CARDINALS SEND TELEGRAM OF GRATITUDE TO BENEDICT XVI

Vatican City, 5 March 2013 (VIS) – Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J., director of the Holy See Press Office, in this afternoon's press conference, gave updated information on the development of the General Congregations.

“On Monday afternoon from 5:00pm until 7:00pm,” he said, “the second General Congregation of the College of Cardinals took place, during which Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, OFM Cap., preacher of the Pontifical Household, gave the first of the meditations provided for by the Apostolic Constitution.”

“Additionally, a further five Cardinal electors who had arrived in Rome swore the oath: Cardinal Bechara Boutros Rai, O.M.M., patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites, Lebanon; Cardinal Joachim Meisner, archbishop of Cologne, Germany; Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, archbishop of Berlin, Germany; Cardinal Théodore-Adrien Sarr, archbishop of Dakar, Senegal; and Cardinal Dominik Jaroslav Duka, O.P., archbishop of Prague, Czech Republic.”

The cardinals are free to address the gathering, having only to sign up and then presenting in the order that they have signed in. Nine cardinals spoke and it was also decided that, on Tuesday and Wednesday, the Congregations will only be held in the morning.

Referring to the third Congregation that took place this morning from 9:30am until 12:40pm, Fr. Lombardi reported that two Cardinal electors—Cardinal Antonio Maria Rouco Varela, archbishop of Madrid and Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski, prefect emeritus of the Congregation for Catholic Education—and five cardinals who are over the age of 80 arrived and swore the oath. In total there were 148 cardinals present.

There were 11 speeches given by cardinals representing each of the continents and the topics discussed were: activities of the Holy See and its relations with bishops throughout the world; Church renewal in light of Vatican Council II; the Church's position and the need for the New Evangelization in today's world with its diverse cultural environments. Number 37 of Benedict XVI's Motu Proprio concerning the beginning of the Conclave was presented to the prelates but no decision regarding its date was made.

There was also a proposal, endorsed by the Particular Congregation, to dedicate tomorrow afternoon to prayer in St. Peter's Basilica. The Cardinal Dean, Angelo Sodano, will lead the prayers. This initiative will also serve as an invitation to the entire Church to pray at this important moment. The ceremony is open to the public so any faithful who so desire may attend.

In conclusion, the text of a telegram for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, which was signed by Cardinal Dean Sodano, was approved. It reads: “To His Holiness, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, Castel Gandolfo.”

“The Cardinal Fathers, gathered at the Vatican for the General Congregations in view of the next conclave, send you their devoted greetings and express their renewed gratitude for all your illustrious Petrine ministry and for your example of generous pastoral care for the good of the Church and of the world. With their gratitude they hope to represent the recognition of the entire Church for your tireless work in the vineyard of the Lord. In conclusion, the members of the College of Cardinals trust in your prayers for them, as well as for the whole Church.”

Fr. Lombardi reported that the preparations for the Conclave have begun in the Sistine Chapel so it is now closed to visitors. He also presented data on the media coverage of the events of the Holy See in these days: 4,432 temporarily accredited journalists have joined the 600 permanently accredited journalists. The more than 5,000 journalists represent 1,004 news outlets, 65 nations, and 24 languages

Pope explains St. Dominic's nine ways of prayer

Pope Benedict holds a general audience in August 2011 at the papal summer residence in Castel Gandolfo.

Castel Gandolfo, Italy, Aug 8, 2012 / 12:09 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- On the Feast of St. Dominic, Pope Benedict XVI praised the founder of the Order of Preachers as “a man of prayer, in love with God” whose nine ways of prayer are an example for Christians’ daily life.

St. Dominic, the Pope said, united the proclamation of the Gospel with “witness to a life of poverty.”

“In every moment, prayer was the force that renewed and rendered fruitful his apostolic works,” the Pope said Aug. 8 at his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo.

Prayer is the “origin of witnessing to the faith” in every aspect of life, he continued. The Pope stressed the need to find moments “to pray quietly everyday for our spiritual life,” particularly during vacations.

Daily prayer, he said, is “a way to help those who are near to us to enter into the luminous rays of the presence of God, who brings the peace and love that we all need.”

The Pope said St. Dominic showed great sociability during the day, but also showed great diligence in prayer at night. This practice reveals the saint’s “harmonious integration” of contemplation and apostolic work.

Pope Benedict then turned his attention to the saint’s nine ways of prayer.

St. Dominic prayed standing, while bowing to express humility, and while lying prostrate on the ground to ask forgiveness for his sins. He prayed on his knees in penance to “participate in the sufferings of the Lord.” He prayed with his arms open while gazing at the crucifix to contemplate God’s “supreme love.”

The Pope particularly lingered on St. Dominic’s final two ways of prayer: personal mediation and prayer while traveling.

In personal mediation, prayer acquires “a more intimate, fervent and soothing dimension.” After the Liturgy of the Hours and the celebration of Mass, St. Dominic “prolonged his conversation with God.”

“He lived these moments of his relationship with God so intensely that his reactions of joy or tears were outwardly perceptible,” the Pope said. Witnesses reported that the saint would enter “a sort of ecstasy” after which he would resume his daily work “recharged by the power that comes on High.”

St. Dominic’s prayer while traveling allowed him to “contemplate the beauty of creation” and sometimes caused him to sing a hymn of praise and thanksgiving to God.

The saint especially praised God for what Pope Benedict described as “the greatest wonder of all: the redemption accomplished by Christ.”

Turning work into prayer

By Lorraine Murray

Atlanta, Ga., Jun 30, 2012 / 01:00 pm (CNA).- Mention the word “work” and many people cringe. As for me, the moment I was old enough to wield a broom, I labored along with my mother and sister to get our Miami home into tiptop shape.

We scoured tubs, polished dressers, changed linens and tackled a pile of clothes waiting for the sizzle of the iron.

In high school I had simple jobs like babysitting and gift wrapping presents in a department store. In college, I waited tables, sold cosmetics door-to-door and tutored homebound children.

Next was the “real” world of work, which first meant being a college teacher, and eventually moved on to becoming the assistant director of a university publications office.

Unfortunately, as the years went on, the responsibilities increased, the stress levels became unbearable—and I found myself cringing as I drove into work each day.

I wish I had known then about a Spanish saint whose feast day is June 26. His name is Josemaría Escrivá, and he was born in northern Spain in 1902. He became a priest in 1925, devoting attention to the poor, the incurably sick and the dying.

A few years later, he had a vision of ordinary Christians doing everyday work and realized we can sanctify ourselves through our labor. He then founded the organization Opus Dei (the work of God) to help people find and love Christ in the context of everyday life. The author of seven books, he died in 1975.

St. Josemaría’s insights can help anyone struggling to find meaning in their work. Perhaps you are at home teaching your children, a demanding job indeed. Perhaps you are an engineer, an architect, a doctor, a laborer, a salesperson, a cook.

If we keep our hearts set on Christ while we work, says St. Josemaría, we can turn ordinary jobs into saintly accomplishments. This doesn’t mean winning gigantic honors but rather just doing the task well—and doing it for the love of God.

“Anything done out of love is important however small it might appear,” he says in his book “The Way.”

So many workers—and I was among them—while away their hours pining for the weekend. But St. Josemaría underscores that work is part of being human. After all, in Genesis we read that

“The Lord God took the man and settled him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate and take care of it.”

So even in paradise, Adam and Eve had jobs to do. They weren’t just lolling about in lawn chairs staring at the horizon!

Sadly, though, work that is done with little thought of God can be debilitating, demoralizing and depressing. It can lead to someone sitting in a lonely cubicle wondering, “Is this all there is?” That was a question I often asked myself at my high-stress publications job.

How I wish someone had answered, “No, there is much more!” You just have to realize that Christ is there in the cubicle with you. As St. Josemaría notes, God “waits for us every day,” whether we are in the shop, the classroom, the factory, the fields or the home.

In another book “Friends of God,” he writes,

“Our Lord wants you to be holy in the place where you are, in the job you have chosen for whatever reason.”

He emphasizes the importance of meeting our responsibilities and avoiding the temptation to do a shoddy job. As he puts it,

“What use is it of telling me that so and so is a … good Christian but a bad shoemaker?”

We really are not alone. God is watching us as we fold the laundry, fix the computer or fax the report.

“Since we are convinced that God is to be found everywhere,” St. Josemaría writes, “we plough our fields praising the Lord, we sail the seas and ply all other trades singing his mercies.”

And by offering the Lord our efforts, however mundane and menial, we can turn our cubicle into a chapel—and our work into a prayer.

Lorraine Murray’s recent books include “The Abbess of Andalusia,” a biography of Flannery O’Connor, and “Death of a Liturgist,” a mystery set at a fictional church in Decatur.

Posted with permission from the Georgia Bulletin, the official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Atlanta, Georgia.