Muslims’ Presence at Mass... from ZENIT in Roswell, Georgia, United States for Tuesday, 6 September 2016

Muslims’ Presence at Mass... from ZENIT in Roswell, Georgia, United States for Tuesday, 6 September 2016
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Muslims’ Presence at Mass by Fr. Edward McNamara

Answered by Legionary of Christ Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy and dean of theology at the Regina Apostolorum university.
Q: A few Sundays ago in some churches in France and Italy persons of Muslim faith assisted at Mass as a sign of solidarity with Catholics following the murder of Father Jacques Hamel close to Rouen in Normandy by two Islamic extremists. In ancient times, penitents, heretics and even catechumens were obliged to leave the celebration before the sacrificial part of the Mass, not being able to know the Eucharistic mysteries. Has this practice been abandoned by the Church? Can Muslims attend Mass in its entirety including the Liturgy of the Eucharist? — R.C., Rome
A: It is true that during a certain period of history certain classes of people were not permitted to remain for the entirety of the Eucharistic celebration but were required to leave before the Prayer of the Faithful. Even today the rites preceding the baptism of adults foresee such a dismissal as a symbolic reminder of this earlier practice.
Those most commonly dismissed were catechumens, who were still learning the Gospel and its ways, and penitents who performed public penance and were excluded from Communion for a fixed period of time.
The initial motives for such demands were both practical and theological. In the early stages of the Church, surrounded by an often hostile environment, it was not always safe nor proper to admit just anyone to the sacred mysteries. Because the catechumens were still outside the Church, though already “believers,” they were considered untried and not yet made firm in the faith. The Church was not yet willing to permit them to be present when the awesome mystery of the Body and Blood of Christ was celebrated.
They were therefore dismissed in order to receive instruction, although in some cases the full explanation of the mystery of the Eucharist was not imparted until after baptism itself.
Theologically the catechumens were excluded because they did not yet form part of the Body of Christ.
Thus in the writings of Clement of Alexandria (150-215), the catechumens depart, after they have shared in the singing of the Psalms [De odor, in spir. et verit. 12.]. A little later they join in some of the prayers.
In the work known as the Apostolic Constitutions (circa 375-380) we find successive dismissals, each class having its own prayers. First, there was a warning to unbelievers not to be present: “Let none of the listeners, none of the heathen, be present.” A litany followed, consisting of a series of petitions for the catechumens, and then a prayer for them, and then they were dismissed. The catechumens having first prostrated themselves, the deacon says:
Let us pray earnestly for the Catechumens.
The people: Κύριε ἐλέησον
Let us stand well.
Let us pray.
That the all-merciful and pitiful God may hear their supplications.
That he may open the ears of their hearts,
and instruct (κατηχήσῃ) them in the word of truth.
That he may sow his fear in them, and confirm his faith in their minds.
That he may reveal to them the Gospel of righteousness.
That he may give them a godly mind, prudent counsel, and a virtuous conversation, always to think and design and care for the things that belong to God, to walk in his law day and night, to remember his commandments, to keep his statutes.
Still more earnestly let us beseech on their behalf;
That he may deliver them from every evil and unbecoming deed, from every diabolic sin, and from every assault of the enemy.
That he may make them worthy in due time for the laver of regeneration, the forgiveness of sins, and the clothing of immortality.
That he may bless their coming in and their going out, all their manner of life, their houses and households, and their children, that he may bless them as they grow up, and give them wisdom according to their age.
That he may make straight the way before them for their well-being.
Rise.
The angel of peace do ye request, O catechumens.
That all your future may be peaceful.
That the present day and all your days may be peaceful, pray ye.
That your end may be Christian.
For the good and profitable.
Present yourselves to the living God and his Christ. [end]
After the sixth century, with the prevalence of infant baptism and the advent of private, rather than public, penance, the different dismissals tended to disappear as there were few adult catechumens and no public penitents. The dismissal of the penitents, however, was not as universal a practice as that of catechumens and it disappeared earlier. Thus when the emperor Theodosius submitted to penance in 390 for a massacre he had ordered, he was allowed to be present at the sacred rites, but not to communicate until he had been solemnly readmitted.
However, in some Eastern rites certain elements remain from the ancient practice, although the prayers for the catechumens are usually said silently by the priest, including the call to exit the Church. Another element in these rites is that before the recitation of the Creed, the deacon cries out, “The doors! The doors!” This is a relic of the ancient discipline in which the doors of the church would be guarded so that non-Christians, those “outside” the Church, would literally remain outside the church during the Eucharist.
As time went on, Europe became almost universally Christian and Christian doctrine became public knowledge, so the need for such safeguards essentially disappeared. Anybody could attend Mass and practically nobody present could tell who was eligible to be able to participate in the Eucharist or not.
The idea of a non-Catholic participating in a Catholic Mass, either out of curiosity or out of respect for Catholics, is not new and, while not common, it has happened before. George Washington several times attended Mass as a sign of his opposition to anti-Catholicism as did several other members of the Constitutional Convention. Almost every year the Muslim leader of the Palestinian territory assists at Midnight Mass at Bethlehem. Such demonstrations of respect for the religious beliefs of fellow citizens are acts of courtesy and are in a completely different context from the situation in the early Church that we have seen above.
The recent participation at Mass by some Muslims following upon the murder of an elderly priest can probably be seen in this light as a sign of respect and solidarity toward their Catholic neighbors as well as of condemnation of those who commit heinous acts in the name of their religion.
* * *
Readers may send questions to zenit.liturgy@gmail.com. Please put the word “Liturgy” in the subject field. The text should include your initials, your city and your state, province or country. Father McNamara can only answer a small selection of the great number of questions that arrive.
Pope’s Fall Schedule by ZENIT Staff

The Office of Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff has published the following calendar of liturgical celebrations at which the Holy Father will preside from September to November:
SEPTEMBER
Sunday 25, 26th Sunday of Ordinary Time: At 10.30 a.m. in St. Peter’s Square, Holy Mass and Jubilee of Catechists.
Friday 30 to Sunday 2 October: Apostolic trip to Georgia and Azerbaijan.
OCTOBER
Saturday 8: At 5.30 p.m. in St. Peter’s Square, Marian vigil.
Sunday 9, 28th Sunday of Ordinary Time: At 10.30 a.m. in St. Peter’s Square, Holy Mass and Marian Jubilee.
Sunday 16: 29th Sunday of Ordinary Time: At 10.15 in St. Peter’s Square, Holy Mass and canonisation of Blesseds Salomone Leclercq, José Sanchez del Rio, Manuel González García, Lodovico Pavoni, Alfonso Maria Fusco, José Gabriel del Rosario Brochero, and Elisabeth of the Holy Trinity.
Monday 31 to Tuesday 1 November: Apostolic trip to Sweden to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.
NOVEMBER
Friday 4: At 11.30 in the Vatican Basilica, Holy Mass for the souls of cardinals and bishops who died during the year.
Sunday 6, 32nd Sunday of Ordinary Time: At 10 a.m. in the Vatican Basilica, Holy Mass and Jubilee of Prisoners.
Sunday 13, 33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time: At 10 a.m. in the Vatican Basilica, Holy Mass and Jubilee of the Homeless.
Sunday 20, Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe: At 10 a.m. in St. Peter’s Square, Holy Mass for the conclusion of the Jubilee of Mercy.
Interview With Postulator: Most People Can Still Learn a Lot About Mother Teresa by Kathleen Naab

When a saint is as well known as Mother Teresa, it is perhaps easy to think, “ah yes, we are familiar with her. We already know what she has to teach us.”
This assumption is quite incorrect, according to the postulator of her cause and editor of several works about Mother Teresa, Father Brian Kolodiejchuk, M.C..
Fr. Kolodiejchuk has edited the newest release about Mother Teresa, Image Book’s “A Call to Mercy: Hearts to Love, Hands to Serve,” released just last week. This book, designed to coincide with the Jubilee of Mercy, distills Mother Teresa’s message and is, as Fr. Kolodiejchuk says, “a practical and very down to earth expression of how ‘mercy’ reaches ‘misery.'”
ZENIT asked Fr. Kolodiejchuk to tell us more about this saint and what we still need to learn from her.
ZENIT: Mother Teresa is so well known and much loved by the whole world. What do you think we need to learn about her by reading a more in-depth biography?
Fr. Kolodiejchuk: Indeed, Mother Teresa is generally known as an icon of love and compassion to the poorest, the weakest, those on the “peripheries” of human existence. She is loved and admired as a universal icon of mercy, a truly extraordinary person. Nonetheless, I don’t think she is that well known among the younger generation; many children, teens and young adults have very little or even no knowledge of her life and message.
Even many of those who know of Mother Teresa do not have more than a general knowledge of her life, work and message. This can be seen by the reactions to the books that I have edited over the last years. Each book reveals something new about Mother Teresa and so have “surprised” in some way its readers: Come Be My Light, with the revelation of her interior darkness that she embraced in union with the poor she served; Where There is Love, There is God, revealing her deep and simple wisdom on important spiritual themes, like faith, love, trust; and now A Call to Mercy, showing her “love in action” through the practice of the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. This book clearly reveals her preferential love to the poorest and neediest.
I think that most people can still learn a lot about Mother Teresa. She has been a prophet in our times and her message is still essential for the world today. She made us aware of the presence of the poor, the dignity of each person, of the value of human life from conception to natural death, of the call of everyone to their real mission on earth, that is, to love and to be loved, to love until it hurts, to be holy.
The source of Mother Teresa’s energy and zeal was not an idea, not a concept: it was a person – Jesus – whom she wanted to love as He had never been loved before. She testifies to the world that the teaching of Jesus is true; she lives it and puts it into action. Her firm belief in the words of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew, “You did it to me,” made others aware of the presence of Jesus in the poor, or as she said, in “the distressing disguise of the poorest of the poor.” It was a reality that she brought home to many.
So there is still a lot to learn from her and about her: her faith, her interior life, her character, her relationships – first her relationship with God, and then her relationship with her family, her Sisters, her closest collaborators, and especially with the poor. There are also a lot of interesting things about her that will fascinate readers, for example, her common sense, her remarkable energy, her sense of humor and certain of her “particular practices” such as changing furniture in the house.
An in-depth biography will be my next major writing project, which I hope will bring to Mother Teresa’s admirers, and readers in general, a compelling picture of who she really was.
ZENIT: The title of this newest book, A Call to Mercy, obviously highlights the jubilee we are now living. What do you think St Mother Teresa has to tell the Church about mercy?
Related: Read an excerpt of ‘A Call to Mercy,’ a collection of never-before-published words of Mother Teresa, given to ZENIT here.
Fr. Kolodiejchuk: Mother Teresa’s message on mercy is not an elaborate theological explanation and neither is this book. Rather it is a practical and very down to earth expression of how “mercy” reaches “misery.” It shows a way that we all can identify with: when we are at our lowest, it is then that we most need God’s mercy and it is then that we experience it most tangibly, either directly or through some intermediary, as Mother Teresa was. A Call to Mercy demonstrates how Mother Teresa recognized her own need of God’s mercy, how she opened herself to it and also how she extended it to others. Thus by her example she really can serve as a “teacher” of how to practice mercy, of how to be merciful.
Mother Teresa teaches us that being merciful, caring for our poorer brothers and sisters, helping them effectively in their needs – temporal or spiritual – is not an option; rather, it is a command, an obligation for each one of us. To care for others means to put mercy in action. This is not only a choice but a must, as (soon to be) St. Teresa of Calcutta teaches us: “The poor are the hope of mankind, the poor are the hope for you and me to go to heaven, for at the last judgment, we are going to be judged on that. ‘I was hungry and you gave Me to eat, and I was naked and you clothed Me.’”
Mother Teresa teaches us that as we surrender ourselves totally to God, He uses us to spread mercy, to touch hearts. And then Jesus takes over and accomplishes “miracles” as He did in Mother Teresa’s life, touching literally millions of lives, giving them meaning, helping people to realize that they are loved and capable of loving.
Mother Teresa teaches us that mercy also heals the giver of mercy, that it is more blessed to give than to receive.
The whole life of Mother Teresa teaches us that mercy – concrete, efficient, tender, meek, kind, joyful – for our brothers and sisters is a fount of life that has its origin in the mercy of God and the profound conviction of one’s own need for mercy.
Mercy in action, as seen in Mother Teresa’s life, shows us that once a person is merciful, Jesus enters into these actions and multiplies the graces given and received. Mother Teresa, as shown in this book, touched millions of lives and achieved much more than what one ordinary person can achieve using only human resources. Once focused on Jesus and His mercy, nothing is impossible for the one who loves Him.
ZENIT: September will represent the final page of the great project of overseeing her cause for beatification and canonization. Could you give us some insights on how the cause unfolded? One would presume that since her sanctity was universally recognized long before her death, the process would have gone smoothly. Were there any hiccups along the way?
Fr. Kolodiejchuk: Mother Teresa’s holiness was already very much recognized and acclaimed during her lifetime. Many people made remarks such as, “If she is not a saint, then who can be?” Others would say, “well, do it fast already,” when the question of her beatification was discussed. All of this only confirms Mother Teresa’s worldwide and practically universal reputation of holiness. This actually led Pope John Paul II to waive the five-year waiting period needed for any candidate’s cause to begin.
However, this exception did not waive the process itself. The requirements of the canonical process were fulfilled fully and thoroughly at every phase. This involved a lot of work, since Mother Teresa was a worldwide figure and testimonies and documents had first to be gathered from a vast number of sources.
Thus the diocesan phase in Calcutta began in July 1999 and ended in August of 2001. The roughly 35,000 pages gathered were brought to Rome in 81 volumes of approximately 400-450 pages each. The study of her life, virtues and reputation of sanctity – the approximately 5,000 page Positio – was done meticulously, although in a relatively short time (by Easter of 2002), so much so that one of the theologians that studied it remarked that the work done in so short a time was almost a miracle in itself. Mother Teresa’s living of the Christian life was confirmed to be heroic by a decree of Pope John Paul II in December of 2002. The miracle attributed to Mother Teresa’s intercession, which was studied in the Congregation for the Causes of Saints after the judgment on heroic virtue was made in the Congregation, was also accepted officially by the Holy Father on the same day as was the confirmation of her heroic Christian life (an exception that was previously made for Pope John XXIII).
We can say that the process was both easy and challenging: easy because people would happily and generously cooperate because it was for Mother Teresa, and challenging because the work of gathering the required information was carried out literally across the globe. I have to say that especially during the months of working on the Positio my team and I had a palpable awareness of God’s action, of His grace working with us and for us because of the prayers of many, in particular of our contemplative Sisters who all “adopted” by name the member of the team.
ZENIT: A last question: There are testimonies in the book from people who say that Mother Teresa is continuing her works of mercy even now — that she continues to appear and serve the needy. Could you tell us more about this?
Fr. Kolodiejchuk: Yes, indeed, in the book A Call to Mercy, we find striking examples of Blessed Teresa working miracles of mercy from Heaven, faithful to the mission that she said would be hers: “If I ever become a Saint—I will surely be one of ‘darkness.’ I will continually be absent from Heaven—to light the light of those in darkness on earth.”
So far we have on record more than 5,000 testimonies from the people who sent us reports of favors they received through Mother Teresa’s intercession. We have given only a glimpse of them in the book, since showing more of this aspect of Mother Teresa’s mission in the Church was not its scope. That could be a publication in itself. Here, by way of conclusion, are two more examples:
A conversion of heart through the intercession of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta.
I felt an inspiration from God to pick up the prayer booklet: A Novena to Blessed Teresa of Calcutta: “Jesus is my All in All” …I felt especially drawn to one of the passages of the novena which spoke of Jesus’ love. I felt the Holy Spirit being poured into my soul, with a particular joy for loving as Christ does. The prayer that I read transformed my heart, as l had been depressed and felt little emotion or love in my heart… I knew that it was a miracle because it happened immediately, and I felt a newness of life in God’s Spirit. I feel the Lord working in me to show Christian love to a mother and her child. The child looked so sad, and I felt that Mother Teresa’s spirit also would reach out to that child because of her love of Christ. I felt then Jesus actually calling me to help others and that my vocation would be to love Jesus.
A small miracle through the intercession of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta
In 1993, I had become pregnant with my third daughter and my marriage was in a serious crisis, divorce and abortion was a definitive option. For me either could have been easy to do; I lived a divorce as a child and had two abortions before. God chose a better path for me, where both my husband and I were able to reconcile and saved my daughter’s life. Even though I had lived this miracle, I still did not return to God and His church. When Mother Teresa passed away, it was all over the news. I was not too familiar with Mother Teresa. About 2:00 AM in the morning of September 7, 1997, I was awakened by what I heard “Acts 2 and 3” repeatedly. I was too sleepy and said to myself, this must be from the Bible. I closed my eyes to fall asleep, when I could see Mother Teresa looking at me sternly, not speaking, but I could understand, “Get up.” I answered “Mother?” I became scared because of her stern look at me. I got up, went to the closet where I had put away the Bible and read Acts 2 and 3. The presence of God was there while I was reading each word; each word went within me, as part of me. That morning at 10:00 AM, I went to Mass for the first time in a long time and God has not let go of me since.
My family is part of the Church. Slowly the Lord has been healing every sin, still each day. I immediately began reading about Mother Teresa, and slowly began to figure it out. In heaven you continue doing the work you were doing on earth, and Mother is doing so. On earth she took care of the poorest of the poor, in heaven she still does – God felt that I was one for her – she picked me up- she carried me. I keep this as a treasure. [This interview originally ran at Zenit in the lead-up to the Sept. 4 canonization]
Text of Cardinal Parolin’s Homily in Thanksgiving for Canonization of Mother Teresa by ZENIT Staff

On Monday, the Pope’s secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, presided over a Holy Mass of Thanksgiving for Mother Teresa’s Canonization.
Here is a translation of the text of the homily that Cardinal Parolin pronounced in the course of the celebration.
* * *
Lord Cardinals,
Dear Fellow Brothers in the Episcopate and the Presbyterate,
Distinguished Authorities,
Dear Women and Men Missionaries of Charity
Pilgrims and Devotees,
Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Today we have returned to Saint Peter’s Square, numerous and full of joy, to thank the Lord for the gift of the Canonization of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Saint Teresa of Calcutta.
How many reasons we have to be profoundly grateful to the Lord! We thank Him for the heroic witness of faith of the Saints, with whom He always renders His Church fruitful and gives us, His children, a sure sign of His love (cf. Preface of the Saints II).
We thank Him, in particular, for having given us Saint Teresa of Calcutta who, with her incessant prayer, source of great works of corporal and spiritual mercy, was a clear mirror of the love of God and an admirable example of service to her neighbor, especially to the poorest, most forsaken and abandoned persons: mirror and example from which to draw precious pointers and stimulations to live as good disciples of the Lord, to convert us from tepidness and mediocrity, and to let ourselves be inflamed by the fire of the love of Christ: Caritas Christi urget nos,”the love of Christ urges us, the love of Christ impels us (2 Corinthians5:14).
Mother Teresa liked to describe herself as “ a pencil in the Lord’s hand,”but what poems of charity, compassion, comfort and joy that small pencil was able to write! Poems of love and of tenderness for the poorest of the poor, to whom she consecrated her existence!
She refers thus to the clear perception of her “vocation within a vocation,” which she had in September of 1946, while she was traveling to <engage in> Spiritual Exercises: ”I opened my eyes on suffering and understood in depth the essence of my vocation […] I felt the Lord was asking me to give up my tranquil life in my Religious Congregation to go out on the streets and serve the poor. It was an order. It was not a suggestion, an invitation or a proposal” (Quoted in Renzo Allegri, Mother Teresa Told Me, Ancora Publishers, 2010).
Mother Teresa “opened her eyes on suffering,” she embraced it with a look of compassion, all her being was challenged and shaken by this encounter that, in a certain sense, pierced her heart, on the example of Jesus, who was moved by the suffering of the human creature, incapable of raising itself on its own.
How can one not reread in the light of her event, the words that Pope Francis addressed to us in the Bull of proclamation of the Jubilee of Mercy, when he wrote: “Let us not fall into the indifference that humiliates, into the habit that anesthetizes the spirit and impedes discovering the novelty, into the cynicism that destroys. Let us open our eyes to look at the miseries of the world, the wounds of many brothers and sisters deprived of dignity, and let us feel ourselves stirred to listen to their cry for help. May our hands squeeze their hands and let us draw them to ourselves so that they feel the warmth of our presence, of friendship and of fraternity” (MV n. 15).
But what was Mother Teresa’s “secret”? It is certainly not a secret because we just proclaimed the Gospel in a loud voice: “Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:40).
Mother Teresa discovered in the poor the face of Christ, who “for your sake became poor, so that by His poverty you might become rich” (cf. 2Corinthians 8:9) and she responded to his unbounded love with an unbounded love for the poor. “Caritas Christi urget nos,” the love of Christ urges us, the love of Christ impels us (2 Corinthians 5:14).
She was able to be a very luminous sign of mercy. “Mercy was for her ‘the salt’ that gave flavor to every work of hers and the ‘light’ that brightened the darkness of all those that no longer had tears to weep for their poverty and suffering,” said the Holy Father in yesterday’s homily, because she allowed herself to be illumined by Christ, adored, loved and praised in the Eucharist, as she herself explained: “Our lives must be constantly nourished by the Eucharist because, if we are not capable of seeing Christ under the appearance of bread, it will not be possible for us either to discover Him under the humble appearance of the badly reduced bodies of the poor” (cf. Teresa of Calcutta, The Love that Quenches, p. 16).
Moreover, she knew well that one of the more lacerating forms of poverty consists in knowing one is not loved, not desired, scorned. A sort of poverty present also in less poor countries and families, also in individuals belonging to categories that have means and possibilities, but that experience the interior emptiness of having lost the meaning and direction of life or have been violently affected by the desolation of broken bonds, by the harshness of solitude, by the sensation of being forgotten by all and of not being useful to anyone.
This led her to identify the children not yet born and threatened in their existence as “the poorest among the poor.” In fact each one depends, more than any other human being, on the love and care of a mother and on society’s protection. The conceived one has nothing of his own; every hope and necessity of his is in the hands of others. He bears in him a plan of life and of future and asks to be heard and protected so that he can become what he already is: one of us, that the Lord has thought of from all eternity for a great mission to accomplish, that of “loving and of being loved,” as Mother Teresa liked to repeat.
Therefore, she defended courageously nascent life, with that frankness of word and line of action that is the most luminous sign of the presence of the Prophets and of the Saints, who do not bow to anyone except to the Almighty; they are interiorly free because they are interiorly strong and they do not stoop in face of fashions and of the idols of the moment, but are reflected in their illuminated conscience by the sun of the Gospel.
In her we discover that happy and inseparable binomial between the heroic exercise of charity and clarity in the proclamation of the truth; we see her constant industriousness nourished by the profundity of contemplation; the mystery of the good accomplished in humility and without exhaustion, fruit of a love that “hurts.”
To this end, she affirmed in her famous address for the awarding of the Nobel Prize at Oslo on December 11, 1979: “It is very important for us to understand that love, to be true, must hurt. It hurt Jesus to love us, it hurt Him.” And, thanking the present and future benefactors, she said: “I don’t want you to give me of your surplus, I want you to give me until it hurts.”
In my opinion these words are like a threshold that we cross and enter into the abyss that envelops the Saint’s life, in those heights and those depths that are difficult to explore because they follow closely the sufferings of Christ, His unconditional gift of love and the very deep wounds He had to suffer.
It is the ineffable density of the Cross, of this “hurting” of the good done for love of God, because of the friction it causes in dealing with all those that resist us, because of creatures’ limitations, their sin and the death that is its wages.
And it is also – as is evident in the numerous letters she addressed to her Spiritual Director – “the Dark Night of the faith,” in which the burning love for the crucified Lord and for brothers needy of care and bread coexist; a solid and pure faith and – at the same time – the tremendous sensation of God’s distance and His silence. Something similar to Christ’s cry on the cross: “My God, my God why hast Thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46).
Another word, of the seven Jesus pronounced during His agony on the cross, which she wanted it to be written in English in every House of her Congregation, beside the Crucified One: “I thirst,” I am thirsty: thirsty for fresh and limpid water, thirst for souls to console and to redeem from their ugly deeds to make them beautiful and pleasing to the eyes of God, thirst for God, for His vital and luminous presence. “I thirst”: this is the thirst that burned in Mother Teresa, her cross and exaltation, her torment and glory.
For the good accomplished in this life, she received the Nobel Prize for Peace and so many other awards and she saw the flowering of her work, especially in the Congregations of the Missionary Sisters of Charity and of the Missionary Brothers of Charity that she founded to come after her. Now in Paradise, with Mary the Mother of God and All the Saints, she receives the altogether highest prize prepared for her since the foundation of the world, the prize reserved to the just, the meek, the humble of heart, to those that, receiving the poor receive Christ.
When Mother Teresa passed from this earth to Heaven on September 5, 1997, Calcutta remained completely without light for some long minutes. On this earth she was a transparent sign that pointed to Heaven. On the day of her death Heaven wished to offer a seal to her life and to communicate to us that a new light had been lighted above us. Now, after the “official” recognition of her sanctity, it shines still more vividly. May this light, which is the eternal light of the Gospel, continue to illumine our earthly pilgrimage and the paths of this difficult world!
Saint Teresa of Calcutta, pray for us!
[Original text: Italian] [Translation by ZENIT]
To Teachers at the Start of the School Year: Your Mission Is a Vocation by ZENIT Staff

Homily preached by the Reverend Peter M. J. Stravinskas, Ph.D., S.T.D. on the Vocation of the Catholic School Teacher for the Faculty Day of Prayer of St. Theresa School in Coral Gables, Florida, on 19 August 2016.
Today’s First Reading would seem to be ideally chosen for Catholic school teachers. Ezekiel is confronted with a vision of a field of dry, dead bones and commanded to prophesy over them, so as to bring them back to life. Isn’t that the situation in which we find ourselves in the secularized West? Unfortunately, like the Chosen People of old, most of our contemporaries don’t realize that they are dead and that the culture is moribund. It is our task to demonstrate to them just how lifeless the whole culture is. Were it otherwise, how would one explain the vast array of children with learning disabilities of every kind; the couches of psychiatrists constantly filled; the suicide rate (especially among the young) the highest in our history? Too often, we Catholic educators have been intimidated into silence in the face of what is in reality an “anti-culture,” lest we appear “out of it” or “uncool.”
Back in the silly – and stupid — sixties, we were told that if we could shake off the shackles of religion and morality, we would experience true and complete happiness. Religion, we heard, was an albatross, an inhibition, an obstacle to human fulfillment. Well, the shackles were certainly removed, and the result has been a disaster. With the depressing signs all around us, we are in an ideal position to be educators, in the root Latin sense of the word, “educere,” to lead out – leading our students out of the misery and shackles of a godless modernity. We must convince them – being convinced first of all ourselves – of the truth put forth so powerfully by Pope Benedict XVI in his inaugural homily, which in turn was harking back to the inaugural homily of Pope John Paul II:
At this point, my mind goes back to Oct. 22, 1978, when Pope John Paul II began his ministry here in Saint Peter’s Square. His words on that occasion constantly echo in my ears: “Do not be afraid! Open wide the doors for Christ!” The Pope was addressing the mighty, the powerful of this world, who feared that Christ might take away something of their power if they were to let him in, if they were to allow the faith to be free. Yes, he would certainly have taken something away from them: the dominion of corruption, the manipulation of law and the freedom to do as they pleased. But he would not have taken away anything that pertains to human freedom or dignity, or to the building of a just society.
The Pope was also speaking to everyone, especially the young. Are we not perhaps all afraid in some way? If we let Christ enter fully into our lives, if we open ourselves totally to him, are we not afraid that He might take something away from us? Are we not perhaps afraid to give up something significant, something unique, something that makes life so beautiful? Do we not then risk ending up diminished and deprived of our freedom? And once again the Pope said: No! If we let Christ into our lives, we lose nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing of what makes life free, beautiful and great. No! Only in this friendship are the doors of life opened wide. Only in this friendship is the great potential of human existence truly revealed. Only in this friendship do we experience beauty and liberation. And so, today, with great strength and great conviction, on the basis of long personal experience of life, I say to you, dear young people: Do not be afraid of Christ! He takes nothing away, and he gives you everything. When we give ourselves to him, we receive a hundredfold in return. Yes, open, open wide the doors to Christ – and you will find true life.
That, my friends and colleagues, is our holy vocation, our noble calling – to teach those committed to our care that in following Christ and His Church, we lose nothing that is “free, beautiful and great” – and gain much more besides. However, every Catholic educator must understand his or her calling and glory in it. Just what kind of understanding will enable you to be effective proclaimers of Gospel living and Catholic truth?
First of all, before becoming a teacher, one must be a student, a disciple. An old Latin adage instructs us: “Nemo dat quod non habet” (No one can give what he doesn’t have). One must enroll oneself in the School of Jesus and, having gone through a thorough education in the faith and a serious formation in virtuous living, only then will one be able to teach others. Here’s what the Congregation for Catholic Education said in 1977:
By their witness and their behaviour teachers are of the first importance to impart a distinctive character to Catholic schools. It is, therefore, indispensable to ensure their continuing formation through some form of suitable pastoral provision. This must aim to animate them as witnesses of Christ in the classroom and tackle the problems of their particular apostolate, especially regarding a Christian vision of the world and of education, problems also connected with the art of teaching in accordance with the principles of the Gospel. (“The Catholic School,” n. 78)
Only once we are evangelized can we become evangelists. Only once we become disciples can we be credible teachers. In this regard, it is worth recalling the insightful observation of Pope Paul VI in Evangelii Nuntiandi, his 1975 apostolic exhortation: “Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses” (n. 41). Or, as the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council before him put it in their Decree on Christian education, Gravissimum Educationis:
. . . let teachers recognize that the Catholic school depends upon them almost entirely for the accomplishment of its goals and programs. They should therefore be very carefully prepared so that both in secular and religious knowledge they are equipped with suitable qualifications and also with a pedagogical skill that is in keeping with the findings of the contemporary world. Intimately linked in charity to one another and to their students and endowed with an apostolic spirit, may teachers by their life as much as by their instruction bear witness to Christ, the unique Teacher. Let them work as partners with parents and together with them in every phase of education. . . . Let them do all they can to stimulate their students to act for themselves and even after graduation to continue to assist them with advice, friendship and by establishing special associations imbued with the true spirit of the Church. The work of these teachers, this sacred synod declares, is in the real sense of the word an apostolate most suited to and necessary for our times and at once a true service offered to society. (n. 8)
St. John Paul II, the great apostle of Catholic education – who often referred to Catholic schools as the very “heart of the Church” – in a 1996 discourse to the International Office of Catholic Education likewise addressed our topic in great detail:
It is of supreme importance that these educators, who have come of their own accord to offer their services in a Catholic institution or have been recruited by the administration of the school, have a precise vision of a Christian education based on the Gospel message. It is a sacred duty for all to bear witness individually and, at the same time communally, to their faith. . . . Each one, in the discipline he teaches, will know how to find the opportune circumstance to have the youth discover that science and faith are two different yet complementary readings of the universe and of history. . . . Catholic education must be outstanding for the professional competence of its teachers, the witness of their strong faith and the atmosphere of respect, mutual assistance and Gospel joy which permeate the entire institution.
Notice how the sainted Pope weaves together several threads: personal commitment to Christ, professional competence, permeation of the curriculum with religious and moral values (in other words, religion isn’t only taught in a half-hour religion class) – all leading to an atmosphere of genuine Christian life.
Pope Francis the Jesuit, himself a former high school teacher of Latin and chemistry, in a 2014 address to the Congregation of Catholic Education spoke at length about the importance of a proper preparation of “formators” in our Catholic schools. After stating the obvious need for such teachers to be academically qualified, he also calls for them to be “coherent witnesses.” And how is that achieved? He tells us:
For this, an educator is himself in need of permanent formation. It is necessary to invest so that teachers and supervisors may maintain a high level of professionalism and also maintain their faith and the strength of their spiritual impetus. And in this permanent formation too I would suggest a need for retreats and spiritual exercises for educators. It is a beautiful thing to offer courses on the subject, but it is also necessary to offer spiritual exercises and retreats focused on prayer! For consistency requires effort but most of all it is a gift and a grace. We must ask for it!
Isn’t that what we are doing today?
The Pope mentions prayer as an essential ingredient of the life of a Catholic educator. This is a strong echo of the admonition of the Venerable Mother Luisita, foundress of the Carmelite Sisters of Alhambra, who asserted – without fear of contradiction: “Do not simply be good teachers. Be souls of prayer or you will have nothing to offer the children.”
In a conversation with students of Jesuit schools in June of 2013, Pope Francis zeroed in on the essential role of teachers, all the while encouraging them not to lose hope in the face of what Pope Benedict termed “an educational emergency,” that is, a worldwide pedagogical meltdown. Francis said:
Do not be disheartened in the face of the difficulties that the educational challenge presents! Educating is not a profession but an attitude, a way of being; in order to educate it is necessary to step out of ourselves and be among young people, to accompany them in the stages of their growth and to set ourselves beside them.
Give them hope and optimism for their journey in the world. Teach them to see the beauty and goodness of creation and of man who always retains the Creator’s hallmark. But above all with your life be witnesses of what you communicate. Educators. . . pass on knowledge and values with their words; but their words will have an incisive effect on children and young people if they are accompanied by their witness, their consistent way of life. Without consistency it is impossible to educate! . . .
Thus collaboration in a spirit of unity and community among the various educators is essential and must be fostered and encouraged. School can and must be a catalyst, it must be a place of encounter and convergence of the entire educating community, with the sole objective of training and helping to develop mature people who are simple, competent and honest, who know how to love with fidelity, who can live life as a response to God’s call, and their future profession as a service to society.
I trust you did not miss his emphasis yet again on the need for a consistent witness of life on the part of Catholic school teachers. But he also stresses that this is a communal enterprise; to his way of thinking (and the Church’s), this involves parents as well and especially. And don’t miss his emphasis on providing young people with a perspective of hopefulness – in a world so driven to hopelessness and despair.
In another meeting with teachers, Francis observed that teachers are not generally well paid. While all of us would like to see that situation improved, let me also make a few comments in that regard. When I was a high school administrator, during Catholic Schools Week, we always had a teacher appreciation day, in the lead-up to which I distributed a faculty list to the students, identifying the teacher’s field, the salary that person received from us, and what that teacher would earn in the government school down the block. Some of the teachers did not like the practice and thought it potentially demeaning. I disagreed. Why? Because, invariably, students would go up to a teacher and say, “Mrs. Jones, you mean to tell me that you could make $10,000 a year more by just walking down the road? Why do you stay here?” Those questions became “teachable moments,” allowing the teacher to explain that he or she was in a Catholic school, not to make money, but to share a Christian vision of life, thus inviting the whole school community to life on high with Christ for all eternity. In our materialistic culture, that kind of witness is invaluable. At a practical level, I should also mention that there are trade-offs in life: If you enter a Catholic school at eight in the morning with four limbs, your dignity and a lesson plan, I can pretty well guarantee that you will leave at three with four limbs, your dignity and a completed lesson – plus so much more.
You will recall that in one Pope Francis’ talks, he urged teachers not to give in to discouragement. Permit me to piggy-back on that idea in three ways.
First, at times we hear people say that Johnny went to twelve years of Catholic school but hasn’t darkened the door of a church since graduation. While this is surely regrettable, it is also evidence that what we do in our schools is catechesis and evangelization, not brain-washing. If every Catholic school graduate emerged a devout, practicing Catholic, we might have cause to wonder. Not that we wouldn’t want that to be the case – we do – but grace is offered and can be refused. As St. John Paul was fond of saying, the faith is proposed, not imposed.
Second, we have something to learn from the parable of the sower, wherein we hear of the various types of soil in which the seed of the Word of God is sown. While we teachers are used to assigning a grade of 65 or 70 as passing, what does Jesus say about a passing grade for a sower of the seed, that is, a Catholic educator? The Master Teacher says a teacher who succeeds 25% of the time is indeed a success. Why? Because, as St. Thomas Aquinas taught, “grace builds on nature.” We can only do so much with what we are presented. Or, as Cardinal Dolan of New York puts in a one of his homey and foody images, “You can only make gnocchi with the dough you’re given.” Which leads to my last point.
Children are coming to us today all too often from homes where the parents don’t know how to parent because they were never properly parented. Therefore, teachers today – more than ever before – truly stand in loco parentis (in the place of parents). We need to, can, and must catechize and evangelize two generations at once – and not infrequently three. That ought not to be viewed as a burden but as an exhilarating opportunity.
St. Edith Stein (whose liturgical memorial we celebrated last week) was a consummate educator, a fact not often adverted to. The Carmelite martyr of Auschwitz maintained that it is the teacher’s task to help students “develop their gifts and talents and find their own place in the community of the classroom where they can contribute to this community.” She goes on: ”Teachers who practice their vocation in the above manner pave the way for the recovery of family and nation.” But then, very realistically, she adds: “Should it be too late for that, then in any case, [the teacher] works for the Communion of Saints.”
When all is said and done, that’s what it’s really all about – working for the Communion of Saints. That is, saving ourselves through our noble vocation as teachers and helping to save as many of our students and their families as we can. In one of the more revealing dialogues in the award-winning film, A Man for All Seasons, St. Thomas More engages the weasel Richard Rich in a conversation about his future. Rich says that he has thought about becoming a teacher but has dismissed it in the end. “Why?’ asks More. “Who would know?” responds the egoistic Rich. More, who had a way of getting to the heart of the matter, replies: “You would know; your students would know; God would know. Not a bad audience!” Indeed, not a bad audience.
Pope Benedict, in speaking to a group of American bishops on 5 May 2012 on the Catholic schools of our nation, concluded thus: “I wish to express once more my gratitude, and that of the whole Church, for the generous commitment, often accompanied by personal sacrifice, shown by so many teachers and administrators who work in the vast network of Catholic schools in your country.” It is my privilege to echo those sentiments of the Holy Father today.
I pray that you take to heart the divine challenge given to Ezekiel and see in this new academic year the exciting challenge to bring to life dry bones which will rise up to form an army of Christian soldiers who will be a force for truth and goodness and renewal in the Church and in society-at-large. We have the assurance of God Himself that this can happen: “I have promised, and I will do it, says the Lord.”
I always say that a teacher, a parent or a priest must develop the mentality of the long-distance runner. What do I mean? It is rare to see immediate results for our efforts. Sometimes the affirmation comes years later; sometimes, not at all. And so, I want to leave you with a meditation penned by the great John Henry Cardinal Newman – a pre-eminent promoter of Catholic education in nineteenth-century England and an inspiration for our schools to this day. His reflection is not valuable solely for us teachers, but something worthwhile to share with our students as well. Blessed John Henry writes:
God has created me to do Him some definite service. He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission. I may never know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next. I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons. He has not created me for naught. I shall do good; I shall do His work. I shall be an angel of peace, a preacher of truth in my own place, while not intending it if I do but keep His commandments.
Therefore, I will trust Him, whatever I am, I can never be thrown away. If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve Him, in perplexity, my perplexity may serve Him. If I am in sorrow, my sorrow may serve Him. He does nothing in vain. He knows what He is about. He may take away my friends. He may throw me among strangers. He may make me feel desolate, make my spirits sink, hide my future from me. Still, He knows what He is about.
Yes, the Almighty knows what He is about, and He has given you the call to teach His little ones about Him. What a dignity! What a grace! What a responsibility! With St. Paul, I pray: “May the God who has begun this good work in you bring it to completion.”
Bishops on Mission Gather in Rome by ZENIT Staff

There are 94 bishops appointed in the last two years to ecclesiastical circumscriptions dependent on the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples taking part in the Seminar of Study promoted by their Dicastery from September 5-17.
Forty-two Bishops are from 19 African countries; 36 are from nine Asian countries; 12 are from nine nations of America and four from two countries of Oceania.
The Study Seminar began in 1994, and it offers all the Prelates, recently appointed leaders of territories in mission at the beginning of their task, a period of time “to reflect, deepen their episcopal life and ministry, dialogue and pray.”
Well-known personalities of the ecclesial world have been invited to be speakers. Three lectures are scheduled each day, followed by a debate and work in groups.
The meeting began Monday with a Mass presided over by Cardinal Fernando Filoni, Prefect of the Congregation. Then Monsignor Savio Hon Tai Fai, the Dicastery’s Secretary, spoke on “Bishops as Servants of God.” In the afternoon, Cardinal Robert Sarah spoke on “The Action of the Missione ad Gentes in the Reality of the World.” Then on Wednesday, Monsignor Protase Rugambwa, Assistant Secretary of the Congregation and President of the Pontifical Missionary Works will speak on the structure, competencies and activities of this institution.
The Seminar’s program includes interventions by Cardinals Kurt Koch (Ecumenical Dialogue in Mission Territories). Angelo Amato (The Bishop’s Spirituality), Peter Turkson (The Social Doctrine of the Church and Evangelization), Lorenzo Baldisseri (Synod of Bishops and Episcopal Communion), Marc Ouellet (The Pope and the Bishops: Communion and Mission), Beniamino Stella (Paternity in Regard to Presbyters and Formation of the Clergy), and George Pell (Bishops’ Administrative Service).
Additional speakers include the Archbishops and Bishops: Paul Richard Gallagher (The Holy See and Relations with States), Juan I. Arrieta (Pastoral Programs and Diocesan Collaborative Structures/Motu proprioMitis Iudex Dominus Jesus), Vincenzo Paglia (Formation of the Laity), Angelo V. Zani (Educational Initiatives), Jose Rodriguez Carballo (Care of Consecrated Life), Charles Jude Scicluna (Clergy’s Celibacy and Ecclesiastics Accused of Sexual Abuses), Luis Francisco Ladaria (Exercise of the Munus Docendi), Artur Roche (Liturgy and Sanctification of the Church), Miguel Ayuso Guixot (Inter-Religious Dialogue in Mission Territories).
Reports will also be given by Father Joseph Koonamparampil and Professor Frank Elias (Vademecum for Bishops), Monsignor Giampietro Dal Toso (The Service of Charity), Father Hans Zollner (Protection of Minors and Vulnerable Adults), Monsignor Giampaolo Montini (Administration of Justice), Father Peter Gonsalves (Use of the Media in Evangelization).
On Friday, September 9, an audience will take place with the Holy Father and on the 11th the Prelates will go on pilgrimage to Assisi. The Seminar will end on September 17 with a concelebrated Eucharist at the tomb of the Apostle Peter.
Humility: Jesus, Grant Me The Grace To Desire It by ZENIT Staff

By Mike Eisenbath, reprinted from the blog of the Catholic Writers’ Guild.
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Some years ago, at my morning prayer group, my cherished friend Deacon Larry brought copies of the Litany of Humility. I never had heard of that prayer until that day. The men in my group trust Larry implicitly, so we dove right into reciting the prayer. We read the first line together: “O Jesus!, meek and humble of heart, hear me.” Then each of us took turns delivering the first half of each line, with the rest of us in unison voicing the second half.
“From the desire of being esteemed … deliver me, Jesus.”
“From the desire of being loved …”
“Hold on”, I thought to myself, “does humility mean I’m not supposed to want to be loved?” I can’t want that. How could anyone want that? Why would anyone want that? If that’s necessary for humility, I’m not sure if humility is for me. I continued with our group’s recitation, but the more I prayed that morning, the more convinced I felt that the writer of the prayer clearly took humility way too far. “From the desire of being honored … From the desire of being praised … From the desire of being preferred to others …”
I have admired writers ever since, as a precocious seven-year-old baseball fan, I read an adult-level biography of major-league baseball pitcher Bob Gibson written by a New York sportswriter. From that moment, I devoured every written word I could squeeze into my days. The affection included magazine features, newspaper stories and books about baseball, but I couldn’t get enough of biographies about historical figures, truly classic novels and the Bible as well. My heart and soul filled with dreams of the life of a writer.
Writers might declare that they write for themselves first and foremost, but as a writer, I craved readers, an audience that admired me just as I had admired all those writers in my formative years. I wanted people to enjoy my efforts, and I enjoyed their approval and praise. As I moved into adulthood, new passions joined my desire to be an honored writer, as I became a fiercely devoted husband, dad and Catholic Christian. I felt loved and approved; I couldn’t get enough.
That personality didn’t find the Litany of Humility to be a good fit for my prayer life. “From the fear of being humiliated, from the fear of being despised, from the fear of being calumniated, from the fear of being forgotten.” Something about the Litany repelled me. It was like the first time I tasted brussels sprouts as a kid Yet the prayer attracted me because of the nutrition it provided my soul. In prayer and reading, humility clearly belonged among the basic spiritual food groups for anyone desiring sainthood. So as an act of love for my God, I vowed to privately recite the Litany of Humility every evening.
“That others may be loved more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. That others may be esteemed more than I … That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease … ” As time passed, the prayer embedded itself into my inclinations. I hungered for humility. “That others may be praised and I unnoticed … That others may be preferred to me in everything … ”
The publisher with a well-established Catholic company contacted me several months ago. He and his staff had liked one of my book ideas. They wanted to see a sample chapter and outline. About that same time, an editor requested samples of my writing and examples of topics I might pursue if they named me columnist in her monthly magazine, and yet another magazine asked for the same about the same time. In each instance, I assumed the movements of the Holy Spirit; I presumed success. Since seeking my first job 40 years ago, at the age of 15, I never had interviewed for a job that I didn’t land. As recently as the first half of 2015, four different Catholic websites regularly accepted my work.
“That others may be chosen and I set aside … ” During the last several weeks, the publisher informed me his staff didn’t think I had adequately developed my book idea, that I didn’t have a name recognizable enough in Catholic circles to sell a book. The time isn’t right, he said. One magazine editor said she had filled all available blogging spots with other writers; the other editor said her people weren’t ready to make a decision. In the midst of all that, I had offered friendship to someone facing great turmoil in life; that person rejected my offer.
I might have felt shattered. My already inflamed depression could have dragged me even deeper into the sadness. Instead, I thanked God for His wisdom and grace. I prayed for the people who had been chosen over me. “That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.”
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