The Divine Lamp

Reuters, which I’m told used to be a legitimate news service,  has a story about the Pope’s speech to Latin American and Caribbean bishops on its site.  It says that the Pope’s remarks “offended” and”outraged and  Indian leaders in Brazil.”   The essence of the story/fable is in these words:

Outraged Indian leaders in Brazil said on Monday they were offended by Pope Benedict’s “arrogant and disrespectful” comments that the Roman Catholic Church had purified them and a revival of their religions would be a backward step.
In a speech to Latin American and Cribbean bishops at the end of a visit to Brazil, the Pope said the Church had not imposed itself on the indigenous peoples of the Americas.  They had welcomed the arrival of European priests at the time of the conquest as they were “silently longing” for Christianity, he said.

We know that many did indeed embrace willingly the faith.  We also know that some were forced to convert against there will.  An action which the authorities in Rome tried to put a stop to when they learned of it.  Needless to say however, among Brazilians of native religions the Pope’s remarks would cause anger.  The only problem is, he never said them.   Notice that the Reuters story/fable has the Pope talking about the past and in the past tense: “The Pope said the Churhc had not imposed itself…they welcomed the arrival of European priests…as they were ’silently longing’ for Christianity…”

But the Pope was actually talking in the present tense about present and future evangelisation.  Here is what the Pope really said:

To you, who represent the Church in Latin America, today I symbolically entrust my Encyclical Deus Caritas Est, in which I sought to point out to everyone the essence of the Christian message. The Church considers herself the disciple and missionary of this Love: missionary only insofar as she is a disciple, capable of being attracted constantly and with renewed wonder by the God who has loved us and who loves us first (cf. 1 Jn 4:10). The Church does not engage in proselytism. Instead, she grows by “attraction”: just as Christ “draws all to himself” by the power of his love, culminating in the sacrifice of the Cross, so the Church fulfils her mission to the extent that, in union with Christ, she accomplishes every one of her works in spiritual and practical imitation of the love of her Lord.

Talk about manipulation!  But  things get worse.  No where in his speech does Pope Benedict mention the possible “revival” of the native religions.  And later in the story Reuters goes a-whoring after a well known dissident priest for his remarks concerning all the papal news that’s fit to skew.  This is rather ironic, since the priest in question is Paulo Seuss is a pimp for Marxist Liberation Theology.  I say ironic because the Pope ended his speech with these words:

Dear brothers and sisters! This is the priceless treasure that is so abundant in Latin America, this is her most precious inheritance: faith in the God who is Love, who has shown us his face in Jesus Christ. You believe in the God who is Love: this is your strength, which overcomes the world, the joy that nothing and no one can ever take from you, the peace that Christ won for you by his Cross! This is the faith that has made America the “Continent of Hope.” Not a political ideology, not a social movement, not an economic system: faith in the God who is Love—who took flesh, died and rose in Jesus Christ—is the authentic basis for this hope which has brought forth such a magnificent harvest from the time of the first evangelization until today, as attested by the ranks of Saints and Beati whom the Spirit has raised up throughout the Continent. Pope John Paul II called you to a new evangelization, and you accepted his commission with your customary generosity and commitment. I now confirm it with you, and in the words of this Fifth Conference I say to you: be faithful disciples, so as to be courageous and effective missionaries.

The second reading sets before us the magnificent vision of the heavenly Jerusalem. It is an image of awesome beauty, where nothing is superfluous, but everything contributes to the perfect harmony of the holy City. In his vision John sees the city “coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God” (Rev 21:10). And since the glory of God is Love, the heavenly Jerusalem is the icon of the Church, utterly holy and glorious, without spot or wrinkle (cf. EphRev 20:9), because in her is fulfilled the nuptial figure which pervades biblical revelation from beginning to end. The City and Bride is the locus of God’s full communion with humanity; she has no need of a temple or of any external source of light, because the indwelling presence of God and of the Lamb illuminates her from within. (5:27), permeated at her heart and in every part of her by the presence of the God who is Love. She is called a “bride”, “the bride of the Lamb”

This magnificent icon has an eschatological value: it expresses the mystery of the beauty that is already the essential form of the Church, even if it has not yet Gaudium et Spes, 1). If the beauty of the heavenly Jerusalem is the glory of God—his love in other words—then it is in charity, and in charity alone, that we can approach it and to a certain degree dwell within it even now. Whoever loves the Lord Jesus and keeps his word, already experiences in this world the mysterious presence of the Triune God. We heard this in the Gospel: “we will come to him and make our home with him” (Jn 14:23). Every Christian is therefore called to become a living stone of this splendid “dwelling place of God with men”. What a magnificent vocation! arrived at its fullness. It is the goal of our pilgrimage, the homeland which awaits us and for which we long. Seeing that beauty with the eyes of faith, contemplating it and yearning for it, must not serve as an excuse for avoiding the historical reality in which the Church lives as she shares the joys and hopes, the grief and anguish of the people of our time, especially those who are poor or afflicted (cf. Constitution

A Church totally enlivened and impelled by the love of Christ, the Lamb slain for love, is the image within history of the heavenly Jerusalem, prefiguring the holy city that is radiant with the glory of God. It releases an irresistible missionary power which is the power of holiness. Through the prayers of the Virgin Mary, may the Church in Latin America and the Caribbean be abundantly clothed with power from on high (cf. Lk 24:49), in order to spread throughout this Continent and the whole world the holiness of Christ. To him be glory, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen.

“Call Reuters-Rooter, thats the name, and away goes truth down the drain.”

Often the Church has been called the building of God(1 Cor 3:9). TheLord Himself compared Himself to the stone which the builders rejected, but which was made into the cornerstone (Mt 21:42; see also Act 4:11; 1 Pet 2:7; Psalm 117:22). On this foundation the Church is built by the apostles (1 Cor 3:11), and from it the Church Receives durability and consolidation. This edifice has many names to describe it: the house of God (1 Tim 3:15) in which dwells his family; The household of God in the Spirit (Eph 2:19-22); the dwelling place of God among men (Rev 21:3); and especially, the holy temple. THIS TEMPLE, SYMBOLIZED IN PLACES OF WORSHIP BUILT OUT OF STONE, IS PRAISED BY THE HOLY FATHERS AND, NOT WITHOUT REASON, IS COMPARED IN THE LITURGY TO THE HOLY CITY, THE NEW JERUSALEM. As living stones we here on earth are built into it (1 Pet 2:5). John contemplates this holy city coming down from heaven at the renewal of the world as a bride made ready and adorned for her husband (Rev 21:16). (Vat II; Dog. Const., Lumen Gentium, art. 6. Emphasis added)

May he who is answer you on the day of your distress. May the name of the God Of Jacob establish you on the heights, defend you from his temple, and give you foundation from Zion. May He remember every one of your offerings, accept every one of your oblations. May he give you all your heart desires, bring to accomplishment every plan of yours. (psalm 20:2-5. My translation see NAB 20:2-5)

Yahweh is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear?

Yahweh is the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid?

When evil doers came at me to eat up my flesh, even my adversaries and my foes, they stumbled and fell.

Thoiugh an army should camp against me, my heart shall not fear.

Though war should rise against me, even then I will b confident.

One thing have I asked from Yahweh, that I will seek after, that I may dwell in the house of Yahweh all the days of my life, to see Yahweh’s beauty, and to inquire in his temple.

For in the day of trouble he will keep me secretly in his pavilion.In the covert of his tabernacle he will hide me. He will lift me up on a rock. (Psalm 27:1-5 WEB bible; also NAB)

Great is Yahweh, and greatly to be praised, in the city of our God, in his holy mountain.

Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion above the heights of the north, the city of the great king.

God has shown himself in her citadel as a refuge.

For, behold, the kings assembled themselves, they passed by together.

they saw, then they were amazed. They were dismayed. They hurried away.

Trembling took hold of them there, pain, as of a woman in travail…

As we have heard, so we have seen, in the city of Yahweh of Armies, in the city of our God. God will establish it forever.

We have thought about your loving kindness, God, in the midst of your temple.

As is your name, God, so is your praise to the ends of the earth. Uour right hand is full of righteuousness.

Let Mount Zion be glad! Let the daughters of Judah rejoice, because of your judgements.

Walk about Zion, and go around her, number its towers, mark well her bulwarks,consider her places, that you may tell it to the next generation.

For this God is our God forever and ever. He will be our guide even to death. ( Psalm 48 :1-6, 8-14. WEB Bible. italicised words in vs. 2 are my modification.

Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep. (Psalm 127:1-2)

ANGELUS COMMENTARY FROM POPE BENEDICT XVI: Psalm 126 (127), just proclaimed, presents before our eyes a spectacle in movement: a house under construction, the city with its watchmen, family life, night watches, daily work, the little and great secrets of daily life. However, over all rises a decisive presence: that of the Lord who watches over the works of man, as the incisive beginning of the psalm suggests: “Uless the Lord build the house, they labor in vain who build.”

A solid society is born, indeed, from the commitment of all its members, but it has need of the blessing and support of that God who, unfortunately, is often excluded and ignored. The Book of Proverbs underlines the primacy of divine action for the well-being of a community and it does so in a radical way, affirming that “the blessings of the Lord make rich, and he adds no sorrow with it” (Prov 10:22) [Comm. on Psalm 126 (127); Pope Benedict XVI]. Go here to read the rest.

See St. Augustine’s notes on this Psalm here.

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