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Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Guide Us in Our Work
Almighty God, who hast so linked our lives one with another that all we do affects, for good or ill, all other lives: So guide us in the work we do, that we may do it not for self alone, but for the common good; and, as we seek a proper return for our own labor, make us mindful of the rightful aspirations of other workers, and arouse our concern for those who are out of work; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
How to Know Jesus?
Of the many mysteries about Jesus, this may be the greatest: why we continue to care about him. Brave leaders and wise teachers by the score have passed through these 2,000 years, but none has continued to resonate like he does.
From the end of his earthly life Jesus has captured and commanded hearts in every century and every land. (Christianity isn't a "Western religion"; Western ignorance of the ancient Eastern church doesn't mean it doesn't exist.)
Jesus has no parallel in human history.
How does he do it? Those who have experienced this authority or presence are largely unable to put it into words. They can't explain why others don't sense it at all, or why some glimpse only a tantalizing hint while others are knocked flat. In 2,000 years, no better words have been found: He rose from the dead. He's still risen from the dead. He's here right now.
In this context, the search for the historical Jesus seems almost laughably beside the point. You don't know Jesus by examining shards of 2,000-year-old pottery. You know him by meeting him today.
This inexplicable encounter continues to occur, and those who meet him fresh today can feel that same pull. But how is it possible to know him? To sophisticated eyes, his most vocal followers are embarrassing and ignorant, their politics suspect, their devotion larded with sentiment and narcissism. Raw contact with Jesus in the Gospels is not exactly reassuring; both compelling and perplexing, he challenges easy comprehension.
Thus an idea begins to form that the real Jesus is buried somewhere under all the enthusiasms of generations past. If only we can strip away the moss, we'll see the real Jesus. We sense instinctively that Jesus represents the best of humankind, and conclude, not quite logically, that he must subscribe to whatever ideals are currently in fashion. He embodies, we assume, whatever features we most admire in ourselves. We set out in search, carrying a pocket mirror for reference.
If our age thinks the biggest sin is political oppression, and the greatest heroism is revolution, then we assume that Jesus was chiefly a leader of rebellion against Rome. Popular romantic images can be easily laid over this ancient enigmatic figure. No more sappy, blue-eyed Jesus; now he's dramatic and courageous, offending religious authorities and battling the Establishment. (A British ad agency even brought out a poster of Jesus in the likeness of Che Guevara.)
Now the Gospels are easy to read: Whatever fits this template is authentic, and whatever doesn't was invented by misguided followers.
It's a touching tribute that people want to attribute to Jesus their own highest ideals. When they presume that he embodies their pre-existing opinions, they pay him their highest compliment. It is a childlike gift, "a uniquely great expression of sincerity."
The words are those of Albert Schweitzer. In 1906, he wrote a book titled "The Quest of the Historical Jesus," which surveyed the research to date. Attempts to locate the "historical Jesus," Schweitzer explained, had been going on since the middle 1700s. Writers were often unaware of this and astonished to find that the ideas they thought shocking and original had been proposed by someone else 100 years before.
From the end of his earthly life Jesus has captured and commanded hearts in every century and every land. (Christianity isn't a "Western religion"; Western ignorance of the ancient Eastern church doesn't mean it doesn't exist.)
Jesus has no parallel in human history.
How does he do it? Those who have experienced this authority or presence are largely unable to put it into words. They can't explain why others don't sense it at all, or why some glimpse only a tantalizing hint while others are knocked flat. In 2,000 years, no better words have been found: He rose from the dead. He's still risen from the dead. He's here right now.
In this context, the search for the historical Jesus seems almost laughably beside the point. You don't know Jesus by examining shards of 2,000-year-old pottery. You know him by meeting him today.
This inexplicable encounter continues to occur, and those who meet him fresh today can feel that same pull. But how is it possible to know him? To sophisticated eyes, his most vocal followers are embarrassing and ignorant, their politics suspect, their devotion larded with sentiment and narcissism. Raw contact with Jesus in the Gospels is not exactly reassuring; both compelling and perplexing, he challenges easy comprehension.
Thus an idea begins to form that the real Jesus is buried somewhere under all the enthusiasms of generations past. If only we can strip away the moss, we'll see the real Jesus. We sense instinctively that Jesus represents the best of humankind, and conclude, not quite logically, that he must subscribe to whatever ideals are currently in fashion. He embodies, we assume, whatever features we most admire in ourselves. We set out in search, carrying a pocket mirror for reference.
If our age thinks the biggest sin is political oppression, and the greatest heroism is revolution, then we assume that Jesus was chiefly a leader of rebellion against Rome. Popular romantic images can be easily laid over this ancient enigmatic figure. No more sappy, blue-eyed Jesus; now he's dramatic and courageous, offending religious authorities and battling the Establishment. (A British ad agency even brought out a poster of Jesus in the likeness of Che Guevara.)
Now the Gospels are easy to read: Whatever fits this template is authentic, and whatever doesn't was invented by misguided followers.
It's a touching tribute that people want to attribute to Jesus their own highest ideals. When they presume that he embodies their pre-existing opinions, they pay him their highest compliment. It is a childlike gift, "a uniquely great expression of sincerity."
The words are those of Albert Schweitzer. In 1906, he wrote a book titled "The Quest of the Historical Jesus," which surveyed the research to date. Attempts to locate the "historical Jesus," Schweitzer explained, had been going on since the middle 1700s. Writers were often unaware of this and astonished to find that the ideas they thought shocking and original had been proposed by someone else 100 years before.
Pope Performs Exorcism Over Teenage Italian Girl
VATICAN CITY, Sept. 11 (CNS)--Pope John Paul II performed an impromptu exorcism on a teenage girl who flew into a possessed rage at the end of an audience in St. Peter's Square, said the chief exorcist for the Diocese of Rome.
The Rome exorcist, Pauline Father Gabriele Amorth, told Catholic News Service September 11 that the pope spent more than half an hour praying over the girl and ordering a demon to leave her, but failed to fully cure her.
The girl, identified as a 19-year-old Italian with a history of possession, was in the front row at the pope's weekly general audience September 6. As the pope prepared to leave, she began screaming incomprehensibly and speaking in a "cavernous voice," Father Amorth said.
As security personnel struggled to restrain her "superhuman" efforts to break free, Bishop Gianni Danzi, a top Vatican City official, alerted the pope.
In an area away from the square, the pope "hugged this poor little girl, tried to console her, and promised that the next day, Thursday morning, he would celebrate his Mass for her," Father Amorth said.
Father Amorth was not present at the papal exorcism, but said he had performed an exorcism on the girl the previous day. Father Amorth said that after the girl met with the pope, Bishop Danzi and he performed another exorcism that lasted for two hours.
During that exorcism, the priest said, the demon mocked the pope, saying, "Not even your [church] head can send me away."
"This is a case where the possession is very, very strong," said Father Amorth, founder and president of the International Association of Exorcists.
"From what can be foreseen by us exorcists, it will take years of exorcisms" for the girl to be fully cured, he said.
The pope did not perform a full ritual exorcism, but Father Amorth said that ritual elements make only "the slightest difference" to an exorcism's effectiveness.
"Many, many exorcists don't do the ritual exorcism but limit themselves to praying and to ordering the demon to go," he said.
Father Amorth said the girl has been possessed since she was 12 years old and was sent to him for consultation by the exorcist of the Archdiocese of Milan, who had never dealt with such a severe case.
Bishop Danzi was unavailable September 11 to comment, his secretary told CNS.
The Vatican's press office also declined comment.
Pope John Paul reportedly has carried out at least two other exorcisms in the Vatican: one in 1978 and one in 1982.
In the 1982 case, according to the late Cardinal Jacques Martin, who was head of the papal household at that time, the demon left an Italian woman, identified as Francesca F., as soon as the pope promised to celebrate Mass for her.
Source :http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/2000/09/Pope-Performs-Exorcism-Over-Teenage-Italian-Girl.aspx?print=true
The Rome exorcist, Pauline Father Gabriele Amorth, told Catholic News Service September 11 that the pope spent more than half an hour praying over the girl and ordering a demon to leave her, but failed to fully cure her.
The girl, identified as a 19-year-old Italian with a history of possession, was in the front row at the pope's weekly general audience September 6. As the pope prepared to leave, she began screaming incomprehensibly and speaking in a "cavernous voice," Father Amorth said.
As security personnel struggled to restrain her "superhuman" efforts to break free, Bishop Gianni Danzi, a top Vatican City official, alerted the pope.
In an area away from the square, the pope "hugged this poor little girl, tried to console her, and promised that the next day, Thursday morning, he would celebrate his Mass for her," Father Amorth said.
Father Amorth was not present at the papal exorcism, but said he had performed an exorcism on the girl the previous day. Father Amorth said that after the girl met with the pope, Bishop Danzi and he performed another exorcism that lasted for two hours.
During that exorcism, the priest said, the demon mocked the pope, saying, "Not even your [church] head can send me away."
"This is a case where the possession is very, very strong," said Father Amorth, founder and president of the International Association of Exorcists.
"From what can be foreseen by us exorcists, it will take years of exorcisms" for the girl to be fully cured, he said.
The pope did not perform a full ritual exorcism, but Father Amorth said that ritual elements make only "the slightest difference" to an exorcism's effectiveness.
"Many, many exorcists don't do the ritual exorcism but limit themselves to praying and to ordering the demon to go," he said.
Father Amorth said the girl has been possessed since she was 12 years old and was sent to him for consultation by the exorcist of the Archdiocese of Milan, who had never dealt with such a severe case.
Bishop Danzi was unavailable September 11 to comment, his secretary told CNS.
The Vatican's press office also declined comment.
Pope John Paul reportedly has carried out at least two other exorcisms in the Vatican: one in 1978 and one in 1982.
In the 1982 case, according to the late Cardinal Jacques Martin, who was head of the papal household at that time, the demon left an Italian woman, identified as Francesca F., as soon as the pope promised to celebrate Mass for her.
Source :http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/2000/09/Pope-Performs-Exorcism-Over-Teenage-Italian-Girl.aspx?print=true
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