Poverty

Hippolyte Lazerges (1817-1887)

Sa Majesté l'empereur distribuant des secours aux inondés de Lyon. (2 juin 1856)

1857

Oil on canvas

301 x 205 cm

Musée national du Château de Compiègne (Compiègne)

In the nineteenth century, France was beset by many natural disasters especially flooding

The great rivers of the country, the Seine, the Loire and the Rhône frequently burst their banks leaving the surrounding countryside, towns and cities in devastation

In June 1856, there were great floods in the Loire and the Rhône areas

The result again was Death, injury, and huge devastation and dislocation

The Emperor Napoléon III had to take charge and more importantly be seen to take charge

As a result of previous flooding, the mood among the populace was dire. An insurrection had to be  crushed

Political necessity required strong measures. The emperor ensured a large sum was voted to ensure relief for the poor and the destitute. 

The work records one such visit to the scene of part of one disaster area. The destruction and destitution are evident. 

The work is political propaganda. There is a religious feel to the composition. The aim of Napoleon`s policy was to calm the resentment of the population by amongst other things showing the emperor as energetic, generous and humane in the relief of poverty and suffering

He was of course no Saint Francis of Assisi

Father Ray Blake in his article "Poverty: What is it ?"  makes a number of important points about the new pontificate of Pope Francis . He writes:

""Don't forget the poor!" And those words came to me: the poor, the poor. Then, right away, thinking of the poor, I thought of Francis of Assisi." 

This is how the Pope described the choice of his name, he has spoken of "a poorer Church for the poor" but, maybe I am a bit stupid, I am not sure what "poor" means"

The present Pope has of course been studying and practising poverty for years

His words are not to be disregarded lightly

The emphasis on voluntary poverty by St Francis was as the first step toward spiritual regeneration 

However in  St Francis`s day (and before and since), poverty was often seen as a sign of moral degradation

The eventual rule of St Francis contained in the Bull "Solet annuere," began:

"The rule and life of the Minor Brothers is this, namely, to observe the holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ by living in obedience, without property and in chastity." 

St. Francis also promised obedience to Pope Honorius and his successors, the other brothers were to obey Brother Francis and his successors 

In 2001 Pope Francis attended as deputy relator at the Synod of Bishops in Rome. The theme of the Synod was Episcopus minister Evangelii Iesu Christi propter spem mundi (The Bishop: Servant of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and Hope of the World)

Its proceedings were interrupted by September 11 and its aftermath. It therefore did not receive as much publicity as it should

One major topic of debate was the role of poverty in the spirit and practice of Bishops

One can trace the development of some of the debate at the Vatican website

The Instrumentum Laboris said:

"Attention to New Social Problems and the New Forms of Poverty

 

139.A special moment in proclaiming hope is concern for the poor in our society, where no one ought to forget that the person–as recalled by the Second Vatican Council–is the source, center and purpose of economic and social life. 

Part of the Church’s concern is that development might not be understood exclusively in an economic sense but rather in one which considers every aspect of the human person. 

Christian hope is directed towards the heavenly Kingdom and eternal life. However, this eschatological goal does not lessen the commitment to the advancement of the earthly city. On the contrary, it gives it meaning and incentive. 

Indeed “buoyed up by hope, he is preserved from selfishness and lead to the happiness that flows from charity.” Earthly progress and the growth of the Kingdom are not separate entities, because the vocation of humanity to eternal life, instead of relieving the person from expending his God-given energies for the development of his life in this world, makes it all the more imperative. 

140.It is not the specific task of the Church to offer solutions to economic and social questions. However, her teachings contain general principles which are indispensable for the construction of a just social and economic order. Even in this matter, the Church must proclaim the Gospel. Each Bishop in his particular Church has to become the Herald of the Gospel, indicating that the core of its message can be found in the Beatitudes. 

Finally, since the commandment of love of neighbour has concrete implications, the Bishop needs to promote appropriate initiatives in his diocese and to exhort the people to overcome possible attitudes of apathy, passivity and egoism, whether in individuals or entire groups. 

Equally important for the Bishop is to awaken through his preaching the Christian conscience of every citizen, exhorting each one to work in an active solidarity and with the means available to defend all persons from whatever abuses might assail their human dignity. 

In this regard, he has continually to remind the faithful that Christ is present in every poor and needy person (cf. Mt 25:31-46). The image of the Lord as the one who is to come as Judge at the end of time is the promise of definitive justice for the living and the dead and for all people of all times and places"

As Assistant General Relator Pope Francis (then Archbishop of Buenos Aires) read out the Bishops` Report on the discussions. It would seem he who had a large part to play in drafting the Report. 

The Report is here

The section on Poverty was largely re-drafted:

"Poor for the Kingdom 

12. One of the characteristics most mentioned by the Synodal Fathers in relationship with the holiness of the Bishop is his poverty. Man of poor heart, is the image of the poor Christ, imitating the poor Christ, being poor with a profound vision. His simplicity and austerity of life confer total freedom in God.  

The Holy Father invited us to examine "our attitude towards earthly goods and about the use of them... to verify to what point in the Church the personal and community conversion has achieved effective evangelical poverty... to be poor at the service of the Gospel"  

With these last expressions, John Paul II reminds us that this means following the evangelical radicalism for whom blessed is who becomes poor for the Kingdom, following the sequela of Jesus-Poor, to live in communion with brothers according to the model of the apostolic vivendi forma, witnessed in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles."

Thereafter one of the main topics of discussion on the Report for the Working Groups of Bishops was:

"9. What concrete choices should be made for the Bishop, before his Particular Church and within it, to witness authentic poverty? How may he realize the authentic image of a poor Bishop free of any ties for the Kingdom? A difficulty which must be overcome for this finality and which impede the practice of the evangelical Beatitude of poverty. How may he be the defender of the widow, of the orphan and of the foreigner in today’s meaning of these terms?"

After discussion, a Message was framed  and this Message of the Bishops from the Synod had this to say about poverty:

"Struggling against poverty in poverty of spirit 

15. Just as we must struggle to free those oppressed by a poverty which is destructive, so there can be a kind of poverty which frees our energies for love and service. This is the gospel poverty which we want to practise. 

We should be poor before the Father, like Jesus in his prayer, his teaching and his deeds. We should be poor with Mary, remembering God’s mighty works. We should be poor in the face of our brothers and sisters, marked by a style of life which draws people to Jesus the Lord. 

The bishop is the father and the brother of the poor. 

When it is necessary, he should not hesitate to raise his voice for those who have no voice, so that their rights will be recognised and respected. In particular, he "must do everything he can so that in every Christian community, the poor feel ‘at home’" (Novo millennio ineunte, 50). 

It is only then, as we face the world filled with missionary dynamism, that we can speak credibly of the joy of the humble and pure of heart, the power of forgiveness and the hope that those who hunger and thirst for justice will finally be satisfied by God."

In 2003, Blessed Pope John Paul II published his response to the Synod`s conclusions in his Apostolic Exhortation Pastores Gregis

He devoted a large section to the spirit and practice of poverty in Bishops:

"20. The Synod Fathers, as a sign of collegial unity, responded to the appeal which I made at the opening Mass of the Synod that the evangelical Beatitude of poverty should be considered an indispensable condition for a fruitful episcopal ministry in present-day circumstances. 

Here too, amid the assembly of Bishops there stood out the figure of Christ the Lord, ''who carried out the work of redemption in poverty and under oppression'', and who invites the Church, and above all her pastors, ''to follow the same path in communicating to humanity the fruits of salvation''. 

Consequently, the Bishop who wishes to be an authentic witness and minister of the Gospel of hope must be a vir pauper. This is demanded by the witness he is called to bear to Christ, who was himself poor. 

It is also demanded by the Church's concern for the poor, who must be the object of a preferential option. The Bishop's decision to carry out his ministry in poverty contributes decisively to making the Church the ''home of the poor''. 

This decision also provides the Bishop with inner freedom in the exercise of his ministry and enables him to communicate effectively the fruits of salvation. 

Episcopal authority must be exercised with untiring generosity and inexhaustible liberality. On the Bishop's part, this calls for complete trust in the providence of the heavenly Father, an open-hearted communion of goods, an austere way of life and continuous personal conversion. 

Only in this way will he be able to share in the struggles and sufferings of the People of God, whom he is called not only to lead and nourish but with whom he must show fraternal solidarity, sharing their problems and helping to build their hope. 

He will carry out this service effectively if his own life is simple, sober and at the same time active and generous, and if it places those considered least important in our society not on the fringes but rather at the centre of the Christian community. 

Almost without realizing it, he will foster a ''creativity in charity'' which will bear fruit not simply in the efficiency of the assistance offered but also in an ability to live in a spirit of fraternal sharing. 

In the Church of the Apostles, as the Book of Acts clearly witnesses, the poverty of some members of the community called forth the solidarity of others, with the amazing result that ''there was not a needy person among them'' (4:34). 

The Church needs to bear witness to this prophecy before a world assailed by the problems of hunger and inequality between peoples. 

In this perspective of sharing and of simplicity of life, the Bishop will administer the goods of the Church like the ''good head of a household'', and be careful to ensure that they are used for the Church's own specific ends: the worship of God, the support of her ministers, the works of the apostolate and initiatives of charity towards the poor. 

The title procurator pauperum has always been applied to the Church's pastors. 

This must also be the case today, so that the Gospel of Jesus Christ can become present and be heard as a source of hope for all, but especially for those who can expect from God alone a more dignified life and a better future. 

Encouraged by the example of their pastors, the Church and the Churches must practise that ''preferential option for the poor'' which I have indicated as programmatic for the third millennium"

It would therefore seem that the model of the Bishop which Pope Francis is extolling is  the poor Shepherd and not that of a Napoleon. A position totally in line with Blessed Pope John Paul II and Benedict XVI

In any event the Emperor did not hang onto his throne for that long. He was forced to abdicate in 1870 after Germany totally defeated France in the Franco-Prussian War

Mary, the Woman of the Eucharist. The Magnificat, the Prayer of the Eucharist

Sandro Botticelli  1445 –  1510

La Madonna del Magnificat (Madonna con il Bambino e cinque angeli)

c 1483

Tempera on wood

118×118 cm  (Diameter)

Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

(Source: Brandmeister on en.wikipedia )

It has been said that in this work Botticelli successfully combined Classical naturalism with Christian spirituality

The title of the painting derives from the word "Magnificat" which is written in the book held by the two angels. Mary is completing the last words of the prayer as her son guides her hand. The prayer (Luke 1.46-55) is on the right hand page

The song is of joy and exultation in the Lord,  the lowly being singled out for God’s favour, the reversal of human fortunes, and  the fulfillment of Old Testament promises. 

On the left hand page is the song of Zacharias, the Benedictus (Luke 1.68-79). 

That is the song of praise of Zacharias on the birth of his son, St John the Baptist. St John was and is of course the patron saint of Florence. The patron of the painting (unknown) was a Florentine and a very rich and successful one. 

In his other hand, Christ holds a red pomegranate. He is offering it to his mother Mary. The fruit, broken or bursting open, is a symbol of the fullness of Jesus' suffering and his glorious resurrection.

The Virgin Mary is crowned by two angels. Her crown is studded with multitudes of Stars of the Sea. 

The setting is this world. But Mary is shown crowned as Queen of Heaven

The attribution is disputed. Vasari described such a work by Botticelli. However the work he described had eight angels not five

It is not only the frame which is gold like. Real gold is used in the painting. The crown, the hair of Mary and the angels, the robes all have gold added

It is a tondo with a beautiful engraved frame with many symbols. The tondo is meant to be a convex mirror

We are reminded of 1 Corinthians 13 and in particular verse 12:

"At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. At present I know partially; then I shall know fully, as I am fully known"

The work is a statement of Faith in the face of Mystery

The relation between Mary and the Eucharist is a subject of long standing teaching. Chapter 6 of Blessed John Paul II`s Encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia is devoted to the subject. 

In 2005, there was a Synod of Bishops which followed on the Encyclical. The Synod`s theme  was Eucharistia: fons et culmen vitae et missionis Ecclesiae (The Eucharist: source and summit of the life and mission of the Church)

Rather strangely despite the Encyclical, the Lineamenta of the Synod had very little if not nothing on the connection between Mary and the Eucharist

The questions for discussion by the Synod omitted any mention of Mary

This was despite three  paragraphs of Pope John Paul II`s Apostolic Letter Mane Nobiscum Domine convening the Synod and inaugurating The Year of the Eucharist (paragraphs 8 = 10 inclusive) which emphasised the importance of the role of Mary in the consideration of the Synod`s deliberations on the Eucharist

In particular he said:

"10. In the midst of the Year of the Rosary, I issued the Encyclical Letter Ecclesia de Eucharistia, with the intention of shedding light on the mystery of the Eucharist in its inseparable and vital relation to the Church. I urged all the faithful to celebrate the Eucharistic sacrifice with due reverence, offering to Jesus present in the Eucharist, both within and outside Mass, the worship demanded by so great a Mystery. Above all, I suggested once again the need for a Eucharistic spirituality and pointed to Mary, “woman of the Eucharist” as its model"

However the then Primate of Argentina, Cardinal Borgoglio now Pope Francis made an important intervention at the Synod

He spoke on two sentences of Pope John Paul II`s Encyclical: 

"If the Church and the Eucharist are inseparably united, the same ought to be said of Mary and the Eucharist." (para 57) 

"The Eucharist has been given to us so that our life, like that of Mary, may become completely a Magnificat!" (para 58)

His intervention was short and to the point

He said:

"Una frase del Instrumentum Laboris (nº 2) dice que “es necesario verificar si la ley de la oración corresponde a la ley de la fe, es decir, preguntarse en qué cree y cómo vive el Pueblo de Dios para que la Eucaristía pueda ser cada vez más la fuente y la cumbre de la vida y de la misión de la Iglesia”: una intuición muy rica que va a buscar a Cristo en sus beneficiarios y testigos más pequeños en el santo pueblo fiel de Dios, ese pueblo que -en su totalidad- es “infallibile in credendo”.

1) Nuestro pueblo fiel cree en la Eucaristía como pueblo sacerdotal (cfr. Christi fideles laici, 1, 14). Es una participación cualitativamente constante (cfr. Id. 1, 17).

2) Nuestro pueblo fiel cree en la Eucaristía como pueblo eucarístico en María. Vincula el cariño a la Eucaristía y el cariño a la Virgen nuestra Madre y Señora (cfr. Redemptoris Mater, III, 44). En la escuela de María, mujer eucarística, podemos releer contemplativamente los pasajes en que Juan Pablo II ve a nuestra Señora como mujer eucarística y mirarla no sola sino “en compañía” (Hech. 1;14) del pueblo de Dios. Seguimos aquí aquella regla de la tradición según la cual, con distintos matices “lo que se dice de María se dice del alma de cada cristiano y de la Iglesia entera” (cfr. Ecclesia de Eucharistia, 57).

Nuestro pueblo fiel tiene la verdadera “actitud eucarística” de la acción de gracias y la alabanza. Recordando a María nuestro pueblo fiel agradece el ser recordado por ella y es este memorial de amor verdaderamente eucarístico. Al respecto repito lo que Juan Pablo II afirmaba en el nº 58 de Ecclesia de Eucharistia: “La Eucaristía se nos ha dado para que nuestra vida sea, como la de María, toda ella un magnificat”."

Like Pope Francis, Pope Benedict XVI also tried to redress the balance in favour of Mary in his Post Synodal Exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis (2007)  by a large discussion on the role of Mary. Amongst a number of important points he wrote

"[E]very time we approach the Body and Blood of Christ in the eucharistic liturgy, we also turn to her who, by her complete fidelity, received Christ's sacrifice for the whole Church. The Synod Fathers rightly declared that "Mary inaugurates the Church's participation in the sacrifice of the Redeemer."  She is the Immaculata, who receives God's gift unconditionally and is thus associated with his work of salvation. Mary of Nazareth, icon of the nascent Church, is the model for each of us, called to receive the gift that Jesus makes of himself in the Eucharist"

Pope Francis: The Eucharist and Mary

Olivio Sozzi (1696-1765)

The Triumph of the Eucharist

Oil on canvas

100 x 60 cm

Musée du Louvre, Paris

Raffaello Sanzio  (1483-1520)

La Disputa: The Debate on the Blessed Sacrament

1509

Fresco

The Camera or Chamber of the Signatura 

The Vatican Museum, Vatican City

In art where there is Christ or the depiction of the Eucharist, there is usually Mary. She is not there to fill a space or as eye candy. She was the first tabernacle.

Traditionally the Society of Jesus has always had very strong devotion to the Eucharist and to Mary

In schools as well as students having to write "AMDG", they also wrote "BVM" at the top of an exercise

For some reason, some seem surprised at this morning`s visit by Pope Francis to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome

The Basilica is the premier shrine to the Blessed Virgin in Rome. The Basilica is also where the founder  of the Order St Ignatius Loyola celebrated his first Mass eighteen months after his ordination

Mary and the Eucharist would appear to be two favourite subjects of the new Pope

In 2008, at the 49th International Eucharistic Congress Quebec City (15-22 June 2008) he preached on the theme "The Eucharist builds up the Church, sacrament of salvation" 

Amongst other points he  presented three images to illustrate how Mary, the woman of the Eucharist woman, is a model of the relationship between Christ and his spouse, the Church: 

• Mary, the companion, the one who “is with”; 

• Mary, the  woman who trusts; 

• Mary, the  woman of hope. 

His emphasis on the Eucharist and Eucharistic devotion is in sharp contrast to many who have criticised the Church`s idea of the Eucharistic Congress and Eucharistic devotion including some in his own Order

The Catholic Register of Canada said this of the then Cardinal Bergoglio`s catechesis:

"QUEBEC CITY - Human beings may be fallible but the Catholic Church as an institution remains sanctified through the Eucharist, says Argentinian Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, S.J. 

And it is this sanctified institution that always deserves defending, even if its individual members err, the archbishop of Buenos Aires and primate of Argentina explained in a large catechesis session here at the 49th International Eucharistic Congress June 18. 

“The assurance of sanctity of the life of the church is not a question of personal or social privilege,” he said. “It is ordained for service.” 

Bergoglio noted that the “world really has the impression the church is always trying to defend its own power.” 

However, though individuals have abused their power, the sanctity of the church — through the gift of God in the Eucharist — remains intact. 

The cardinal's talk was one of five major lectures being presented at the June 15-22 congress. 

In it, he urged Catholics to look to the example of Mary as a guide to their own attitude toward Eucharist. Bergoglio also used the metaphor of the marriage nuptials to explain the nature of the covenant between God and His people. 

He explained that the Eucharist is a gift that transforms those who receive it. It is both “sanctified and sanctifying,” he said. 

He used the analogy of the marriage ceremony, with its anticipation of a life-long commitment in love, as a parallel to the Eucharist. The church, in this sense, is the bride and her reception of God's gift allows her “to share the life the Lord has given to her for the life of the world.” 

Bergoglio also reflected on the life of Mary, Mother of God, as an example of perfect submission to the will of God. She is, he explained, a role model of one who accompanies Christ, trusts the Lord completely and lives in hope. 

“We find in the Magnificat (Mary's affirmation of her role in the birth of Christ) the very program of what she is teaching us,” he said. 

Mary’s deep relationship with the Eucharist can guide us and allow us to get closer to God. She is the “model of the bond between the Lord and his bride, the church, between God and each man,” the Cardinal said. 

He compared Mary to a set of Russian dolls “in the same way that a set of Russian dolls includes others that are smaller, but essentially identical, our Lady is the smallest of the Russian dolls. Because we see in her the mystery of the bond that allows the gift of God to be accepted and communicated for the life of the world.” 

Catholics can ask for the grace to receive Communion in the same way as Mary received the Word. And Catholics must venerate the Church in the same way that they do the Virgin Mary and the Eucharist, he said. 

The cardinal’s theological reflections presented  of the church that is sharply at odds with those of fellow Jesuit Guy Paiement, who published an article earlier on in the year on the web site Journees Sociales du Quebec criticizing the focus on the Eucharist of the Eucharistic Congress. 

“The Eucharistic Congress proposes a ceremony centred on the adoration of the consecrated bread,” Paiement wrote in the article that was quoted on 14 June in Le Devoir, a French daily newspaper based in Montreal. 

“We believe that the Christian identity cannot be restricted to such a devotion.” 

Paiement wrote that Christians today should take action to show “solidarity and commitment towards equality between men and women, democratic life, international justice and saving the planet.” 

For Bergoglio, the Eucharist must be at the centre of the church.  

Describing the Eucharist as the “source and at the same time the summit of all evangelization,” and a force that purifies and sanctifies the church, the cardinal said that the bond between the Eucharist and the church is one that cannot be broken."

Habemus Papam Francis

Cocteau and the Resurrection

Chapelle St Blaise des Simples and the Tomb of Jean Cocteau with the Fresco of The Resurrection, Milly-la-Forêt 

La Chapelle Saint Blaise des Simples outside the ancient village of Milly la Forêt is all that remains of an old leper colony

The chapel dates back to the 12th century

After the Revolution it remained empty unused and unoccupied

In the 1950s it was taken over by the artist and poet Jean Cocteau

He decorated it. 

The main theme was The Death and Resurrection of Christ. Cocteau  is buried under the floor of the Chapel

Cocteau`s epitaph under the figure of the Risen Christ is inscribed « Je reste avec vous » "I am with you"

The work reminds one of  the “Resurrection” of Piero della Francesca. 

His last film was Le Testament de Orphée (1959) which tells the story of an 18th-century poet who travels through time on a quest for divine wisdom. In a mysterious wasteland, he meets several symbolic phantoms that bring about his death and resurrection. 

Cocteau had a lifelong obsession with the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice as well as the continual presence of Death

It is  needless to say a rather self indulgent film but has a vast cast of characters including Picasso, Yul Brenner, Charles Aznavour, Salvador Dali and Jean Marais

The main character is played by Cocteau himself. The work has been described asa narcissistic showpiece for Cocteau and his artistic endeavours

It is however eighty minutes of absurd, yet brilliant fantasy

But like his murals in the chapels, the film repeats the eternal truth which beats like a tocsin in all Cocteau`s works: every death is transformed into an eternal beginning

It has been said that great art is silent, incomprehensible and makes us dream. By that test, Cocteau`s work is great art. Here is an extract from the film 

In April 2009 at the Easter Vigil, Pope Benedict XVI said of "the Resurrection":

"Saint Mark tells us in his Gospel that as the disciples came down from the Mount of the Transfiguration, they were discussing among themselves what “rising from the dead” could mean (cf. Mk 9:10).  

A little earlier, the Lord had foretold his passion and his resurrection after three days. 

Peter had protested against this prediction of death. But now, they were wondering what could be meant by the word “resurrection”.  

Could it be that we find ourselves in a similar situation?  

Christmas, the birth of the divine Infant, we can somehow immediately comprehend. We can love the child, we can imagine that night in Bethlehem, Mary’s joy, the joy of Saint Joseph and the shepherds, the exultation of the angels.  

But what is resurrection? It does not form part of our experience, and so the message often remains to some degree beyond our understanding, a thing of the past.  

The Church tries to help us understand it, by expressing this mysterious event in the language of symbols in which we can somehow contemplate this astonishing event"

St Cyril of Jerusalem

French school

St Augustine and St Cyril of Jerusalem

16th century

Illuminated manuscript on parchment

Musée national de la Renaissance, Ecouen

Jan Luyken

1649 - 1712

The Sign of the Cross over Jerusalem at the time of St Cyril of Jerusalem

Brown ink with grey wash on parchment

7.8 cm x 12.1 cm

Musée du Louvre, Paris

Johann Lossau

St Cyril of Jerusalem

1748 - 9

Fresco

Heiligenbildnisse Chwalęcin (Braniewo)

Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, Doctor of the early Church (ca. 313 – 386) was a near contemporary of St Jerome

At the end of 350 he succeeded St. Maximus in the See of Jerusalem as Bishop

At this time Jerusalem was becoming the prime Christian holy place and the main centre of Christian pilgrimage

Cyril was accused  of Arianism by St. Jerome but ultimately vindicated in his own time. In the Synodal  Letter of 382 after the Second  Council of Constantinople (381), the Eastern Bishops officially recognized Cyril's flawless orthodoxy, the legitimacy of his episcopal ordination and the merits of his pastoral service

However often in medieval times stories became scrambled and conflated

As regards the connection between St Cyril and St Augustine, in an apocryphal letter of Cyril of Jerusalem, Cyril writes that St Augustine, while thinking about the Trinity, met a small child on the beach who was attempting to ladle out the oceans using a spoon. When St Augustine explained to him how impossible his plan was, the boy replied by telling him that the mystery of the Holy Trinity was also not something that could be comprehended by the human mind. The scene is a parable of the unbridgeable gap between faith and reason.

Pope Benedict XVI also discussed the connection between St Augustine and St Cyril

"The basis of his instruction on the Christian faith also served to play a polemic role against pagans, Judaeo Christians and Manicheans. The argument was based on the fulfilment of the Old Testament promises, in a language rich in imagery.  

Catechesis marked an important moment in the broader context of the whole life - particularly liturgical - of the Christian community, in whose maternal womb the gestation of the future faithful took place, accompanied by prayer and the witness of the brethren.  

Taken as a whole, Cyril's homilies form a systematic catechesis on the Christian's rebirth through Baptism.  

He tells the catechumen: "You have been caught in the nets of the Church (cf. Mt 13: 47). Be taken alive, therefore; do not escape for it is Jesus who is fishing for you, not in order to kill you but to resurrect you after death. Indeed, you must die and rise again (cf. Rom 6: 11, 14).... Die to your sins and live to righteousness from this very day" (Procatechesis, 5).  

From the doctrinal viewpoint, Cyril commented on the Jerusalem Creed with recourse to the typology of the Scriptures in a "symphonic" relationship between the two Testaments, arriving at Christ, the centre of the universe.  

The typology was to be described decisively by Augustine of Hippo: "In the Old Testament there is a veiling of the New, and in the New Testament there is a revealing of the Old" (De catechizandis rudibus 4, 8)."

As regards the drawing of the Sign of the Cross, in a letter to  Emperor Constantius,St Cyril spoke of a cross of light, extending from Calvary to the Mount of Olives, which appeared in the air on the nones of May, after Pentecost, toward the beginning of the saint's episcopate. 

In one of his famous Catecheses, St Cyril wrote of the Cross:

"The Catholic Church is proud of all Christ’s actions, but her greatest boast is the Cross The glory of the Cross led those who were blind through ignorance into light, loosed all who were held fast by sin and brought redemption to the whole world of mankind” (Catechesis Illuminandorum XIII, 1: de Christo crucifixo et sepulto: PG 33, 772 B).

His works still have powerful force despite the centuries. 

In particular his work on the sacraments

During the Second Vatican Council, Paul VI issued his encyclical Mysterium Fidei (1965)  to counteract what were seen as a possible discussion on the Holy Eucharist. He quoted in large measure St Cyril of Jerusalem 

"18. The scholastic Doctors made similar statements on more than one occasion. As St. Thomas says, the fact that the true body and the true blood of Christ are present in this Sacrament "cannot be apprehended by the senses but only by faith, which rests upon divine authority. This is why Cyril comments upon the words, This is my body which is delivered up for you, in Luke 22, 19, in this way: Do not doubt that this is true; instead accept the words of the Saviour in faith; for since He is truth, He cannot tell a lie." ... 

30. We will pass over the other citations and rest content with recalling the testimony offered by St. Cyril of Jerusalem, who wrote the following memorable words for the neophytes whom he was instructing in the Christian faith: 

"After the spiritual sacrifice, the un-bloody act of worship, has been completed, we bend over this propitiatory offering and beg God to grant peace to all the Churches, to give harmony to the whole world, to bless our rulers, our soldiers and our companions, to aid the sick and afflicted, and in general to assist all those who stand in need; we all pray for all these intentions and we offer this victim for them . . . and last of all for our deceased holy forefathers and bishops and for all those who have lived among us. For we have a deep conviction that great help will be afforded those souls for whom prayers are offered while this holy and awesome victim is present." 

In support of this, this holy Doctor offers the example of a crown made for an emperor in order to win a pardon for some exiles, and he concludes his talk with these words: 

"In the same fashion, when we offer our prayers to God for the dead, even those who are sinners, we are not just making a crown but instead are offering Christ who was slaughtered for our sins, and thus begging the merciful God to take pity both on them and on ourselves.''   

St. Augustine attests that this custom of offering the "sacrifice which ransomed us" also for the dead was observed in the Church at Rome,  and he mentions at the same time that the universal Church observed this custom as something handed down from the Fathers. ... 

47. This is why the Fathers felt they had a solemn duty to warn the faithful that, in reflecting upon this most sacred Sacrament, they should not pay attention to the senses, which report only the properties of bread and wine, but rather to the words of Christ, which have power great enough to change, transform, "transelementize" the bread and wine into His body and blood. As a matter of fact, as the same Fathers point out on more than one occasion, the power that does this is the same power of Almighty God that created the whole universe out of nothing at the beginning of time.  

48. "Instructed as you are in these matters," says St. Cyril of Jerusalem, at the end of a sermon on the mysteries of the faith, "and filled with an unshakeable faith that what seems to be bread is not bread —though it tastes like it— but rather the Body of Christ; and that what seems to be wine is not wine —even though it too tastes like it —but rather the Blood of Christ . . . draw strength from receiving this bread as spiritual food and your soul will rejoice."

Benedict XV: The Prophet of Peace

Benedict XV was on the Chair of St Peter for approximately the same length of time as Benedict XVI. He was elected at age 59. It  would seem that the cardinal electors had probably wanted someone for the long haul

He was the Pope of the First World War whose centenary will be commemorated next year

He is sometimes called "The Forgotten Pope"

In his first General Audience in 2005, Pope Benedict XVI explaiined why he had chosen the name "Benedict":

"Firstly, I remember Pope Benedict XV, that courageous prophet of peace, who guided the Church through turbulent times of war. In his footsteps I place my ministry in the service of reconciliation and harmony between peoples."

British Pathé has two small videoclips from a film entitled Requiescat in Pace which was made in 1922 to commemorate the sudden death of Benedict XV that year

One shows Benedict praying in a garden. The other is of his body lying in state in St Peter`s

REQUIESCAT IN PACE on sleeve as REQUESCAT IN PEACE LAST PICTURES

REQUIESCAT IN PACE on sleeve as REQUESCAT IN PEACE LYING IN STATE

Conclaves: the second great act of faith

Plan du conclave avec touttes les cérémonies observées à l'élection du nouveau Pape fait pendant le siége vacant du Pape Clément IX qui la tenu 11 ans V moys XIX jours dans lequel Messeigneurs les cardinaux sont entrez le XX Décembre 1669 oû le cardinal Altieri Romain a esté eleu le 29 avril 1670 sous le nom de Clément X

Print engraving

1670

Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris

Sebastiano Ricci 1659 –  1734

Il Conclave  

1686 - 1688

Oil on canvas 126 x 87 cm

Palazzo Farnese - Musei Civici Autore, Piacenza

The Conclave to elect Pope Alexander VII

Print engraving

317 cm. x 230 cm

From Giovanni-Dominico De Rossi`s Album Louis-Philippe

Châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon, Versailles

Christoph Weigel 1654 – 1725

Der Grund-Riß der Conclave und die Beschreibung aller Solennitaeten, welche in Rom nach Absterben eines Pabstes und bey der Erwählung seines Nachfolgers vorzugehen pflegen

1721

Engraving

Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nürnberg

Hans Makart (1840-1884)

A Conclave 

1863/65

Oil on canvas 

49.3 cm. x  78.3 cm

Neue Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Munich

Conclaves have always made good copy. For centuries

The whiff of intrigue, secret deals and other secular practices in the guise of religious ritual: conclaves have always been seedy by those outside the conclave  in these terms

In an inter-regnum in an system of elective autocracy, imagination and speculation can and do run amok

The newspapers and other media on the 24 hour news cycle cannot be really be blamed. They simply reflect the popular taste and demand. But soon fortunately it will be back to normal

The Holy See Press Office has a special microsite on the College of Cardinals with factual information so that journalists and others do not go too far astray

It tries its best but it is like the infamous Dutch boy with his finger in the dyke against a great tsunami

As for the Holy season of Lent, well... gone for a burton really despite the sterling efforts of Father Z and others

On 23 February 2013 the Secretary of State published a statement on this subject:

"Over the course of the centuries, Cardinals have had to face many forms of pressures, exerted upon individual electors or upon the College of Cardinals itself, that sought to influence their decisions, following a political or worldly logic.  

If in the past the so-called powers, i.e., States, sought to influence the election of the Pope, today there is an attempt to do this through public opinion, which is often based on judgements that do not capture the typically spiritual aspect of this moment that the Church is living"

What has been lost in the current news coverage of the Conclave is the spiritual purpose of this stage in the process to elect a new Pope.

The rules are set out in Blessed Pope John Paul`s Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici Gregis as amended

It is a document well worth the reading

It is a codification and updating of past rules written in the style of an explanatory commentary

At the very beginning of the document it states:

"The Shepherd of the Lord's whole flock is the Bishop of the Church of Rome, where the Blessed Apostle Peter, by sovereign disposition of divine Providence, offered to Christ the supreme witness of martyrdom by the shedding of his blood. It is therefore understandable that the lawful apostolic succession in this See, with which "because of its great pre-eminence every Church must agree", has always been the object of particular attention. 

Precisely for this reason, down the centuries the Supreme Pontiffs have deemed it their special duty, as well as their specific right, to establish fitting norms to regulate the orderly election of their Successor"

Unfortunately few in the media appear to have read it. Indeed a number of clergy and church dignitaries who have been quoted in the Press appear not to have read it either

From this weekend`s press coverage, the following paragraphs appear to have been overlooked:

"80. In the same way, I wish to confirm the provisions made by my Predecessors for the purpose of excluding any external interference in the election of the Supreme Pontiff. Therefore, in virtue of holy obedience and under pain of excommunication latae sententiae, I again forbid each and every Cardinal elector, present and future, as also the Secretary of the College of Cardinals and all other persons taking part in the preparation and carrying out of everything necessary for the election, to accept under any pretext whatsoever, from any civil authority whatsoever, the task of proposing the veto or the so-called exclusiva, even under the guise of a simple desire, or to reveal such either to the entire electoral body assembled together or to individual electors, in writing or by word of mouth, either directly and personally or indirectly and through others, both before the election begins and for its duration. I intend this prohibition to include all possible forms of interference, opposition and suggestion whereby secular authorities of whatever order and degree, or any individual or group, might attempt to exercise influence on the election of the Pope. 

81. The Cardinal electors shall further abstain from any form of pact, agreement, promise or other commitment of any kind which could oblige them to give or deny their vote to a person or persons. If this were in fact done, even under oath, I decree that such a commitment shall be null and void and that no one shall be bound to observe it; and I hereby impose the penalty of excommunication latae sententiae upon those who violate this prohibition. It is not my intention however to forbid, during the period in which the See is vacant, the exchange of views concerning the election. 

82. I likewise forbid the Cardinals before the election to enter into any stipulations, committing themselves of common accord to a certain course of action should one of them be elevated to the Pontificate. These promises too, should any in fact be made, even under oath, I also declare null and void. 

83. With the same insistence shown by my Predecessors, I earnestly exhort the Cardinal electors not to allow themselves to be guided, in choosing the Pope, by friendship or aversion, or to be influenced by favour or personal relationships towards anyone, or to be constrained by the interference of persons in authority or by pressure groups, by the suggestions of the mass media, or by force, fear or the pursuit of popularity. Rather, having before their eyes solely the glory of God and the good of the Church, and having prayed for divine assistance, they shall give their vote to the person, even outside the College of Cardinals, who in their judgment is most suited to govern the universal Church in a fruitful and beneficial way."

As well as the rules of Canon Law and the terms of the Apostolic Constitution, this period is of great Liturgical significance. There is a special Ordo Rituum Conclavis

Universi Dominici Gregis states in chapter 5 that for the Pope’s Funeral and the Conclave the two rites Ordo Exsequiarum Romani Pontificis and Ordo Rituum Conclavis are to be carefully followed (cf. n. 27).

The Constitution also establishes certain norms with regard to the duties of the Master of Papal Liturgical Celebrations during the Vacant See and the services to be rendered by the Masters of Ceremonies in the places destined for the Cardinal electors during liturgical celebrations and the election of the new Pope (cf. n. 46).

In 2005, the then Master of Liturgical Celebrations, Archbishop Piero Marini published a detailed article on the importance of the liturgical rites during this period

"A second powerful moment of faith is demanded of the Church during the period of the election of the Successor of Peter. At this time the Church must be deeply united with the Bishops and above all with the Cardinal electors in imploring «from God the new Supreme Pontiff as a gift of his goodness and providence. Indeed, like the first community of Christians described in the Acts of the Apostles (cf. 1:4), the whole Church must persevere in prayer with one accord in spiritual union with Mary, mother of Jesus, to obtain from the Lord a worthy Shepherd»."

To compare the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI to a CEO of a State or large corporation resigning or the election of a new Pope to the selection of a new President of a state or CEO of a multinational corporation by its board of directors is to fundamentally misunderstand the nature of the Papacy and the Church and how it does and should go about its business

A Portrait of a Holy Man

William Thomas Roden 1817–1892

Portrait of His Eminence Cardinal Newman 

1879 

Oil on canvas

125.7 x 100.4 cm

Birmingham Museums Trust, England 

The painting was commissioned to commemorate the event of Cardinal Newman being ade a Cardinal

It was paid for by subscription

At the time it was acclaimed by many as a truly lifelike portrait 

Before being made cardinal in 1879, Newman passed  many years in silence and in the recollection of Edgbaston, or in the retreat of Rednal.

There is some controversy as to whether Newman had renounced the offer of cardinal and at first Cardinal Manning indicated to Rome that Newman had declined. However these machinations were corrected by Bishop Ullathorne and the Duke of Norfolk.

On 16th April 1879 Newman set out for Rome 

He received his red hat. It was a most significant appointment at the time and for the history of the Church

Pope Leo XIII said of the opposition he faced in his nomination of Newman, the simple priest:

“My Cardinal! It was not easy, not easy… They said he was too liberal; but I had determined to honour the Church in honouring Newman. I always had veneration for him. I am proud that I was allowed to honour such a man.” 

Pope Benedict XVI has always had a similarly high regard for Newman. 

See the talk given by the then Cardinal Ratzinger in the centenary year of Newman’s death (1990) during a Symposium organized by the International Centre of Newman Friends,

"In January 1946, when I began my study of theology in the Seminary in Freising which had finally reopened after the confusion of the war, an older student was assigned as prefect to our group, who had begun to work on a dissertation on Newman’s theology of conscience even before the beginning of the war.  

In all the years of his military service he had not lost sight of this theme, which he now turned to with new enthusiasm and energy.  

Soon we were bonded by a personal friendship, wholly centred on the great problems of philosophy and theology. Of course Newman was always present. Alfred Läpple – the above mentioned prefect named – published his dissertation in 1952 with the title: Der Einzelne in der Kirche (The Individual in the Church). 

For us at that time, Newman’s teaching on conscience became an important foundation for theological personalism, which was drawing us all in its sway.  

Our image of the human being as well as our image of the Church was permeated by this point of departure.  

We had experienced the claim of a totalitarian party, which understood itself as the fulfilment of history and which negated the conscience of the individual. 

 One of its leaders had said: 

“I have no conscience. My conscience is Adolf Hitler.” The appalling devastation of humanity that followed was before our eyes"

In his homily for the Beatification for Blessed John Henry Newman, Pope Benedict XVI went further:

"[I]t is right and fitting that we should recognize today the holiness of a confessor, a son of this nation who, while not called to shed his blood for the Lord, nevertheless bore eloquent witness to him in the course of a long life devoted to the priestly ministry, and especially to preaching, teaching, and writing ... 

In Blessed John Henry, that tradition of gentle scholarship, deep human wisdom and profound love for the Lord has borne rich fruit, as a sign of the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit deep within the heart of God’s people, bringing forth abundant gifts of holiness. 

Cardinal Newman’s motto, Cor ad cor loquitur, or “Heart speaks unto heart”, gives us an insight into his understanding of the Christian life as a call to holiness, experienced as the profound desire of the human heart to enter into intimate communion with the Heart of God. 

He reminds us that faithfulness to prayer gradually transforms us into the divine likeness. 

As he wrote in one of his many fine sermons, “a habit of prayer, the practice of turning to God and the unseen world in every season, in every place, in every emergency – prayer, I say, has what may be called a natural effect in spiritualizing and elevating the soul. A man is no longer what he was before; gradually … he has imbibed a new set of ideas, and become imbued with fresh principles” (Parochial and Plain Sermons, iv, 230-231) ... 

The definite service to which Blessed John Henry was called involved applying his keen intellect and his prolific pen to many of the most pressing “subjects of the day”. 

His insights into the relationship between faith and reason, into the vital place of revealed religion in civilized society, and into the need for a broadly-based and wide-ranging approach to education were not only of profound importance for Victorian England, but continue today to inspire and enlighten many all over the world. 

I would like to pay particular tribute to his vision for education, which has done so much to shape the ethos that is the driving force behind Catholic schools and colleges today. 

Firmly opposed to any reductive or utilitarian approach, he sought to achieve an educational environment in which intellectual training, moral discipline and religious commitment would come together"

But was he speaking only of Newman ? Was he perhaps also speaking of himself ?