PoperyThe Pope's on vacation, which he's using to work on volume II of Jesus of Nazareth and a new social encyclical. Here's the crowd gathered for the Angelus on Sunday. The Pope spoke about vacation:
Before this scene of meadows, of woods, of peaks ascending toward heaven, the desire to praise God for the marvel of his works spontaneously arises in the soul and easily transforms itself into prayer.Every good Christian knows that vacations are an opportune time to stretch one's body and to nourish the spirit in more ample spaces of prayer and meditation, to grow in one's personal relationship with Christ, and to conform more and more to his teachings.
And then reflected briefly on the Good Samaritan. The Pope makes the point I think most homilists miss --that Jesus is telling us he's the Good Samaritan. Recall the pharisaical criticism that Christ supped with sinners, and Christ's response that the righteous have no need of a savior. Christ tells this parable in which the Scribe & the Pharisee refuse to have anything to do with the wounded man, perhaps fearing they themselves would be tainted. The man's neighbor is the one who sees him and cares for him. Origen takes the analogy further, teaching that the inn where the man is taken to recuperate is the Church and the innkeeper paid to see to his recovery is the Vicar of Christ.
After Mass on Sunday, Mr. W. & I were reflecting that most homilists seem (as the good-hearted pastor of our vacation parish did) to take a dim view of the teacher who asks Jesus the question, "and who is my neighbor?" As if the question were a trap. But the rabbis were constantly at work trying to understand the law, and this was probably a contested question, so it makes sense to ask it --especially since the scribe in question had already defined the essence of the law correctly (Love God with your whole being and your neighbor as yourself). I have more respect for the scribe who wants to know what that requires of him than the homilist who suggests it's somehow impertinent to ask Jesus a question! "Shut up and do it" doesn't seem to be in the spirit of Vatican II, somehow. (Not that our homilist intended to say that, but it was the logic of what he did say.) What's radical in Christ's answer is that God's Kingdom is for everyone, not simply for the Jews. But now I've co-opted the Pope's simple point for my own soap-box. Whoops.
- Charming accounts of the Pope's interactions with people who happen to be on the same trail he hikes in the evening. Scroll to post 8359.
- It's confirmed the Pope will visit Lourdes during its sesquicentennial next year.
- New York, too, although the dates are up in the air.
- The big push for World Youth Day in Oz is underway. The Pope promoted it at the close of the Angelus, and these stories are starting to appear.
- The Vatican goes on-line for virtual tours.
Potpourri
- China. A new bishop for Beijing. Gov't picked but Rome seems to approve. I have to laugh at one line of the story, in which we're told the new bishop will be
taking over the post left vacant by the death of Michele Fu Tieshan, Patriotic Archbishop of Beijing, who died on April 20th or maybe even earlier.
And why wouldn't we know that, I wonder? Also in China: three "house churches" to be closed by force. And scroll to post 8367 for La Reppublica's take on the politics of B-16's letter to Chinese Catholics.
- US: B-16 accepted Cardinal Keeler's resignation, and named Archbishop Edwin O'Brien, of the diocese of the Military Services, as his successor. Pittsburgh has a new leader, too. And aren't you glad we Christians spent all our time complaining about Harry Potter? Everyone will listen to us now. Philip Pullman on the evil Narnia series (a curtsy gesture towards the Curt Jester).
