Benedict XVI Catecheses on Prayer

I will try to put links of Benedict XVI new catecheses on prayer:

1. Virtually Always and Everywhere, People Have Turned to God (4th May 2011)
2. Man Bears Within Himself the Desire for God (11th May 2011)
3. On Abraham’s Prayer (18th May 2011)
4. On Jacob’s Wrestling with God (25th May 2011)
5. On Moses’ Intercessory Prayer (1st June 2011)
6. On Elijah’s Lessons in Prayer (15th June 2011)
7. On Learning to Pray With the Psalms (22nd June 2011)
8. He Listens, He Responds and He Saves According to His Ways (7th Sept 2011)
9. On the prayer of Psalm 22 (14th Sept 2011)
10. On the prayer of Psalm 23 (5th Oct 2011)
11. On the prayer of Psalm 126 (12th Oct 2011)
12. On the prayer of Psalm 136 (19th October 2011)
13. On the prayer of Psalm 119 (10th November 2011)
14. On the prayer of Psalm 110 (16th November 2011)
15. On the prayer of Jesus (30th November 2011)
16. On Jesus Cry of Exultation (7th December 2011)
17. On Jesus’ Prayer as Love for God and Neighbor (14th December 2011)
18. On the Holy Family’s Prayer (28th December 2011)
19. On Our Lord Prayer at the Last Supper (11th January 2012)

Clarifying Pope John’s Paul Remark Misquoted by Prof Stephen Hawking on the Origin of the Universe

I was watching a video on Youtube on Prof Stephen Hawking’s lecture on the origin of the universe. And in one section, he quoted (or actually misquoted) Pope John Paul II address at Vatican during Cosmologist conference that science should not inquire into the beginning of the universe. The Fox news reported it this way:

Hawking quoted the pope as saying, “It’s OK to study the universe and where it began. But we should not inquire into the beginning itself because that was the moment of creation and the work of God.”

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,199673,00.html#ixzz1HJr0WvAe

Unfortunately, it might be a misrepresentation of what the Pope said. I was googling and searching of where this address could be, and I found one article that details the full text of an address of Pope John Paul II. I did not claim this is the event that Prof Hawking mentioned. But it is very likely. And since Prof Hawking did not mention the detail of the quotation, the burden of proof lies on him I will provide why I suspect it is the same meeting at the Appendix But now, let’s get to clarify it.

You can read the full text address (which I suspect is the one quoted by Prof Hawking) at this link:

http://www.ewtn.com/library/PAPALDOC/JP2COSM.HTM

Let me go to the part that speaks about the origin of the universe:

Any scientific hypothesis on the origin of the world, such as the hypothesis of a primitive atom from which derived the whole of the physical universe, leaves open the problem concerning the universe’s beginning. Science cannot of itself solve this question: there is needed that human knowledge that rises above physics and astrophysics and which is called metaphysics; there is needed above all the knowledge that comes from God’s revelation.

As read above. There is no indication that the Pope said “You should not inquire into the beginning of the Universe”. In fact, he was stating a fact at that time that any hypothesis on the beginning of the universe still leaves us with many questions.  A more accurate representation of what he said would be “Science alone cannot answer all the questions on the beginning of the Universe”. What are all these questions, the Pope did not mention it in the address. But we all can guess as a human being.

Science can explain “HOW” it began. But science will not be able to explain the “WHY” it began. Prof Hawking tried to answer that by saying what is needed for Universe to begin is the Law of Physics, which is the General theory of relativity and the quantum theory. But in itself it does not, and cannot, explain why it should begin in the first place with its law of Physics.  Who created the law of Physics? Why the Law of Physics is the way it is? Science simply describes how nature works. Now this is where the Pope’s statement comes in. Our questions in the beginning of the Universe goes beyond on the “HOW” it begins. We as human being asks why are we created, and we ask the “meaning” of all this creation. This question will not be able to be solved by science alone. It must go beyond Physics. And by the way, the Greek word for “beyond” is Meta. That’s the part when he mentioned about meta-physics.

For the Pope, why you are created must have much more meaning than just a fluctuation of quantum theory. In Christianity, it is because creation is willed, and each of us is “will”ed. We do not come out by chance and hence live is meaningless. In fact, life is full of meaning because our existence is  willed.

I hope this clarifies what the Pope says.

Appendix

How do I suspect that the address of Pope in 1981 is the one quoted by Prof Hawking?

• First it was written that the address is given to the participants in the study week dedicated to “Cosmology and Fundamental Physics”. And of course, Prof Hawking is the expert in Cosmology.
• Second, the link on the address of the Pope stated it was given at October 1981.
• If you do a little of googling, “stephen hawking 1981 cosmology vatican”, you will find some google books on Prof Stephen’s biography. One that I found is titled “Stephen Hawking: a biography” By Kristine Larsen. On page xvi, TIMELINE, it was mentioned that in 1981, Prof Stephen Hawking attended a conference at Vatican, in SEPTEMBER!
• And this is more precise: In a book called “Stephen Hawking: a life in science” by Michael White, John R. Gribbin. The author quoted exactly the quotation that I gave above. This is the screenshot from the Google Books. As many, the quote was misquoted as if the Pope said science should not study how universe begin. The Pope only states a fact that science simply cannot study things beyond what it can studies.

 

Pope Benedict XVI Homily on Feast of Holy Family 2010

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

The Gospel according to Luke recounts that when the shepherds of Bethlehem had received the Angel’s announcement of the Messiah’s birth “they went with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger” (2:16). The first eyewitnesses of Jesus’ birth therefore beheld a family scene: a mother, a father and a newborn son. For this reason the Liturgy has us celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family on the First Sunday after Christmas. This year it occurred the very day after Christmas, and, taking precedence over the Feast of St Stephen, invites us to contemplate this “icon” in which the little Jesus appears at the centre of his parents’ affection and care.

In the poor grotto of Bethlehem — the Fathers of the Church wrote — shines a very bright light, a reflection of the profound mystery which envelopes that Child, which Mary and Joseph cherish in their hearts and which can be seen in their expression, in their actions, and especially in their silence. Indeed, they preserve in their inmost depths the words of the Angel’s Annunciation to Mary: “the Child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God” (Lk 1:35).

Yet every child’s birth brings something of this mystery with it! Parents who receive a child as a gift know this well and often speak of it in this way. We have all heard people say to a father and a mother: “this child is a gift, a miracle!”. Indeed, human beings do not experience procreation merely as a reproductive act but perceive its richness and intuit that every human creature who is born on earth is the “sign” par excellence of the Creator and Father who is in Heaven.

How important it is, therefore, that every child coming into the world be welcomed by the warmth of a family! External comforts do not matter: Jesus was born in a stable and had a manger as his first cradle, but the love of Mary and of Joseph made him feel the tenderness and beauty of being loved. Children need this: the love of their father and mother. It is this that gives them security and, as they grow, enables them to discover the meaning of life. The Holy Family of Nazareth went through many trials, such as the “massacre of the innocents” — as recounted in the Gospel according to Matthew — which obliged Joseph and Mary to flee to Egypt (cf. 2:13-23). Yet, trusting in divine Providence, they found their stability and guaranteed Jesus a serene childhood and a sound upbringing.

Dear friends, the Holy Family is of course unique and unrepeatable, but at the same time it is a “model of life” for every family because Jesus, true man, chose to be born into a human family and thereby blessed and consecrated it. Let us therefore entrust all families to Our Lady and to St Joseph, so that they do not lose heart in the face of trials and difficulties but always cultivate conjugal love and devote themselves with trust to the service of life and education.

2010 in review

The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Fresher than ever.

Crunchy numbers

A helper monkey made this abstract painting, inspired by your stats.

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 1,700 times in 2010. That’s about 4 full 747s.

 

In 2010, there were 35 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 115 posts. There was 1 picture uploaded, taking a total of 25kb.

The busiest day of the year was January 6th with 48 views. The most popular post that day was Core team dinner .

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were facebook.com, mail.yahoo.com, alphainventions.com, twitter.com, and stmary.sg.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for adoration room, oka kurniawan, authentic prophecy, cardinal suenens, and suenens.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

1

Core team dinner January 2010
2 comments

2

What should I do in the adoration room? September 2008
1 comment

3

Christian Discernment September 2009
4 comments

4

The Eye of a needle: Can the rich enter the kingdom of God? December 2009

5

The Secret and Law of Attraction: Its problems June 2010
3 comments

The Christian Response to Rationalism

Let me quote the last section only from Father Cantalamessa’s 3rd Advent Homily, it’s beautiful I think. The full article can be read here.

A Leap of Faith at Christmas

Thus we come to the practical conclusion that most interests us in a meditation such as this one. Not only non-believers are in need of unexpected eruptions of the supernatural but also us, believers, to revive our faith. The greatest danger that religious persons run is of reducing faith to a sequence of rites and formulas, repeated even if scrupulously, but mechanically and without participation of their whole being. “Since this people draws near with words only,” the Lord laments in Isaiah, “and honors me with their lips alone, though their hearts are far from me. And their reverence for me has become routine observance of the precepts of men” (Isaiah 29:13).

Christmas can be a privileged occasion to have this leap of faith. It is the supreme “theophany” of God, the highest “manifestation of the Sacred.” Unfortunately the phenomenon of secularism is despoiling this feast of its character of “tremendous mystery” — which induces to holy fear and adoration — reducing it to the sole aspect of “fascinating mystery.” Fascinating, but what is worse only in a natural, not a supernatural sense: a feast of family values, of winter, of the tree, of reindeer and of Santa Claus. Under way in some countries at present is the attempt to change even the name Christmas to that of “feast of light.” In few cases is secularization as visible as it is at Christmas.

For me, the “numinous” character of Christmas is connected to a memory. Some years ago I attended Midnight Mass presided over by John Paul II at St. Peter’s. The moment arrived for the singing of the Kalenda, namely, the solemn proclamation of the birth of the Savior, present in the old martyrology and reintroduced in the Christmas liturgy after Vatican II:

“In the year 5,199 since the creation of the world, [...]
In the year 1,510 since the exodus [...] from Egypt, [...]
In the 194th Olympiad in the year 732
after the building of Rome,
In the 42nd year of the reign of Octavian Augustus, [...]
Jesus Christ, eternal God and Son of the eternal Father, desired to sanctify the world by His gracious coming.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, and now after nine months
He is born at Bethlehem in the tribe of Judah as Man from the Virgin Mary.”

Having come to these last words I experienced what is called “the anointing of the faith”: an unexpected interior clarity, which made me say to myself: “It’s true! All this is true which is being sung! Not only are the words so. The eternal enters into time. The last event of the series has broken the series; it has created an irreversible  “before” and an “after”; the computation of time which at first was done in relation to different events (such as Olympics, the kingdom of so and so), now is done in relation to only one event.” An unexpected emotion went through my whole person, while I could only say: “Thank you, Most Holy Trinity, and thank you also, Holy Mother of God!”

It helps a lot to make Christmas the occasion for a leap of faith by finding times for silence. The liturgy envelops the birth of Jesus in silence: “Dum medium silentium tenerent omnia,” while everything around was in silence. “Stille Nacht” (Silent Night), is entitled the most widespread and beloved of all Christmas songs. At Christmas, we should feel as if the invitation of the Psalm was personally addressed to us: “Be still and confess that I am God!” (Psalm 46:11).

The Mother of God is the unsurpassable model of this Christmas silence: “And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart” (Luke 2:19). Mary’s silence at Christmas is more than a simple silence; it is wonder, it is adoration; it is a “religious silence,” a being overwhelmed by the reality. The truest interpretation of Mary’s silence is that which is had in the ancient Byzantine icons, where the Mother of God opens herself motionless, with her gaze fixed, her eyes wide open, as if she had seen things that cannot be repeated in words. Mary, first raised to God what Saint Gregory Nazianzen called a “hymn of silence.” [17]

The person who truly participates in Christmas is the one who is able to do today, centuries later, what he would have done had he been present on that day. The one who does what Mary has taught us to do: to kneel, to adore, to be silent!

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The Christian Response to Secularism

Father Cantalamessa’s 2nd Advent homily.
http://www.zenit.org/rssenglish-31213

Christian answer to Atheist Scientism

Father Cantalamessa Advent Homily:

http://www.zenit.org/rssenglish-31156

Advent: a new dad’s reflection

–this is the manuscript for the article sent to St. Mary’s newspaper: Tomorrow, there might be some differences in the text due to Editor’s editing. A better English article can be read from Tomorrow :p (I seldom check my grammar) –

There can be many “advent” in someone’s life. Advent simply means “coming”, and waiting for someone to come is part of our day to day experience. As a newly wed, Maya and I had the chance to experience the advent of our first born, Francis, into our lives.  As Catholics are entering the Advent Season, we would like to share a bit of our experience in waiting for the coming of our baby Francis, and how that taught us to wait for the coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

When my wife told me that she was expecting, we were so excited, I was so happy to hear the news. I still remember what I did, I hugged my wife, kissed her, and then we prayed giving thanks to God for His gift. Francis was really a gift! My wife’s friend who was a medical doctor told her how the conception and formation of baby is like a miracle.  We didn’t do any miracle, God did, we simply participate in that miraculous work.

God did a miracle two thousand years ago when he became human.  I used to wonder why God chose to come to us in a human form, even to come as a baby. He could choose to come in other forms like fire, earthquake, or some apparition where people will have no doubt at all but to obey him. But he didn’t.  I then realized that he wants to be a gift. By being a baby, he wants to be our possession, our treasure, and our joy. In short he wants our love.  What a risky decision! By making himself as a vulnerable gift, we can choose to reject him. He knew this, and yet he chose to come to us as a baby, to be a gift for you and for me.

Advent, then, is a time to accept that gift. It is a time of gratitude, a time of giving thanks. Advent prepares us to welcome The Gift the way he deserves. Advent prepares our heart to have room big enough for God and it taught us to treasure God once again.

I remember one day I told one of my friend about the good news that my wife was already expecting. When he heard that, he uttered a prophecy (or maybe a warning), “Your life shall be changed forever.” What he meant was that my life will be centred around my baby. I was laughing when I heard that, but I knew it was true. These days, after my baby was born, Francis has taken an important part in our lives. We made a lot of sacrifices for him, and we joyfully do so. Our life indeed has been changed, and for the good.

Isn’t that what is supposed to happen with our Advent season also? The coming of Jesus should be a life changing experience for us. Jesus should be the centre of our lives. We should no longer live for ourselves but for Jesus. Otherwise, it is meaningless to call him Lord.  And this should be a chance for us to pour out our love to Jesus, to make sacrifices for him, and we should make those sacrifices joyfully!

Let me conclude this sharing with one final story.  When my baby was finally born, I hold him tight and carried him. I looked at him, and my heart was filled with love. I then kissed him to express my love. One of the best thing that a child can do is to arouse love in the parent’s heart. That is what Jesus did on the Christmas day in Mary’s and Joseph’s hearts. He invites people to love him. And that is what he continues to do until today. He arouses love in our heart for him and for the Father. He taught us what it means to be a child of God. Advent helped me to realize what it means to be a child God. I learn that we can arouse love in our Father’s heart and make him smile. And we can do that by simply being what we are called to be, a gift to others. We can be a gift to our children and our wife by spending time with them. St. John said we can love God by loving one another. Indeed, we can even be a gift to our heavenly Father, by being a gift to the people around us.

When we kneel before the tabernacle

Catholics often speaks a different language all together. They have these not-so-common words such as transubstantiation, Eucharist, canonization, etc.  One of them is tabernacle. It’s a little box that is usually placed on the altar with a little lamp besides it to host the Eucharistic bread, the real presence of our Lord Jesus Christ. When catholics enter the Church, and before they sit on the pew, they will kneel before the tabernacle. And that they did for a good reason.

The Mystery of God’s Solidarity

Tabernacle comes from a Hebrew word which means dwelling place. The first thing that came to my mind when I heard this word tabernacle, or when I kneel before the tabernacle, is a scripture verse from John.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father. (John 1:14)

In John’s Gospel the Word refers to Jesus, who is God. In that verse we read, God became flesh, and  tabernacled (dwelt) among us. Whenever I look at the tabernacle, as I kneel down, I am amazed at this beautiful mystery. It’s a mystery of God who became flesh, became human, and chose to dwell among us.

In our society today, many people trying to tell us to associate with the higher class, because that can benefit us. How different it is with God! God chose to associate with the lowly. God even chose to become one of these lowly. The Creator chose to be a creation. The mystery of the Incarnation (God who became man) is shown in all its humility in that tabernacle. We kneel and worship the God who became one of us, and dwelt among us.

What should worry us then to face troubles in this life. If God is with us, who can be against us? If God now dwells among us, what should we fear of? The presence of God in the tabernacle reminds us of His ever faithful love. He never leaves us alone. He is faithful to his word,

I am with you always to the end of times. (Matthew 28:20)

When I am in the midst of turmoil, difficulties, and problems, I always run to him who is always with me. I love to sit before the tabernacled. I remember when I was in high school, my school bus will arrive pretty early, and I went to the school chapel, to sit in one of the corner, just being in the presence of God. Looking at the tabernacle reminds me of God ever faithful love and presence in my love.

To be a Tabernacle

There is another part that we need to consider when we look at the tabernacle. We are called to be one! Yes, we are called to be a tabernacle. Isn’t the scripture says, we are God’s Holy Dwelling (tabernacle)? Whenever I look at the tabernacle, as I kneel, I am reminded of my vocation as a Christian. And that is to be God’s dwelling place.

Who can be the best example of God’s tabernacle besides Mary, Mother of Jesus? God literally dwells inside her womb for nine months! She carried the Word who became flesh in her own flesh. We too are called to be that kind of tabernacle, where the Word of God became flesh in our flesh, and so we can bring God in our bodies.

I find no surprise when people venerate the saints. They carry God in their bodies. It is not the saints that amaze us,  it is the Divine. We cannot be attracted with anything but God. But we are called to be saints also.

How can we carry God? How can we be God’s dwelling place? Just as Mary who said yes to God to take control of her lives, so too we need surrender our lives to God. In our Baptism, we say yes to God just as Mary said yes to God. And just as the power of the Most High overshadowed her, so too in our Baptism, the Holy Spirit overshadowed us. God dwells among us, we are God’s Holy Temple, we are His tabernacle.

But Mary didn’t stop there. She carried the Word of God, pondered it, and cherished it in her heart. In her, the Word of God became flesh. We too are called to ponder and cherish the Word of God in our heart. Too often the treasure of the Word of God is left neglected in our lives. Too often the Word did not became flesh in our flesh. But we need to imitate Mary. We need to treasure the Word of God and live it! The early Christians did not have the privileges of reading the Word of God every day. They only heard the Word of God on Sundays. And yet they cherish it throughout the week and try to live the Word of God. We too need to rediscover the Word of God today! We spent too much time on tv, handphones, computer and games! How have we neglected the duty to cherish, ponder and live the Word of God today.

The Word of God must became flesh again in our bodies. And in that way, we truly become God bearers just as Mary was. We truly become the tabernacle. Just as two thousand years ago, people are longing and waiting for God to come to them, today, many people also need God to dwell among them. And he has chosen a dwelling place none other than you and me. That is why we kneel before the tabernacle, we venerate the mystery of our calling as God’s dwelling place. Yes, God is still with us, until the end of time.