2011, December 10. Tweets by Dom Odilo Scherer. * Cheer up you all! The Lord is close around! Cheer always in the Lord! Good day! Greetings and blessings to you all, dear friends! * On the Third Sunday of Advent, we today have in all churches and during all liturgy celebrations the collection for the National Evangelization Campaign. * The purpose of the collection is to arouse ever more in the faithful an awareness that they are all responsible for evangelization. * With the money collected the dioceses and the @CNBBNacional will support initiatives of evangelization in situations of special needs and urgency. * The people’s generous donation can be seen as a "homage" to the child Jesus, so that the Christmas message – of Salvation – arrives to all! * Your financial contribution is very important to announce Jesus! It helps the Church! Tweet today with the name #Campanha Evangelizacão. * Today I celebrate 100 years since the foundation of the Parish of Our Lady of Lapa. Afterwards, I will ordain Aliança deacons and priests in the cathedral. * They are not forgotten: We are in Advent. They do not lose this chance to prepare the ways of the Lord. They keep a Saturday blessed for God! 2011, December 7. Tweets by Dom Odilo Scherer. *Dear friends! I am thankful to you all for showing me your affection on the occasion of the celebration of 35 years from my priestly ordination! *I was very happy with the presence of the people and communities in the Mass today at the Cathedral. *It is a great joy to celebrate 35 years of priestly ministry during Advent time, while preparing to receive Jesus in Christmas. *Actually, the priests are those who in the first place must help the people to receive Jesus, not only in Christmas but during our whole lives! *So, they pray for priestly vocations! God keeps on calling men to lead the mission of evangelisation of Jesus in the world! *To those who have a vocation and to seminarians, do persevere in your calling! To be a priest is a very special gift from God. It makes people happy! It is worth the risk! *On the feastday of the Immaculate Conception, a dogma of our faith, Mary ever more leads us to perfection! God bless you all! Good night! 2011, December 7. Second 1. You have
undertaken the office of a Bishop, and now, seated in the stern of the
Church, you are steering it in the teeth of the waves. Hold fast the rudder
of faith, that you may not be shaken by the heavy storms of this world. The
sea indeed is vast and deep, but fear not, for He hath founded it upon the
seas, and prepared it upon the floods. Rightly then the Church of the
Lord, amid all the seas of the world, stands immoveable, built as it were,
upon the Apostolic rock; and her foundation remains unshaken by all the force
of the raging surge. The waves lash but do not shake it; and although this
world's elements often break against it with a mighty sound, still it offers
a secure harbour of safety to receive the distressed. 2. Yet although it is
tossed on the sea, it rides upon the floods; and perhaps chiefly on those floods of which it is said, The floods have lift up
their voice. For there are rivers, which shall flow out of his
belly, who has received to drink from Christ, and partaken of the Spirit
of God. These rivers then, when they overflow with spiritual grace, lift up
their voice. There is a river too, which runs down upon His saints like a
torrent. And there are the rivers of the flood, which make
glad the peaceful and tranquil soul. He that receives, as did John the
Evangelist, as did Peter and Paul, the fulness of this stream, lifts up his
voice; and like as the Apostles loudly heralded forth to the farthest limits
of the globe the Evangelic message, so he also begins to preach the Lord
Jesus. Receive to drink therefore of Christ, that your sound may also go
forth. 3. The Divine
Scripture is a sea, containing in it deep meanings,
and an abyss of prophetic mysteries; and into this sea enter many rivers.
There are Sweet and transparent streams, cool
fountains too there are, springing up into life eternal, and pleasant
words as an honey-comb. Agreeable sentences too there are, refreshing the
minds of the hearers, if I may say so, with spiritual drink, and soothing
them with, the sweetness of their moral precepts. Various then are the
streams of the sacred Scriptures. There is in them a first draught for you, a
second, and a last. 4. Gather the water
of Christ, that which praises the Lord. Gather from many sources that
water which the prophetic clouds pour forth. He that gathers water
from the hills and draws it to himself from the fountains, he also drops down
dew like the clouds. Fill then the bosom of your mind, that your ground may
be moistened and watered by domestic springs. He who needs and apprehends
much is filled, he who hath been filled waters others, and therefore
Scripture saith, If the clouds be full of rain,
they empty themselves upon the earth. 5. Let your
discourses then be flowing, let them be clear and lucid; pour the sweetness
of your moral arguments into the ears of the people, and sooth them with the
charm of your words, that so they may willingly follow your guidance. But if
there be any contumacy or transgression in the people or individuals, let
your sermons be of such a character as shall move your audience, and prick
the evil conscience, for the words of the wise are as goads. The Lord
Jesus too pricked Saul, when he was a persecutor. And think how salutary the
goad was which from a persecutor made him an Apostle, by simply saying, It
is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. 6. There are
discourses too like milk, such as Paul fed the Corinthians with; for they who
cannot digest stronger food, must have their infant minds nourished with the
juice of milk. 7. Let your addresses
be full of understanding. As Solomon says, The lips of the wise are the
weapons of the understanding, and in another place, Let your lips be
bound up with sense, that is, let your discourses be clear and bright,
let them flash with intelligence like lightning: let not your address or
arguments stand in need of enforcement from without, but let your discourse
defend itself, so to speak, with its own weapons, and let no vain or
unmeaning word issue out of your mouth. The full text of Letter II (31 paragraphs in all) can be
seen here. 2011, December 5. Blog by Cardinal G.F.
Ravasi. What does it mean to sin For all
our leaders who follow from far away, this is the Breviary published on
yesterday’s “Domenica del Sole 24 I knew it, to sin does not mean doing bad
things: / not doing good things, this is what to sin means. Certainly, a theologian might find exception to this couplet of Pier
Paolo Pasolini’s poem To Dad. This
does not in any way diminish its safeguarding an unquestionable truth, so
much so that Catholic morals have introduced the “the sin of omission”, which
at times could be as grievous as a “mortal sin”. It is the disregard with
which we get along our way, letting our neighbour stumble and fall. I would,
however, like to add a marginal note to Pasolini’s words. Undoubtedly, there
is no need to do bad things and one should avoid not doing good things; but
what is good should also be done well. Without any arrogance, fuss or
resignation: «If someone gives a penny to a poor man grudgingly and with a
heavy heart, this penny will burn a hole in the poor man’s hand, it will fall
and pass through the ground», Léon Bloy wrote. |
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