Church in the Catholic Church.

In this Eastern Orthodox icon of the Three Holy Hierarchs, from the Lipie Historic Museum in Sanok, Poland, St. Gregory Nazianzus (right) is shown bearded with white hair.

The Eastern church calls him St. Gregory the New Theologian.

Readings:

• First Pope Benedict Audience
• Second Pope Benedict Audience
• Fifth Theological Oration (on the Holy Spirit) (optional)

St. Basil the Great

This icon shows "The Three Holy Hierarchs" of Sts. Basil, Gregory of Nazianzus, and St. John Chrysostom. which are venerated also in the Eastern Orthodox Church. Catholics consider each of these three these Saints Doctors of Church. St. Basil (left) is always depicted with dark hair and a long pointed beard.

The Catholic Encyclopedia entry on St. Basil opens with the following synopsis:  Bishop of Caesarea, and one of the most distinguished Doctors of the Church. Born probably 329; died 1 January, 379. He ranks after Athanasius as a defender of the Oriental Church against the heresies of the fourth century. With his friend Gregory of Nazianzus and his brother Gregory of Nyssa, he makes up the trio known as "The Three Cappadocians", far outclassing the other two in practical genius and actual achievement.





Readings:

• Pope Benedict XVI's first reflection on St. Basil
• Pope Benedict XVI's second reflection on St. Basil
• De Spiritu Sancto (Of the Holy Spirit) (optional)