Oct 11th - Feast day of Pope John XXIII

Today is the feast of St Pope John XXIII, pope from 1958-1963, best known for convening the Second Vatican Council. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II on September 3, 2000. His feast is assigned to the day on which the first session of Vatican II opened in 1962. His feast is not on the General Roman Calendar, but can be celebrated locally.

• Bishop Barron's reflection - The Virtues of Saint John XXIII
• Previous posts on  SS102fm about Pope John XXIII here

Vatican Announces Feast Days of Newly Canonized Pontiffs

From Zenit:

The Feast Days of Saints John XXIII and John Paul II will be on October 11th and October 22nd respectively, the Vatican has announced.

In a decree published in today’s edition of L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican said Pope Francis had approved putting the saints on the Church’s general Roman calendar of feast days in light of "countless requests from every part of the world.” The decree, issued by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, stated they will be optional and not obligatory memorials.

Vatican watcher Sandro Magister notes that the saints will join fifteen other popes - in addition to St. Peter - mentioned in the calendar. Only four of these are an "obligatory memorial": St. Gregory the Great (Sept. 3), St. Cornelius (Sept. 16) and St. Leo the Great (Nov. 10). The only holy pontiff of the second millennium with a mandatory feast day is St. Pius X (Aug. 21).

New norms regarding obligatory and mandatory feast days were implemented in 2007 on account for the relatively large number of saints who are now celebrated in the Church.

Canonisations of John XXIII and John Paul II - UPDATED 1 - 4

While Rome may have been crowded last weekend for the Easter ceremonies with 150,000 people in St Peter's Square for Easter Sunday Mass with Pope Francis,  the expectation is that around a million pilgrims will be drawn to the Eternal City for next weekend as Pope Francis will solomnely declare that his predecessors Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II are among the saints. The coverage online is blanket but we will try to give you a flavour of some of the articles online. However if you want to browse yourself some of the best coverage is from the following sites:

• Salt + Light - website and Facebook page
• Vatican Radio - English Section Facebook Page
• Vatican Radio
• Word on Fire
• Rome Reports - we are big fans of Rome Reports on this blog and going back over the last three weeks RR have had a series of short videos on different aspects of the lives of both JXXIII and JP2; well worth a look.
• Irish Bishops Conference facebook page
• Catholic News Agency
• Catholic News Service

UPDATE 1: Official website for the canonisations

Starting off the round up of articles, Fr James Martin SJ poses the question - What is a saint?

Staying a bit more closer to home:

Over at America magazine, Loyola press have given permission for Fr James Martin's chapter on John XXIII from his book "My Life with the Saints" (a book that comes with a five star recommendation from the SS102fm team) to be published - Vicar of Christ.

St. John Paul II: The 20th Century’s Greatest Dissident

Blessed John XXIII: pope of hearts (Vatican Radio)

John Paul II: pope from a far away country (Vatican Radio)

Blessed John Paul II's Polish roots: courage and moral strength (Vatican Radio)

John XXIII: The accidental saint

The virtues of John XXIII

What the canonizations of Popes John XXIII and John Paul II tell us

SS102fm's previous blogs about these two saints HERE and HERE

Everything you need to know about popes and saints

Joint canonization encourages politicized Catholics to bridge divides

New papal saints have flaws as well as greatness

ICBC has a summary page of the canonisation process and the two new saints

Freedom Lived Nobly: The Social Magisterium of John Paul II

Holy Popes! Significance of the Canonization of John XXIII & John Paul II

Blessed John XXIII: Cardinal Loris Capovilla and the canonisation - Cardinal Loris Capovilla was for many years the personal secretary of John XXIII and recently wrote how this twentieth century Pope rather than arouse in us feelings of nostalgia should encourage us to look towards the future..

Becoming saints: Two popes who revolutionized Jewish-Catholic relations

UPDATE No. 2

The canonisation celebrations - Irish Catholic

Men of our time, for our time - Irish Catholic

Pius XII to John XXIII: A change in style - Vatican Radio

UPDATE No. 3



The Pope and I: Remembering John XXIII (Thinking Faith)

Pope John Paul II: Thinking outside the Church (Thinking Faith)

Discussions on the Pontificate of Blessed John Paul II (Dominicans Interactive)

UPDATE No. 4

John Paul II: tainted saint? - Irish Times

Proposer defends swift canonisation process of Pope John Paul II - Irish Times

The debate over canonizing two popes - John Thavis

John XXIII and John Paul II, ‘twin bookends’ of Vatican II - Catholic Comment

It is the person who is canonized, not every pontifical choice he made - Vatican Insider

The Process of Beatification & Canonization

Vatican issues official prayers to Saints John XXIII & John Paul II

Remembering John Paul II and the build up to the canonisations of John XXIII & John Paul II on April 27th

Nine years ago on April 2nd, John Paul II died. Do you remember where you were when you heard the news?

Over at Pilgrims Progress, Sr Louise recounts her memories of the events of that time and her meetings with John Paul II - Santo Subito! Remembering Pope John Paul II .

Excitement is building in Rome as we head towards April 27th and the double canonisation of Blessed John XXIII and Blessed John Paul II. Rome Reports is covering the build up.

 

 

 

 

Saints John Paul II and John XXIII

Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum......

(I announce to you a great joy....)

Readers of the blog will have noticed that we have been offline for a few days but by golly did the news out the Vatican brings us back with a bang yesterday! Fr Lombardi (the spokesman for the Vatican) must have had a reel in his head dealing the good news stories that came flowing out yesterday following on a week of horrendous tales about the Vatican Bank.

Pope Francis first encyclical Lumen Fidei (the light of faith) was published today. The first encyclical (letter) of the new pontificate is generally seen as scene setter for the new pope but this is the first encyclical where it is officially acknowledged that it is written by two Popes as Pope Benedict had most of it written before his abdication in February as part of the things being done for the Year of Faith. Some highlights of the encyclical can be read HERE, HERE and HERE and we will do a post on it during the week.

But the news that has grabbed the media headlines (and which is some great news!) is the decision to proceed with the canonisations of both John Paul II and John XXIII.

The official announcements and a round of excellent links are below (highly recommend Phil's over at Blue Eyed Ennis as she went thralling through the archives for some great links especially over at EWTN).

• Vatican Radio
• John Allens analysis - John XXIII, John Paul II to be canonized together and also Three things to learn about Francis from his sainthood surprise
• America magazine
• CNS
• Blue Eyed Ennis - Phil has out done herself with this round up of links to all around the web and wonderful quotes from these two new saints.

Previous posts on SS102fm about these two men:

•  SS102fm blogposts on John XXIII
• SS102fm blogposts on John Paul II

Rome Reports Coverage:

**********

But on a personal level the canonisations have brought up a few thoughts.

John Paul II was my Pope - in the sense that he ascended the throne of St Peter before I was born so he was the only Pope I had ever known before he died. I had been to WYD2000 in Rome and had been inspired by his talks and homilies in many ways. While I was too young to appreciate the impact this colossus had in the early 1980's on the world stage and against the fight against communism, the example of his last years where he offered to the world an example of the right of life from conception to a natural death and the value of all life was truly an inspiring period for many catholics of my own age and generation. But personally I thought the speed of his beatification and canonisation was too fast, too hurried for a man who had been the successor of St Peter for so long and whose legacy was so recent and still with us. It was not to say he was not a holy man, faith filled, but one can not look at the catholic church around the world and wonder about his legacy and the time we would need to read, understand and adjust to the many great teachings he had left us. There was a lot to be said for the old wait under canon law of fifty years before a cause for sainthood could be opened and the need for the Devils Advocate to test the case of sanctity and holiness.

John XXIII - Goood Pope John, the smiling Pope. Another example held up by many to us JP2 catholics of what an open and friendly Pope should be - not like the grinches John Paul II and Benedict XVI. I got tired of being told how great he was and how poor his successors were so I went exploring the writings of this man and indeed found a great teacher and humble servant of the people of God. But I felt the comparisions between the Popes and especially the constant harking on to an either/or "spirit" of John XXIII and the council he convened to be ill advised and some what childish. You hear many invoking the spirit of the council for many things, but for those of us who didn't live through it, like all the other and equal church councils before it, we cannot depend on this"spirit" but rather on the Spirit who inspired and guided all councils from Jerusalem to Trent to Vatican II and we must look to the actual teachings - what the councils actually said as to what we think they said - as we move into the future. The divisions and disunity following the council have divided the church since it was unleashed by John XXIII in 1962. But the smiling Pope was a man of vision and openness and heart who could not but be admired.

There are pro's and con's to the canonisations of both men. As John Allen has pointed out, these are the role models held up in our bitterly divided church from the conservative and liberal sides, yet to paraphrase St Paul - " I am for Christ!". We need to strive for a unity in faith and live out what was best in both of these humble men who are now given as examples worthy of imitation to the christian faithful.

At the end of the day, God creates his saints, the church only recognises them! As someone who longs for a via media in the church where gregorian chant and roman gothic vestments are not seen as a stark other to the simplicity of folk masses and ceramic chalices but rather each has a place and where we have diversity in unity, I welcome the canonisation of both these men trusting in the Spirit that guides our church and pope in making this infallible decision. Once more the church is setting before us two examples of what it means to be church not an either/or situtation but rather that in this universal family of faith there is room for many. And so, when the offical decree is read in St Peter's Square and Pope Francis gives his official assent, I will join with the Church Universal in singing a Te Deum!

Good Pope John XXIII - Updated

Blessed John XXIII, born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli died exactly 50 years ago on the 3^rd of June 1963, two months after the completion of his well- known encyclical ‘Pacem in Terris’.
 
Pope John, now blessed, was elected to the See of Peter on the 28 October 1958 at the age of 77 and was considered by many to be a sort of caretaker Pope. But as it happens he was a Pope of surprises and during his four and a half years as Roman Pontiff launched the Catholic Church into one of the most momentous epochs by calling the Second Vatican Council.
 
Beatified by John Paul II his memoria is celebrated on October 11th, the date of the opening of the first session of the second Vatican Council in 1965 which we are marking this year during the Year of Faith called by Pope Benedict XVI.

Vatican Radio articles - Blessed John XXIII: Pope of Hearts and Blessed John XXIII: Pope of Surprises

Pope Francis reflects on Pope John XXIII today when he met a group from the diocese of Bergamo where Pope John XXIII was from.

Papal encyclicals of Pope John XXIII which are still well worth reading today - Pacem in terris and Mater et Magistra

Fr James Martin reflects on Blessed John XXIII

Also courtesy of Rocco over at Whispers, John's most beloved of words: his Discorso alla Luna (the "Moonlight Speech") given on the evening of 11 October 1962, to a torchlight vigil that gathered below the Apartment window at the end of the day on which he opened the Second Vatican Council.....






“Dear sons and daughters,
 
I hear your voices! Mine is just one lone voice, but it sums up the voice of the whole world. And here, in fact, all the world is represented here tonight. It could even be said that even the moon hastens close tonight, that from above, it might watch this spectacle that not even St Peter's Basilica, over its four centuries of history, has ever been able to witness.

We ask for a great day of peace. Yes, of peace! 'Glory to God, and peace to men of goodwill.'' If I asked you, if I could ask of each one of you: where are you from? The children of Rome, especially represented here, would respond: ah, we are the closest of children, and you're our bishop. Well, then, sons and daughters of Rome, always remember that you represent 'Roma, caput mundi' ['Rome, the capital of the world'] which through the design of Providence it has been called to be across the centuries.
My own person counts for nothing -- it's a brother who speaks to you, become a father by the will of our Lord, but all together, fatherhood and brotherhood and God's grace, give honor to the impressions of this night, which are always our feelings, which now we express before heaven and earth: faith, hope, love -- love of God, love of brother, all aided along the way in the Lord's holy peace for the work of the good. And so, let us continue to love each other, to look out for each other along the way: to welcome whoever comes close to us, and set aside whatever difficulty it might bring....

When you head home, find your children. Hug and kiss your children and tell them: 'This is the hug and kiss of the Pope.' And when you find them with tears to dry, give them a good word. Give anyone who suffers a word of comfort. Tell them 'The Pope is with us especially in our times of sadness and bitterness.'

And then, all together, may we always come alive -- whether to sing, to breathe, or to cry, but always full of trust in Christ, who helps us and hears us, let us continue along our path.”

UPDATE:

2nd October - Feast of the Guardian Angels

 

No evil shall befall you, nor shall affliction come near your tent, for to His Angels God has given command about you, that they guard you in all your ways. Upon their hands they will bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.             

(Psalm 91: 10-12)

 

Angel of God
My guardian dear
To Whom His love
Commits me here
Ever this day
Be at my side
To light and guard
To rule and guide.

Amen

Perhaps no aspect of Catholic piety is as comforting to parents as the belief that an angel protects their little ones from dangers real and imagined. Yet guardian angels are not just for children. Their role is to represent individuals before God, to watch over them always, to aid their prayer and to present their souls to God at death.

Other resources and reading HERE, HERE and HERE.

Other prayers including prayers of Mothers to their children's guardian angels available HERE.


Pope John XXIII - Meditation for the Feast of the Guardian Angels - 2 October 1959

According to the teaching of the Roman catechism, we must remember how admirable was the intention of divine Providence in entrusting to the angels the mission of watching over all mankind, and over individual human beings, lest they should fall victims to the grave dangers which they encounter. In this earthly life, when children have to make their way along a path beset with obstacles and snares, their fathers take care to call upon the help of those who can look after them and come to their aid in adversity. In the same way our Father in heaven has charged his angels to come to our assistance during our earthly journey which leads us to our blessed fatherland, so that, protected by the angels' help and care, we may avoid the snares upon our path, subdue our passions and, under this angelic guidance, follow always the straight and sure road which leads to Paradise...

Everyone of us is entrusted to the care of an angel.

That is why we must have a lively and profound devotion to our own Guardian Angel, and why we should often and trustfully repeat the dear prayer we were taught in the days of our childhood.

May we never fail in this devotion to the angels! During our earthly pilgrimage we may often run the risk of having to face the natural elements in turmoil, or the wrath of men who may seek to do us harm. But our Guardian Angel is always present. Let us never forget him and always remember to pray to him.

St Joseph the Worker

Prayer composed by Blessed Pope John XXIII (1958-63). It places all workers under the patronage of St. Joseph the Worker, and asks for his intercession so that we may regard our work as a means of growing in holiness.

A Prayer for Workers

O glorious Joseph! Who concealed your incomparable and regal dignity of custodian of Jesus and of the Virgin Mary under the humble appearance of a craftsman and provided for them with your work, protect with loving power your sons, especially entrusted to you.

You know their anxieties and sufferings, because you yourself experienced them at the side of Jesus and of His Mother. Do not allow them, oppressed by so many worries, to forget the purpose for which they were created by God. Do not allow the seeds of distrust to take hold of their immortal souls. Remind all the workers that in the fields, in factories, in mines, and in scientific laboratories, they are not working, rejoicing, or suffering alone, but at their side is Jesus, with Mary, His Mother and ours, to sustain them, to dry the sweat of their brow, giving value to their toil. Teach them to turn work into a very high instrument of sanctification as you did.   

Amen.

From About.com Guide:

May 1 has long been celebrated as "May Day," a holiday dedicated to laborers. For many years, May Day was associated with socialism and communism, and the Soviet Union and other Eastern Bloc countries held massive rallies and parades to mark the day.

The religious significance of May Day is less well known. In 1955, Pope Pius XII designated May 1 as the Feast of Saint Joseph the Worker. A staunch anticommunist, Pope Pius wanted to stress the Christian dimension of labor and hoped that the feast would draw attention to the Church's social teaching, which has been critical of the exploitation of workers under both communism and capitalism.

With the revision of the Catholic calendar after Vatican II, the Feast of Saint Joseph the Worker was made an optional memorial. While the celebration is less public, devotion to Saint Joseph the Worker continues.

• St Joseph is remembered as the foster father and protector of Jesus and his mother and are often held up as a model of Christian family life. But sometimes it is good to remember that they were the holy dysfunction family of Nazareth.
• Saint of the Day from St Anthony Messenger Press
• Blue Eyed Ennis has a round up of reflections, video's, articles and poetry to mark the day.
• A short reflection on Saint Joseph the Betrothed from the Orthodox Church in America
• Other posts on St Joseph from Sacred Space 102fm

I was in prison and you came to me" (Matthew 25:36).

 Pope Benedict to prisoners: I carry you all in my heart before the Lord

Good Pope John XXIII at Christmas 1958 revived the custom, which had lapsed in 1870, of visiting the Regina Coeli prison and one of the local hospitals for children suffering from polio, where he was greeted like a kindly grandfather ('Viene qui, viene qui, Papa') they shouted to him. The Pope waddled over to the children and embraced each of them. On he next day when he went to Regina Coeli prison, he told the prisoners, "You could not come to me, so I came to see you".

Continuing the tradition of visiting all members of the flock of the diocese of Rome, Pope Benedict XVI spent an hour visiting Rebibbia prison in Rome on Sunday 18th December 2011.

While visiting at the prison  Pope Benedict reminded the inmates that they are never alone in their suffering: “I have come to tell you simply that God loves you with infinite love, and you are always the same children of God. The only-begotten Son of God, The Lord Jesus, experienced prison, He was subjected to trial before a court and suffered the most cruel death sentence”.

Following his address, Pope Benedict spent time listening and responding to some prisoners questions. An Italian man Rocco asked if the Holy Father’s gesture would also be recognised by political leaders in its simplicity, so that dignity be restored to all, including detainees. The Pope replied that while his visit is of a personal nature aimed at showing the men and women of Rebibbia his genuine concern for them, it is also a public gesture to draw attention to the problems and difficulties of Italian prisons.

For full details of his address at the prison, go to Vatican Radio Report

 

11th October - Good Pope John XXIII

A reminder from Catholic Culture:

Today is the feast of Blessed John XXIII, pope from 1958-1963, best known for convening the Second Vatican Council. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II on September 3, 2000. His feast is assigned to the day on which the first session of Vatican II opened in 1962. His feast is not on the General Roman Calendar, but can be celebrated locally.

"Everyone remembers the image of Pope John's smiling face and two outstretched arms embracing the whole world. How many people were won over by his simplicity of heart, combined with a broad experience of people and things! The breath of newness he brought certainly did not concern doctrine, but rather the way to explain it; his style of speaking and acting was new, as was his friendly approach to ordinary people and to the powerful of the world. It was in this spirit that he called the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, thereby turning a new page in the Church's history Christians heard themselves called to proclaim the Gospel with renewed courage and greater attentiveness to the "signs" of the times. The Council was a truly prophetic insight of this elderly Pontiff who, even amid many difficulties, opened a season of hope for Christians and for humanity. In the last moments of his earthly life, he entrusted his testament to the Church: "What counts the most in life is blessed Jesus Christ, his holy Church, his Gospel, truth and goodness". -- John Paul II          

To read about the life of Pope John XXIII and to read his writings and encyclicals 


"Consult not your fears but your hopes and dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what is still possible for you to do". - Pope John XXIII 

From Rocco over at Whispers in the Loggia he gives us one of Pope John XXIII famous speeches to the people of Rome called the "Discourse under the Moon" delivered by Papa Roncalli spontaneously from his apartment window following a torchlight prayer-vigil for the Council's success.

[Translation:]

“Dear sons and daughters,

I feel your voices! Mine is just one lone voice, but it sums up the voice of the whole world.

And here, in fact, all the world is represented here tonight. It could even be said that even the moon hastens close tonight, that from above, it might watch this spectacle that not even St Peter's Basilica, over its four centuries of history, has ever been able to witness.

We ask for a great day of peace. Yes, of peace! 'Glory to God, and peace to men of goodwill.'' If I asked you, if I could ask of each one of you: where are you from? The children of Rome, especially represented here, would respond: ah, we are the closest of children, and you're our bishop. Well, then, sons and daughters of Rome, always remember that you represent 'Roma, caput mundi' ['Rome, the capital of the world'] which through the design of Providence it has been called to be across the centuries.

My own person counts for nothing -- it's a brother who speaks to you, become a father by the will of our Lord, but all together, fatherhood and brotherhood and God's grace, give honor to the impressions of this night, which are always our feelings, which now we express before heaven and earth: faith, hope, love, love of God, love of brother, all aided along the way in the Lord's holy peace for the work of the good. And so, let us continue to love each other, to look out for each other along the way: to welcome whoever comes close to us, and set aside whatever difficulty it might bring.

When you head home, find your children. Hug and kiss your children and tell them: 'This is the hug and kiss of the Pope.' And when you find them with tears to dry, give them a good word. Give anyone who suffers a word of comfort. Tell them 'The Pope is with us especially in our times of sadness and bitterness.' And then, all together, may we always come alive -- whether to sing, to breathe, or to cry, but always full of trust in Christ, who helps us and hears us, let us continue along our path.”

--Pope John XXIII
"Moonlight Speech"
Window of the Apostolic Palace
11 October 1962

11th October - Feast Day of Blessed Pope John XXIII (Good Pope John)