30Days in brief

Paul rests outside the Walls
“The sacrament of the poor man” and “the smallest gift of grace”
The meeting between Benedict XVI and Obama has restored hope
A network of prayer for the Pope’s accident
“A moment before everything there is Christ”
Kirill goes to Bartholomew

Paul rests outside the Walls

The tomb of Paul under the main altar of the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, Rome [© Paolo Galosi]

At the close of the Pauline Year (28 June 2009), Pope Benedict XVI presided over the celebration of the First Vespers of the Feast of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul in the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls. We quote a passage from the homily: “We have gathered at the tomb of the Apostle whose sarcophagus, preserved beneath the papal altar, was recently the object of a careful scientific analysis. A tiny hole was drilled in the sarcophagus, which in so many centuries had never been opened, in order to insert a special probe which revealed traces of a precious purple-coloured linen fabric, with a design in gold leaf, and a blue fabric with linen threads. Grains of red incense and protein and chalk substances were also found. In addition, minute fragments of bone were sent for carbon-14 testing by experts unaware of their provenance. The fragments proved to belong to someone who had lived between the first and second centuries. This would seem to confirm the unanimous and undisputed tradition which claims that these are the mortal remains of the Apostle Paul. All this fills our hearts with profound emotion”.

“The sacrament of the poor man” and “the smallest gift of grace”

Benedict XVI signing the new encyclical ICaritas in veritate/I 29 June 2009 [© Osservatore Romano/Associated Press]

“St John Chrysostom said, for example, that the sacrament of the altar and the ‘sacrament of the brother’ or ‘sacrament of the poor man’, are two aspects of the same mystery. Love for one’s neighbour, attention to justice and to the poor are not so much themes of a social morality as they are an expression of a sacramental conception of Christian morality”. So Pope Benedict XVI during the audience on Wednesday, 1st July. And following: “Dear brothers and sisters, in the face of so much uncertainty and weariness that also arises in the exercise of the priestly ministry, the recovery of a clear and unequivocal opinion on the absolute primacy of divine grace is urgent, remembering what St Thomas Aquinas wrote: ‘The good of grace in one is greater than the good of nature in the whole universe’”. And, in conclusion, stressing the importance of prayer: “Who pray are not afraid; who pray are never alone; who pray are saved! St Jean–Marie Vianney is without a doubt the model of an existence made prayer”.

TETTAMANZI

The meeting between Benedict XVI and Obama has restored hope

Benedict XVI with Michelle and Barack Obama 10 July 2009 [© Paolo Galosi/Vatican pool]

“After the G8 in Aquila and the meeting between Benedict XVI and Obama a climate of hope has spread. It is an opportunity not to be missed because it is the only way for us to move forward. The economic crisis is serious, but systematic complaining is depressing, sterile... We need hope not despair.” Thus the Archbishop of Milan Dionigi Tettamanzi, in an interview in La Stampa, 17 July. Subsequently, indicating the problems of immigration: “When acceptance is refused people withdraw into themselves and think that the whole world is embodied in their own ego”. And again: “Young people, sometimes in a crude or exaggerated manner, express needs that we ignore. The real educational emergency are not teenagers, but we adults... In the face of young people I feel a beggar”.

ANGELUS

A network of prayer for the Pope’s accident

The Pope in Valle d’Aosta [© Associated Press/LaPresse]

“There have been very many who have shown, at this juncture, their closeness, their friendliness, their affection for me and prayed for me, and have thus strengthened the network of prayer that unites us in all parts of the world”. Before the recital of the Angelus on Sunday 19 July, the Pope in these words recalled the accident on the night between 16 and 17 July in which he fractured his wrist.

DON GIUSSANI

“A moment before everything there is Christ”

Peter and John running to the tomb

A flattering portrait of Giancarlo Cesana, recently appointed chairman of the Fondazione Policlinico of Milan, appeared in the Il Foglio of 16 July. Among other things mentioned about the historic leader of Communion and Liberation was his acquaintance with Don Luigi Giussani, which began in the years of the youth protest. Thus we read in the newspaper edited by Giuliano Ferrara, “Cesana often cites the incident of Giussani reproaching his lads for reacting to the protesters of the Milan State University. Cesana was then among those who wanted to take the initiative and reply to the left-wingers on their own ground. Giussani on several occasions provoked them: ‘A moment before everything there is Christ. But you couldn’t care less’”.

ORTHODOXY

Kirill goes to Bartholomew

Kirill with Bartholomew BR[© Associated Press/LaPresse]

From 4-6 July His Holiness Kirill made a visit to Turkey, the first since his election as Patriarch of All Russia. During his visit he met His Holiness Bartholomew I, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. Avvenire reported the news on 17 July, and also the declaration of the Archbishop of Volokolamsk, Ilarion, Head of the Department of External Affairs of the Patriarchate of Moscow: “The visit of Patriarch Kirill signifies the transition from a period of confrontation to a period of cooperation, based on mutual respect and understanding”.

The face of Paul. The image was found on19 June 2009 in a cubicle of the catacombs of Saint Tecla, on the Via Ostiense, Rome [© Osservatore Romano/Pontifical Commission of Sacred Archeology]

Saint Paul
The oldest image of the Apostle of the Gentiles

“The Vatican archaeologists have discovered the face of the Apostle Paul in the catacombs of Santa Tecla. L’Osservatore Romano reveals the oldest image of the saint, the result of a ‘sensational discovery that has impressed the experts’”. This is the beginning of an article that appeared on 28 June in La Stampa. The subtitle reads: “Quite different from an imposing warrior: he was small, hunchbacked, possibly ill”.

Pauline Chapel
Peter searches for the face of Paul

On 4 July, on the occasion of the reopening of the Pauline Chapel, the Pope presided over the celebration of Vespers. During the homily he focused on the two Michelangelo frescoes adorning the chapel, dedicated to the apostles Peter and Paul, the first depicted while he is being crucified, the second at the moment of his conversion on the road to Damascus. The Pope explained: “The eye is first drawn to the faces of the two Apostles... . The two faces on which our gaze rests are opposite each other. One might therefore imagine that Peter’s face is actually turned towards the face of Paul, who in turn does not see but bears within him the light of the Risen Christ. It is as though Peter, in the hour of supreme trial, were seeking that light which gave true faith to Paul”.

Sacred College
The eighty years of Marchisano and Castrillón, the death of Margéot

On 25 June, the Piedmontese Cardinal Francesco Marchisano was eighty years old. On 4 July the Colombian Cardinal Darío Castrillón Hoyos reached the same age. On 17 July Cardinal Jean Margéot, Bishop Emeritus of Port-Louis on the island of Mauritius died. On that date, therefore, the College of Cardinals had 185 cardinals of whom 113 are electors.