What Does The Prayer Really Say?
W D T P R S

Tracing back various links on different blogs, I found that someone enterprising at godrox provided this very funny video.

This is sometimes how I feel here when there are lots of comments for a hotter entry! 

Our liturgical seasons have inspired beautiful musical compositions.

What are your favorite hymns and musical pieces for LENT?

My practical purpose in asking is that I am working on a Seven Last Words.  My thought is that it would be good to present the reflections punctuated by hymns or music appropriate for Lent and the Seven Last Words, almost in the style of "lessons and carols".

What are the Seven Last Words?

THE FIRST WORD

Luke 23:33-34—When they came to the place called "The Skull," they nailed Jesus to the cross there, and the two criminals, one on his right and one on his left. Jesus said, "Forgive them, Father! They know not what they do."

THE SECOND WORD

Luke 23:39-43—One of the criminals hanging there threw insults at him: "Aren’t you the messiah? Save yourself and us!" The other one, however, rebuked him, saying: "Don’t you fear God? Here we are all under the same sentence. Ours, however, is only right, for we are getting what we deserve for what we did; but he has done no wrong." And he said to Jesus, "Remember me, Jesus, when you come as King!"  Jesus said to him, "I tell you this: Today you will be in Paradise with me."

THE THIRD WORD

John 19:25-27—Standing close to jesus’ cross were his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. Jesus saw his mother and the disciple he loved standing there; so he said to his mother, "Woman, here is your son." Then he said to the disciple, "Here is your mother." And from that time the disciple took her to live in his home.

THE FOURTH WORD

Mark 15: 33-34—And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, "Elo-i, elo-i, lama sabach-thani?" which means, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"

THE FIFTH WORD

John 19:28—After this jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the scripture), "I thirst."

THE SIXTH WORD

John 19:29-30—A bowl was there, full of cheap wine mixed with vinegar, so a sponge was soaked in it, put on hyssop and lifted up to his lips. When Jesus had received the wine, he said, "It is finished."

THE SEVENTH WORD

Luke 23:46—Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, "Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit!" And having said this he breathed his last.

Use of the 1962 Missale Romanum has been growing since Summorum Pontificum went into effect.  And growing steadily.

Here is some good news from Denmark:

Dear Father Z
 
I have great news from the cold north of Scandinavia. The Saint Charles Borromeo Group have finally brokered a deal with the Bishop of Copenhagen and the parish priest at Jesus Heart Church in Vesterbro(a Borough) every first and third sunday 6.00 pm/ 18.00.

After some unsuccessful results in the initial phase of trying to get a TLM mass at the Church, we went to the Bishop. But it took two months of negotiations. It has to be said that it is not the Parish Priest who celebrates the mass but the secondary priest. The Parish Priest and the Parish Council turned our group away, saying that they could not recognize us as a stable group. Even though our group have existed since 1997 and have been celebrating the TLM once a month in a secluded school chapel.

Note well: There were patient negotiations involved.  They overcame resistance with patience and negotiation.

Going to priests and bishops and being nasty or pushy will not get you what you want.

Be careful and prudent. 

This just in.

Last year you readers were pretty good to WDTPRS.  How about this year?

Nominations for the 2008 Catholic Blog Awards Begin

ABBEVILLE, LA (JANUARY 24, 2008) – cyberCatholics.com is proud to announce that nominations for the 2008 Catholic Blog Awards will soon begin.

Nominations for the 2008 Catholic Blog Awards will open this year at 12:00 Noon CST on Friday, February 15, 2008 and close at 12:00 Noon CST on Friday, February 29, 2008.

Catholics can go to www.catholicblogaward.com to nominate their favorite blogs in a wide variety of categories.

The Catholic Blog Awards was founded by Joshua LeBlanc and has been sponsored by cyberCatholics.com since its inception in 2004. The mission of the Catholic Blog Awards is to expose the blogosphere to many of the Catholic blogs that otherwise might not find their way into pop Catholic culture. By allowing individuals to vote for the blogs they believe to be the best, recognition is given to the work that bloggers do in giving Glory to God.

Contact:
   
cyberCatholics.com
http://www.catholicblogawards.com
Joshua LeBlanc – President, 337-935-0104

The kind folks at Baronius Press sent me a few of their publications: the small blue volume of the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a Bible with the Douay-Reims version, and their highly touted daily hand missal for Holy Mass with the 1962 Missale Romanum.



Let’s look at the hand missal.

First, it was a real pleasure to see this book again.  I had seen one once before during a trip to the UK.  This time I had a chance to give it a good examination.

The leather binding should prove to be very durable and there is a good number of ribbons.  The book lies open fairly well enven though it is not broken in.  The pages are gilded and the paper is extremely thin but strong.  This keeps the book thin and comfortable in the hand, which is very important to me.

There are good features, including an appendix with propers for regions, as in the UK and the USA.

There is a section with the little office which would be good for lay people in their devotional prayer.

Also, in the appendix, there is a section with the normal chants for Mass in good Gregorian notation:

 

The section you would use the most is well laid out:

I am impressed by this hand missal which, so far, is probably the best I have seen.  If you are looking for something for yourself or as a gift, this would be a great choice.

Also, I think it would be good to support Baronius at the moment.  They are going to be preparing an altar missal and no doubt need the cash flow to keep it going.  If their altar missal is as nice as the hand missal, it will be a wonderful tool.  They are also working on other titles, such as an English-Latin Breviary.

If you have more questions, contact them here and tell them Fr. Z sent you. 

Some of you might recall that I recently had an all too brief trip to Kanasas City, MO, to visit friends, see the sites, and attend a banquet to raise funds for seminarians.

Here are a few images of the trip.

First, the blognic.  My host had set up a time and place (well advertised in advance on this blog despite some sour grousing that got posted post factum).  I had brought my laptop to this coffee shop thinking I was going to be sitting alone for a while, but to my great surprise and pleasure, quite a few great folks dropped in and out during the period from about 8:30-11:30.  There was great conversation.

I had the good fortune to be able to attend Holy Mass in the older form at the ICK temporary location Our Lady of Sorrows. 





Our Lady of Sorrows is pretty much surrounded by the world headquarters of Hallmark (the greeting card company).  It was pointed out to me that, even though the founders of Hallmark were not Catholic, it may be that the logo of Hallmark, the famous crown, may have been inspired from the altar of this Catholic church.

Given the Hallmark connection and the fact that the 1962 Missale Romanum is used in this church, one might just quip:

I had the chance to see some of the other churches in the KC area, including the Cathedral.  The thing that impressed me most about the Cathedral was this detail of its architecture.

 

"But Father!  But Father!" you could be thinking. "That’s not so impressive.  What’s so great about a confessional in a Catholic cathedral?"

Here is a detail.

The weekly bulletin listed Bishop Finn’s schedule for hearing confessions.  This impressed me enormously.

I met Bishop Finn during the visit and was as impressed by him in person as I have been through what he has written and what I have heard he has done in that diocese.

Moving on… I didn’t realize there were so many fountains and bronze statues in the city.  There is also the national WWI Memorial, which I would like to visit more at length on a future visit.

 

At last it was time to depart, but before I headed off to the airport, my kind hosts, who made sure we dined well while I was there, provided a little goodbye sip of wine, a stupendous 1993 Ridge Cabernet, of which very few barrels were made.  Yum.

 

The wine was definitely up to date, as were the other things I saw in KC.

Thanks to everyone for a wonderful weekend visit.

I got this nice note by e-mail:

Dear and Reverend Father-

I am the Parochial Vicar at St. Mary’s parish in Kalamazoo, Michigan.  My pastor, Fr. Robert Sirico, suggested that I send you the following information about our parish:

St. Mary’s will be offering the EF every Sunday at 12:15.  Some of these will be Missae Cantatae, but most of them will be Low Masses.  The new schedule takes effect on Sunday; February 10th (First of Lent).

Also, it might be helpful to let people know that this coming Saturday, Candlemas will be celebrated at 9 AM.  Blessing of Candles and Procession followed by Missa Canata.

Fr. David Grondz

Under the entry about the overly restrictive guidelines for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, some people have been pretty hard, unreasonably so, on Cardinal Rigali.  

Some balance is needed, in fairness. 

Let’s have a look at the sermon Cardinal Rigali gave at the Life Vigil Mass for the annual pro-life observance of the Roe v Wade disaster.

FWIW

My emphases. 

Your Eminences,
Archbishop Sambi, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States,
Archbishop Wuerl, Pastor of the Church of Washington,

Brother Bishops,
Dear Priests, Deacons, Consecrated Religious, Seminarians,

Supporters and Defenders of human life, especially you, dear Young People of the Church,
Brothers and Sisters in Jesus Christ,

"Giving Visibility" to the Dignity of Life

We rejoice in this beautiful "house of the Lord," the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. It is good for us to be here, gathered with Mary, the Mother of Jesus and our Mother.

With its many Masses, holy hours, Confessions and special occasions like this all-night National Prayer Vigil for Life, this National Shrine is a place of year-round worship, pilgrimage, evangelization and reconciliation. This monumental church gives visibility to our Catholic faith and heritage.

You have come to our nation’s capital to "give visibility" to your faith, your heritage, and your commitment to life from conception to natural death. Tomorrow you will peacefully protest the injustice of Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, the 1973 Supreme Court cases that legalized abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy. Tomorrow you will march in solidarity with unborn children, as well as their mothers and fathers and siblings. Tomorrow you will approach your elected officials, calling on them to protect those most at risk, the voiceless and most defenseless members of our human family.

But first, tonight! We have set this time aside to pray for an end to abortion, and to receive strength from the Lord. Millions of others are with us in spirit, watching this Mass both in the United States and abroad through the Eternal Word Television Network. Our hearts are especially with those who are homebound or serving in the military. Many others will give visible witness in their own communities at prayer vigils and walks across the country.

On behalf of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, I express admiration to all of you for the many sacrifices you have made to defend, protect and cherish God’s precious gift of life.

The New Incarnation Dome

Those of you who were here last year will recall the scaffolding erected in the back. The pews had to be removed and individual chairs set in their place. This year you are able to see the fruit of that work, which is the Knights of Columbus Incarnation Dome.

This Incarnation Dome is made up of 2.4 million pieces of colored glass cut and assembled in Italian workshops, shipped over the Atlantic in 346 boxes, and painstakingly installed over the course of five months by master mosaic artists. The whole project was a great undertaking that would not have been possible without the generosity of the Knights of Columbus and many others, and without the skills of the artists, craftsmen and scaffolding workers. It took time to craft this massive undertaking that will inspire generations of pilgrims yet unborn.

We too, dear friends, are called to a massive undertaking, to raise up, through God’s grace, what Pope John Paul II in Evangelium Vitae called "a great campaign in support of life." Our task is to build a culture of life in which every person is treated with the respect due to his or her human dignity, regardless of age, physical or mental ability, or stage of development.

This urgent project is well under way. But we know it is far from complete. We are reminded daily of the many direct threats to life through abortion, human embryo experimentation, and the false mercy of assisted suicide and euthanasia. Violence against the innocent unborn also spills over into disregard for other neighbors, so often erupting in violence in our homes through domestic violence and child abuse.

Our "great campaign in support of life" requires all the resources God has given us. It will take time. It will take generosity. It will take patience and sustained collaboration among so many groups. It presupposes unity in the Body of Christ and demands prayer, penance and sacrifice.

But what else can this Dome teach us about building a culture of life? The Incarnation Dome depicts four scenes from Scripture that focus on the Son of God who takes on human flesh: the Annunciation, the Birth of Jesus, His miracle at the Wedding Feast of Cana, and his Transfiguration. Each has a lesson for us tonight.

First, the Annunciation. Mary was troubled by the angel coming to her. She was confused and concerned by Gabriel’s message about her conceiving the Christ Child. "How can this be?" she asked, just as you might ask when God calls you to do something you feel incapable of, something overwhelming. But the angel’s words to her echo to us today: "Do not be afraid…nothing will be impossible for God."

Certainly mothers who have just learned they are pregnant can feel both excitement and anxiety: the joy of conception, even in the midst of concerns about the future. When Mary said yes to the angel, she said yes to life, and indeed to the Source of life Himself. We are called to be like Mary, saying yes to life in various ways.

Another young woman, Saint Agnes, who lived seventeen hundred years ago and whose feast we celebrate today, also said yes to God. Agnes was beautiful and many men would have waited to marry her. But as a young Christian, she had already come to know someone who gave her everything she wanted and needed. As today’s psalm says: "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want … my cup overflows." He was the one who would never use or exploit her, but loved her completely, totally, unconditionally-the way she deserved to be loved. In return, Agnes was so grateful for all He had done for her that she chose to belong to Christ and Christ alone. She chose to remain a virgin and God gave her that kind of singular, exclusive love for Him that those called to celibacy are given as a special gift. She had found that pearl of great price and was willing to "sell" everything she had to keep it. She was willing to live and even die for Him at the hands of those men who wanted to use her. She was abused, tortured and martyred because of her love for God.

Dear young people, like the young Saint Agnes, you have received the gift of faith. You have been offered the Kingdom of heaven, the pearl of great price, the treasure worth many sacrifices. How is He calling you to thank, love and serve Him? Tonight in prayer, you must ask Him to make His will known to you, and to give you the courage to follow it once His voice is clear to you. He will surely give you all the grace you need.

Every year, after the feast of the Annunciation on March 25th, exactly 9 months later, December 25th, we celebrate the Birth of Jesus. This event, the Christmas story, depicted in the next scene of the Incarnation Dome, also shapes us deeply in the way we "give visibility" to the dignity of life.

When the Son of God took on our human flesh, He gave us the full example of compassion and humility. Even though as God He was all-powerful and all-knowing, He let Himself become powerless and completely dependent on others. From the beginning of His life to the end, He knew what it was like to grow and learn, to know joy and sorrow, and all the limitations of our human condition. Nothing in the human experience was foreign to Him, except sin. With perfect compassion, as Emmanuel, God-with-us, He suffered with us.

When we are strong and able-bodied, feeling in complete control, do we value and protect those who are weak, as Scripture calls them: the "lowly and despised of the world who count for nothing," or do they make us feel uncomfortable, uneasy? And when we become weak, will we allow others to care for us in sickness or old age? When frustrated or embarrassed by our incapacity, the helpless Christ Child helps us resist the temptation to despair. Our value does not come from being so-called "productive" members of society, but from Emmanuel, God always with us. As the psalm, so beautifully assures us, "even though I walk through the valley of darkness, I fear no evil for you are at my side."

The remaining two scenes of the Incarnation Dome-namely, the Wedding Feast of Cana and the Transfiguration-now attract more attention because John Paul II introduced the luminous mysteries of the Rosary. These mysteries do not involve the conception or birth of children. What do they have to do then with defending life?

At the Wedding Feast of Cana, Mary plays an active role in her Son’s ministry to the world. As a woman, she is deeply attuned to the needs of others, in this case, the bridal party and their guests. In His love for her, Jesus honors her request that He "do something" about the wine that has run out. In her faith in Him, Mary trusted that He would provide, while not knowing exactly how.

At times it may seem as if our "wine" is also running out, that we just do not have what we need to continue in this struggle, or that our efforts are not making much of a difference. Like Mary, we must learn to trust that God will provide abundantly, in His way, in His time. We possess, or will be given, enough time and resources to build a culture of life together. Our role is to have expectant faith and to follow the counsel of Mary, who said: "Do whatever he tells you."

In the Transfiguration, God the Father gives the three closest disciples of Jesus a glimpse of Jesus’ full glory, His divinity. His clothes "shone as the sun," and the mosaic depicts them in brilliant white on a bright yellow background. Besides manifesting momentarily His full identity, Jesus also revealed to Peter, James and John that our humanity is meant for glory, destined for heaven. He gave them a glimpse of life beyond the grave. As we say in the Nicene Creed: "I believe in the resurrection of the body."

But if our imperfect bodies will someday be glorified, then no one can be defined by his or her current level of physical or mental ability. Each human person is lovable and destined for eternal glory. We must defend the lives of persons with disabilities, as well as those who are mentally ill, addicted, sick or in particular need of our care.

Yes, dear friends, this Dome indeed "makes visible" a great deal about the culture of life.

A Vibrant Mosaic

In a mosaic, some pieces are shiny, some matte. Some are brightly colored, others plain. But each piece plays its role, contributing to the overarching grandeur of the final work. Whether young or not-so-young, single, married or widowed, living in consecrated life or Holy Orders, you are all part of God’s great mosaic, making His love visible in your families, parishes, schools, communities, work places and neighborhoods. You are the painstaking work of His hands-planned from the beginning of time and loved into existence by the Eternal Master Craftsman.

He now sends you out, thousands upon thousands strong, to do your part in forming a vibrant mosaic on behalf of life. You must be the "rich color" He created you to be. You must play your role in His overarching design, and be patient with others as they seek to do the same.

Tomorrow as you march, you will be surrounded by many courageous witnesses to the dignity of life. All the marchers are different from one another, and yet unified in one common goal: bringing an end to abortion and all attacks on life, and building a culture that always welcomes life!

Then there may be some who will taunt you from the sidelines in angry, accusatory ways. Try not to judge them or to define them by their anger and bitterness. They are fellow human beings in need of reconciliation and healing. They too are invited to a change of heart and to join in the "great campaign" for life. Many like them have already bent before the gentle power of God’s grace.

The Incarnation Dome is not made of huge, impressive pieces of glass. Its beauty and impact lie in the intricate interplay of so many tiny pieces. God is good at using many humble "pieces," as we heard in our reading from the First Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians. Instead of choosing "great" or impressive people in the eyes of the world, God uses the humble, the foolish, the weak and "those who count for nothing" to accomplish His purposes.

It is when we least expect it that the tiniest among us can humble the powerful. One day not long ago, a very influential stem cell researcher, Dr. Shinya Yamanaka, was humbled when he was looking through a microscope at a human embryo in a fertility clinic. As the New York Times reports: "The glimpse changed his scientific career. ‘When I saw the embryo, I suddenly realized there was such a small difference between it and my daughters,’ said Dr. Yamanaka, 45, a father of two. ‘I thought, we can’t keep destroying embryos for our research. There must be another way’."

As they say, the rest is history. Dr. Yamanaka used his scientific knowledge to discover a new approach to stem cell research that many of his colleagues say will make embryonic stem cells obsolete.

If God can use a helpless embryo to change a human heart, He can certainly use us with all our limitations and weaknesses. Dear friends: by seeking holiness and using the gifts God has given you to accomplish His will in your life, you are contributing mightily to that Kingdom we all long for, where there will be no more crying or pain or death. Certainly no abortion. No euthanasia. No assisted suicide. No deep-freezing of embryos as though they were merchandise. And no destruction of human life in the name of science.

We are all called to make use of the graces we receive here tonight, to change the world tomorrow, and each day after returning home. We are invited to pray for the protection of human life and to ask others to do so. We are challenged to care for those around us who are in need physically, emotionally, mentally or spiritually, especially those who would consider participating in an abortion. And finally we need to allow others to care for us when we can no longer care for ourselves.

All of us have an important place in conversations about the value of human life, and all of us can make a significant contribution in the political process. It is your right and duty as citizens, whether or not you are old enough to vote, to help shape society by offering to everyone the profound convictions of your faith in Jesus Christ, the Lord of life. In His name you are also called to pray for an end to abortion in the United States and throughout the world. Roe v. Wade is incompatible with human dignity. It must not stand. It cannot stand. It will not stand.

Over and above all the compelling reasons that nature gives us to respect, protect, love and serve life—every human life—the mighty Dome of the Incarnation that we look up to tonight in this Basilica confirms us in an even deeper certitude. The eternal Son of God who took flesh from the Virgin Mary, was born and lived and died for our salvation has uplifted all humanity to a further dignity and destiny: to share in His divine life forever—in the communion of the Most Blessed Trinity. For this reason we know that life indeed will be victorious. And so, with Saint Paul, we say: "For this we toil and struggle, because we have set our hope on the living God…." (1 Timothy 4:10), who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and who is blessed forever. Amen.

My emphases.

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS
BENEDICT XVI
FOR LENT 2008

“Christ made Himself poor for you” (2 Cor 8,9)

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

1. Each year, Lent offers us a providential opportunity to deepen the meaning and value of our Christian lives, and it stimulates us to rediscover the mercy of God so that we, in turn, become more merciful toward our brothers and sisters. In the Lenten period, the Church makes it her duty to propose some specific tasks that accompany the faithful concretely in this process of interior renewal: these are prayer, fasting and almsgiving. For this year’s Lenten Message, I wish to spend some time reflecting on the practice of almsgiving, which represents a specific way to assist those in need and, at the same time, an exercise in self-denial to free us from attachment to worldly goods. The force of attraction to material riches and just how categorical our decision must be not to make of them an idol, Jesus confirms in a resolute way: “You cannot serve God and mammon” (Lk 16,13). Almsgiving helps us to overcome this constant temptation, teaching us to respond to our neighbor’s needs and to share with others whatever we possess through divine goodness. This is the aim of the special collections in favor of the poor, which are promoted during Lent in many parts of the world. In this way, inward cleansing is accompanied by a gesture of ecclesial communion, mirroring what already took place in the early Church. In his Letters, Saint Paul speaks of this in regard to the collection for the Jerusalem community (cf. 2 Cor 8-9; Rm 15, 25-27).

2. According to the teaching of the Gospel, we are not owners but rather administrators of the goods we possess: these, then, are not to be considered as our exclusive possession, but means through which the Lord calls each one of us to act as a steward of His providence for our neighbor. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us, material goods bear a social value, according to the principle of their universal destination (cf. n. 2404)

In the Gospel, Jesus explicitly admonishes the one who possesses and uses earthly riches only for self. In the face of the multitudes, who, lacking everything, suffer hunger, the words of Saint John acquire the tone of a ringing rebuke: “How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses to help?” (1 Jn 3,17). In those countries whose population is majority Christian, the call to share is even more urgent, since their responsibility toward the many who suffer poverty and abandonment is even greater. To come to their aid is a duty of justice even prior to being an act of charity.

3. The Gospel highlights a typical feature of Christian almsgiving: it must be hidden: “Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,” Jesus asserts, “so that your alms may be done in secret” (Mt 6,3-4). Just a short while before, He said not to boast of one’s own good works so as not to risk being deprived of the heavenly reward (cf. Mt 6,1-2). The disciple is to be concerned with God’s greater glory. Jesus warns: “In this way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven” (Mt 5,16). Everything, then, must be done for God’s glory and not our own. This understanding, dear brothers and sisters, must accompany every gesture of help to our neighbor, avoiding that it becomes a means to make ourselves the center of attention. If, in accomplishing a good deed, we do not have as our goal God’s glory and the real well being of our brothers and sisters, looking rather for a return of personal interest or simply of applause, we place ourselves outside of the Gospel vision. In today’s world of images, attentive vigilance is required, since this temptation is great. Almsgiving, according to the Gospel, is not mere philanthropy: rather it is a concrete expression of charity, a theological virtue that demands interior conversion to love of God and neighbor, in imitation of Jesus Christ, who, dying on the cross, gave His entire self for us. How could we not thank God for the many people who silently, far from the gaze of the media world, fulfill, with this spirit, generous actions in support of one’s neighbor in difficulty? There is little use in giving one’s personal goods to others if it leads to a heart puffed up in vainglory: for this reason, the one, who knows that God “sees in secret” and in secret will reward, does not seek human recognition for works of mercy.

4. In inviting us to consider almsgiving with a more profound gaze that transcends the purely material dimension, Scripture teaches us that there is more joy in giving than in receiving (cf. Acts 20,35). When we do things out of love, we express the truth of our being; indeed, we have been created not for ourselves but for God and our brothers and sisters (cf. 2 Cor 5,15). Every time when, for love of God, we share our goods with our neighbor in need, we discover that the fullness of life comes from love and all is returned to us as a blessing in the form of peace, inner satisfaction and joy. Our Father in heaven rewards our almsgiving with His joy. What is more: Saint Peter includes among the spiritual fruits of almsgiving the forgiveness of sins: “Charity,” he writes, “covers a multitude of sins” (1 Pt 4,8). As the Lenten liturgy frequently repeats, God offers to us sinners the possibility of being forgiven. The fact of sharing with the poor what we possess disposes us to receive such a gift. In this moment, my thought turns to those who realize the weight of the evil they have committed and, precisely for this reason, feel far from God, fearful and almost incapable of turning to Him. By drawing close to others through almsgiving, we draw close to God; it can become an instrument for authentic conversion and reconciliation with Him and our brothers.

5. Almsgiving teaches us the generosity of love. Saint Joseph Benedict Cottolengo forthrightly recommends: “Never keep an account of the coins you give, since this is what I always say: if, in giving alms, the left hand is not to know what the right hand is doing, then the right hand, too, should not know what it does itself” (Detti e pensieri, Edilibri, n. 201). In this regard, all the more significant is the Gospel story of the widow who, out of her poverty, cast into the Temple treasury “all she had to live on” (Mk 12,44). Her tiny and insignificant coin becomes an eloquent symbol: this widow gives to God not out of her abundance, not so much what she has, but what she is. Her entire self.

We find this moving passage inserted in the description of the days that immediately precede Jesus’ passion and death, who, as Saint Paul writes, made Himself poor to enrich us out of His poverty (cf. 2 Cor 8,9); He gave His entire self for us. Lent, also through the practice of almsgiving, inspires us to follow His example. In His school, we can learn to make of our lives a total gift; imitating Him, we are able to make ourselves available, not so much in giving a part of what we possess, but our very selves. Cannot the entire Gospel be summarized perhaps in the one commandment of love? The Lenten practice of almsgiving thus becomes a means to deepen our Christian vocation. In gratuitously offering himself, the Christian bears witness that it is love and not material richness that determines the laws of his existence. Love, then, gives almsgiving its value; it inspires various forms of giving, according to the possibilities and conditions of each person.

6. Dear brothers and sisters, Lent invites us to “train ourselves” spiritually, also through the practice of almsgiving, in order to grow in charity and recognize in the poor Christ Himself. In the Acts of the Apostles, we read that the Apostle Peter said to the cripple who was begging alms at the Temple gate: “I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, walk” (Acts 3,6). In giving alms, we offer something material, a sign of the greater gift that we can impart to others through the announcement and witness of Christ, in whose name is found true life. Let this time, then, be marked by a personal and community effort of attachment to Christ in order that we may be witnesses of His love. May Mary, Mother and faithful Servant of the Lord, help believers to enter the “spiritual battle” of Lent, armed with prayer, fasting and the practice of almsgiving, so as to arrive at the celebration of the Easter Feasts, renewed in spirit. With these wishes, I willingly impart to all my Apostolic Blessing.

From the Vatican, 30 October 2007

BENEDICTUS PP. XVI